Jan 19 Atlas V 551
Success
NASA launches New Horizons, the first mission to Pluto
It left Earth faster than any spacecraft before it. It flew past Pluto in July 2015, nine and a half years later.
Rocket launches in2006
An Atlas V opens the year on January 19, sending New Horizons toward Pluto on the fastest departure trajectory ever flown from Earth. In March, Falcon 1 makes its debut from Omelek Island and is lost to a fuel-line fire seconds after lift-off — the first of three failures before SpaceX reaches orbit.
Monthly Cadence complete
DEC peak 11 launches ↑ 18% vs 2005
- launches
- 66
- success · 62/66
- 94%
- providers
- 4
2006 launch leaders
2006 highlights
Mar 24 Falcon 1 Merlin A
Failure
SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket fails less than a minute into its debut
A fuel line nut corroded by sea air leaked and started a fire. The rocket crashed onto a reef beside its Pacific launch site.
Jul 12 Dnepr
Success
Bigelow Aerospace inflates a test habitat in orbit
Genesis I was a one-third-scale model of a private space station module. It inflated as planned and sent data for two and a half years.
Sep 9 Space Shuttle
Success
Atlantis resumes building the International Space Station
The station's previous girder section had flown in November 2002, before the Columbia disaster. Atlantis delivered the next one, with two solar arrays.
Sep 18 Soyuz FG
Success
Anousheh Ansari becomes the first woman to visit space as a tourist
The Iranian-American engineer got her seat when the booked passenger failed a medical check. She spent nearly nine days on the International Space Station.
Oct 26 Delta II 7925
Success
NASA's twin STEREO probes show the whole Sun at once for the first time
One probe drifted ahead of Earth and the other fell behind. By February 2011 they faced opposite sides of the Sun.
Dec 27 Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat
Success
France launches CoRoT, the first space telescope built to find exoplanets
It watched stars dim as planets crossed in front of them. In 2009 it found CoRoT-7b, a probably rocky planet under twice Earth's width.
All 2006 launches
Quick filters
66 launches
| January | ||||
Jan 19, 2006 | New Horizons USA • Atlas V 551 | |||
Jan 24, 2006 | Daichi Japan • H2A 2022 | |||
| February | ||||
Feb 15, 2006 | EchoStar X Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
Feb 18, 2006 | MTSAT-2 Japan • H2A 2024 | |||
Feb 21, 2006 | Akari Japan • Mu 5 | |||
Feb 28, 2006Failure | Arabsat 4A Russia • Proton M / Briz-M | |||
| March | ||||
Mar 11, 2006 | Spainsat France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Mar 22, 2006 | ST-5 USA • Pegasus XL | |||
Mar 24, 2006Failure | FalconSat 2 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 1 Merlin A | |||
Mar 30, 2006 | Soyuz TMA-8 / 12S Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
| April | ||||
Apr 12, 2006 | JCSAT-5A Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
Apr 15, 2006 | COSMIC USA • Minotaur I | |||
Apr 20, 2006 | Astra 1KR USA • Atlas V 411 | |||
Apr 24, 2006 | Progress M-56 / 21P Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Apr 25, 2006 | EROS B Russia • Start-1 | |||
Apr 26, 2006 | Yaogan 1 China • Long March 4B-II (4C) | |||
Apr 28, 2006 | CALIPSO USA • Delta II 7420-10C | |||
| May | ||||
May 3, 2006 | Kobal't-M Russia • Soyuz U | |||
May 24, 2006 | GOES 13 USA • Delta IV-M+ (4,2) | |||
May 26, 2006 | Kompass 2 Russia • Shtil | |||
May 27, 2006 | Satmex 6 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
| June | ||||
Jun 15, 2006 | Resurs-DK-1 Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Jun 17, 2006 | KazSat-1 Russia • Proton K / DM-3 | |||
Jun 18, 2006 | Galaxy 16 Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
Jun 21, 2006 | USA-187 USA • Delta II 7925 | |||
Jun 24, 2006 | Progress M-57 / 22P Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Jun 25, 2006 | US-PU Russia • Tsyklon 2 | |||
Jun 28, 2006 | USA-184 USA • Delta IV-M+ (4,2) | |||
| July | ||||
Jul 4, 2006 | STS-121 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Jul 10, 2006Failure | INSAT 4C India • GSLV Mk I | |||
Jul 12, 2006 | Genesis I Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Jul 21, 2006 | Oko Russia • Molniya M | |||
Jul 26, 2006Failure | BelKA Russia • Kosmotras • Dnepr | |||
Jul 28, 2006 | Arirang-2 Russia • Rokot Rokot / Briz-KM | |||
| August | ||||
Aug 4, 2006 | Hot Bird 8 Russia • Proton M/Briz-M | |||
Aug 11, 2006 | JCSAT-10 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5ECA | |||
Aug 22, 2006 | Koreasat 5 Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
| September | ||||
Sep 9, 2006 | Shijian 8 China • Long March 2C | |||
Sep 9, 2006 | STS-115 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Sep 11, 2006 | IGS-3A Japan • H2A 202 | |||
Sep 12, 2006 | ChinaSat 22A China • Long March 3A | |||
Sep 14, 2006 | Don Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Sep 18, 2006 | Soyuz TMA-9 / 13S Russia • Soyuz FG | |||
Sep 22, 2006 | Hinode Japan • Mu 5 | |||
Sep 25, 2006 | USA-190 USA • Delta II 7925 | |||
| October | ||||
Oct 13, 2006 | DirecTV-9S France • Arianespace • Ariane 5ECA | |||
Oct 19, 2006 | MetOp-A Russia • Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | |||
Oct 23, 2006 | Progress M-58 / 23P Russia • Soyuz U | |||
Oct 23, 2006 | Shijian 6-02A China • Long March 4B | |||
Oct 26, 2006 | STEREO USA • Delta II 7925 | |||
Oct 28, 2006 | Sinosat-2 China • Long March 3B | |||
Oct 30, 2006 | XM-4 Russia • Zenit 3SL | |||
| November | ||||
Nov 4, 2006 | USA-191 USA • Delta IV-M | |||
Nov 8, 2006 | Badr-4 Russia • Proton M/Briz-M | |||
Nov 17, 2006 | USA-192 USA • Delta II 7925 | |||
| December | ||||
Dec 8, 2006 | Fengyun 2D China • Long March 3A | |||
Dec 8, 2006 | WildBlue 1 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Dec 10, 2006 | STS-116 USA • Space Shuttle | |||
Dec 11, 2006 | MEASAT-3 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M | |||
Dec 14, 2006 | USA-193 USA • Delta II 7920-10 | |||
Dec 16, 2006 | TacSat-2 USA • Minotaur I | |||
Dec 18, 2006 | Kiku-8 Japan • H2A 204 | |||
Dec 19, 2006 | SAR-Lupe 1 Russia • Kosmos 3M | |||
Dec 24, 2006 | Meridian 1 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | |||
Dec 25, 2006 | GLONASS-M Russia • Proton K / DM-2 | |||
Dec 27, 2006 | CoRoT Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||