Rocket launches in1974

Mariner 10 swings past Venus in February and reaches Mercury in March — the first spacecraft to visit the innermost planet, using Venus's gravity to set its course. Soyuz 14 docks with Salyut 3 in July — the first successful crewed visit to a Soviet space station since 1971 — alongside the usual Kosmos cadence, while China's Long March attempts a new variant in November that fails to reach orbit.