Falcon 9 makes its maiden flight on June 4 — SpaceX's first orbital rocket above the Falcon 1 class — and Dragon C1 becomes the first commercial capsule to reach orbit in December. Russia carries the year's heaviest schedule, flying 31 missions on Soyuz and Proton, while the Space Shuttle completes three of its final flights.
The uncrewed Dragon capsule circled Earth twice and splashed down in the Pacific. Before it, only government space agencies had recovered spacecraft from orbit.
The stage was meant to end India's reliance on Russian-built upper stages. Its fuel pump stopped about a second after the stage started up.
The X-37B looks like a small, uncrewed Space Shuttle. It was the first American spacecraft to land itself on a runway after returning from orbit.
IKAROS unfurled a 200-square-meter sail thinner than a human hair. Sunlight pressing on the sail gave the craft a small, measurable push.
SpaceX's smaller Falcon 1 had failed three times before it reached orbit in 2008. Falcon 9 carried a test model of SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
Chang'e 2 mapped the whole Moon in 7-meter detail. In December 2012 it passed asteroid Toutatis, making China the fourth space agency to visit one.
Quick filters
75 launches
| January | ||||
Jan 16, 2010 | BeiDou-2 G1 China • Long March 3C | |||
Jan 28, 2010 | Raduga-1M 2 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
| February | ||||
Feb 3, 2010 | Progress M-04M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Feb 8, 2010 | STS-130 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Feb 11, 2010 | Solar Dynamics Observatory USA • Atlas V 401 | |||
Feb 12, 2010 | Intelsat 16 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
| March | ||||
Mar 1, 2010 | Glonass-M 731 Russia • Proton M / DM-2 Enhanced | |||
Mar 4, 2010 | GOES-P USA • Delta IV-M+ (4,2) | |||
Mar 5, 2010 | Yaogan 9A-9C China • Long March 4C | |||
Mar 20, 2010 | EchoStar XIV Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
| April | ||||
Apr 2, 2010 | Soyuz TMA-18 Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Apr 5, 2010 | STS-131 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Apr 8, 2010 | CryoSat-2 Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Apr 15, 2010Failure | GSAT-4 India • GSLV Mk II | |||
Apr 16, 2010 | Yantar-4K2M 6 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Apr 22, 2010 | HTV-2a USA • Minotaur IV Lite | |||
Apr 22, 2010 | X-37B OTV-1 USA • Atlas V 501 | |||
Apr 24, 2010 | SES-1 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
Apr 27, 2010 | Parus Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
Apr 28, 2010 | Progress M-05M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
| May | ||||
May 14, 2010 | STS-132 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
May 20, 2010 | Akatsuki Japan • H2A 202 | |||
May 21, 2010 | Astra 3B France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
May 28, 2010 | USA-213 USA • Delta IV-M+ (4,2) | |||
| June | ||||
Jun 2, 2010 | SERVIS-2 Russia • Rokot Rokot / Briz-KM | |||
Jun 2, 2010 | Compass-G3 China • Long March 3C | |||
Jun 3, 2010 | Badr-5 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
Jun 4, 2010 | Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 v1.0 | |||
Jun 10, 2010Failure | STSAT-2B South Korea • Naro 1 | |||
Jun 15, 2010 | Shijian 12 China • Long March 2D | |||
Jun 15, 2010 | Prisma-Mango Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Jun 15, 2010 | Soyuz TMA-19 Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Jun 21, 2010 | TanDEM-X Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Jun 22, 2010 | Ofek-9 Israel • Shavit 2 | |||
Jun 26, 2010 | ArabSat-5A France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Jun 30, 2010 | Progress M-06M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
| July | ||||
Jul 10, 2010 | EchoStar XV Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
Jul 12, 2010 | Cartosat-2B India • PSLV CA | |||
Jul 31, 2010 | Compass IGSO-1 China • Long March 3A | |||
| August | ||||
Aug 4, 2010 | Nilesat-201 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Aug 9, 2010 | Yaogan 10 China • Long March 4C | |||
Aug 14, 2010 | USA-214 USA • Atlas V 531 | |||
Aug 24, 2010 | Tian Hui 1 China • Long March 2D | |||
| September | ||||
Sep 2, 2010 | Glonass-M 736-738 Russia • Proton M / DM-2 Enhanced | |||
Sep 4, 2010 | Chinasat-6A China • Long March 3B | |||
Sep 8, 2010 | Gonets-M No.2 Russia • Rokot Rokot / Briz-KM | |||
Sep 10, 2010 | Progress M-07M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Sep 11, 2010 | QZSS-1 Japan • H2A 202 | |||
Sep 21, 2010 | USA-215 USA • Atlas V 501 | |||
Sep 22, 2010 | Yaogan 11 China • Long March 2D | |||
Sep 26, 2010 | USA-216 USA • Minotaur IV | |||
Sep 30, 2010 | Oko Russia • Molniya M | |||
| October | ||||
Oct 1, 2010 | Chang'e 2 China • Long March 3C | |||
Oct 6, 2010 | Shijian 6-04A China • Long March 4B | |||
Oct 7, 2010 | Soyuz TMA-01M Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Oct 14, 2010 | XM-5 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M | |||
Oct 19, 2010 | Globalstar M073 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | |||
Oct 27, 2010 | Progress M-08M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Oct 28, 2010 | Eutelsat W3B France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Oct 31, 2010 | Compass-G4 China • Long March 3C | |||
| November | ||||
Nov 2, 2010 | Meridian 3 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | |||
Nov 4, 2010 | Fengyun 3B China • Long March 4C | |||
Nov 6, 2010 | COSMO-4 USA • Delta II 7420-10 | |||
Nov 14, 2010 | SkyTerra-1 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
Nov 20, 2010 | STPSat-2 USA • Minotaur IV / HAPS | |||
Nov 21, 2010 | NROL-32 USA • Delta IV Heavy | |||
Nov 24, 2010 | Chinasat 20A China • Long March 3A | |||
Nov 26, 2010 | Intelsat 17 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
| December | ||||
Dec 5, 2010Failure | Glonass-M 739 Russia • Proton M / DM-03 Enhanced | |||
Dec 8, 2010 | Dragon C1 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 v1.0 | |||
Dec 15, 2010 | Soyuz TMA-20 Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Dec 17, 2010 | Compass IGSO-2 China • Long March 3A | |||
Dec 25, 2010Failure | GSAT-5P India • GSLV Mk.I | |||
Dec 26, 2010 | KA-SAT Russia • Proton M / Briz-M Enhanced | |||
Dec 29, 2010 | Hispasat-1E France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
