Aug 21 Atlas V 401
Success
Atlas V reaches orbit on its first flight
Atlas V was the first of two new rockets for the US Air Force to fly. It went on to launch more than 100 times.
Rocket launches in2002
ESA's Envisat, the largest Earth-observation satellite yet flown, lifts off on an Ariane 5 in March. The Space Shuttle adds the S0, P1, and S1 truss segments to the ISS across four assembly flights through the year.
Monthly Cadence complete
DEC peak 10 launches ↑ 13% vs 2001
- launches
- 69
- success · 63/69
- 91%
- providers
- 3
2002 launch leaders
2002 highlights
Mar 1 Ariane 5G
Success
Europe launches Envisat, the largest civilian Earth-observation satellite
The eight-tonne satellite watched air, oceans, land and ice for ten years. ESA lost contact with it in April 2012.
Nov 20 Delta IV-M+ (4,2) (9240)
Success
Boeing's Delta IV reaches orbit on its first flight
Its RS-68 was the first large US liquid-fuel rocket engine designed since the Space Shuttle's main engine. Delta IV flew 45 times until 2024.
Dec 11 Ariane 5ECA
Failure
Ariane 5's upgraded heavy-lift version fails on its first flight
A coolant leak let the new main engine's nozzle overheat and deform. The grounding forced Europe's Rosetta comet probe to miss its January 2003 launch.
Dec 29 Long March 2F
Success
China flies its last uncrewed Shenzhou test before sending an astronaut
The capsule carried two dummy astronauts. It spent nearly seven days in orbit and landed safely.
All 2002 launches
Quick filters
69 launches
| January | ||||
Jan 16, 2002 | Milstar 5 USA • Titan IVB (401)/ Centaur | |||
Jan 23, 2002 | INSAT-3C France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 42L | |||
| February | ||||
Feb 4, 2002Partial failure | MDS-1 Japan • H2A 2024 | |||
Feb 5, 2002 | RHESSI USA • Pegasus XL | |||
Feb 11, 2002 | Iridium 91 USA • Delta II 7920-10C | |||
Feb 21, 2002 | Echostar 7 USA • Atlas IIIB-DEC | |||
Feb 23, 2002 | Intelsat 904 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Feb 25, 2002 | Kosmos 2387 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
| March | ||||
Mar 1, 2002 | Envisat France • Arianespace • Ariane 5G | |||
Mar 1, 2002 | STS-109 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Mar 8, 2002 | TDRS-9 USA • Atlas IIA | |||
Mar 16, 2002 | TLV-2 IFT-8 GMDS target mission USA • Minotaur II | |||
Mar 17, 2002 | GRACE 1-2 Russia • Rokot Briz-KM | |||
Mar 21, 2002 | Progress M1-8 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Mar 25, 2002 | Shenzhou 3 China • Long March 2F | |||
Mar 29, 2002 | Astra 3A France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Mar 30, 2002 | Intelsat 903 Russia • Proton K / DM-2M | |||
| April | ||||
Apr 1, 2002 | Kosmos 2388 Russia • Molniya M / Blok 2BL | |||
Apr 8, 2002 | STS-110 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Apr 16, 2002 | NSS-7 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Apr 25, 2002 | Soyuz TM-34 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
| May | ||||
May 4, 2002 | SPOT 5 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 42P | |||
May 4, 2002 | Aqua USA • Delta II 7920-10L | |||
May 7, 2002 | DirecTV-5 Russia • Proton K/Blok DM3 | |||
May 15, 2002 | Fengyun-1D & HaiYang 1 China • Long March 4B | |||
May 28, 2002 | Ofeq-5 Israel • Shavit 1 | |||
May 28, 2002 | Kosmos 2389 Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
| June | ||||
Jun 5, 2002 | Intelsat 905 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Jun 5, 2002 | STS-111 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Jun 10, 2002 | Ekspress A4 Russia • Proton K / DM-2M | |||
Jun 15, 2002 | Galaxy 3C Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
Jun 20, 2002 | Iridium 97-98 Russia • Rokot Briz-KM | |||
Jun 24, 2002 | NOAA-17 USA • Titan 23G | |||
Jun 26, 2002 | Progress M-46 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
| July | ||||
Jul 3, 2002 | CONTOUR USA • Delta II 7425-9.5 | |||
Jul 5, 2002 | Stellat 5 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5G | |||
Jul 8, 2002 | Strela-3 #131-#132 Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
Jul 12, 2002Failure | IRDT-2 Russia • Volna | |||
Jul 25, 2002 | Kosmos 2392 Russia • Proton K/ Blok DM-5 (17S40) | |||
| August | ||||
Aug 21, 2002 | Hot Bird 6 USA • Atlas V 401 | |||
Aug 22, 2002 | Echostar 8 Russia • Proton K/DM-2M | |||
Aug 28, 2002 | Atlantic Bird 1 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5G | |||
| September | ||||
Sep 6, 2002 | Intelsat 906 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Sep 10, 2002 | USERS Japan • H2A 2024 | |||
Sep 12, 2002 | Kalpana-1 India • PSLV C | |||
Sep 15, 2002Failure | HTSTL-1 China • Kaituozhe 1 | |||
Sep 18, 2002 | Hispasat 1D USA • Atlas IIAS | |||
Sep 25, 2002 | Progress M1-9 Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Sep 26, 2002 | Nadezhda-M Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
| October | ||||
Oct 7, 2002 | STS-112 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Oct 15, 2002 | TLV-3 GMDS target mission USA • Minotaur II | |||
Oct 15, 2002Failure | Foton-M1 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Oct 17, 2002 | INTEGRAL Russia • Proton K/Blok DM-2 | |||
Oct 27, 2002 | Ziyuan II-02 China • Long March 4B | |||
Oct 30, 2002 | Soyuz TMA-1 Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
| November | ||||
Nov 20, 2002 | Eutelsat W5 USA • Delta IV-M+ (4,2) (9240) | |||
Nov 24, 2002 | STS-113 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Nov 25, 2002Failure | Astra 1K Russia • Proton K/DM-2M | |||
Nov 28, 2002 | AlSat-1 Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
| December | ||||
Dec 5, 2002 | TDRS-10 USA • Atlas IIA | |||
Dec 11, 2002 | TLV-4 GMDS target mission USA • Minotaur II | |||
Dec 11, 2002Failure | Hot Bird 7 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5ECA | |||
Dec 14, 2002 | Adeos 2 Japan • H2A 202 | |||
Dec 17, 2002 | NSS-6 France • Arianespace • Ariane 4 44L | |||
Dec 20, 2002 | LatinSat 1 Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Dec 24, 2002 | Kosmos 2393 Russia • Molniya M / Blok 2BL | |||
Dec 25, 2002 | Kosmos 2394-2396 Russia • Proton K/ DM-2 | |||
Dec 29, 2002 | Shenzhou 4 China • Long March 2F | |||
Dec 29, 2002 | Nimiq 2 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M | |||