Dec 25 Ariane 5 ECA
Success
James Webb is the most powerful telescope ever launched
Webb's 6.5-metre mirror gathers about six times the light Hubble can. It works in infrared, so it sees the oldest galaxies there are.
Rocket launches in2021
The James Webb Space Telescope lifts off on an Ariane 5 on Christmas Day, ending a decade of delays. China opens its Tiangong station with the Tianhe core in April, Perseverance lands on Mars in February with the Ingenuity helicopter making the first powered flight on another world in April, and Inspiration4 flies the first all-civilian orbital crew in September.
Monthly Cadence complete
DEC peak 24 launches ↑ 30% vs 2020
- launches
- 152
- success · 140/152
- 92%
- providers
- 10
2021 launch leaders
2021 highlights
Apr 29 Long March 5B
Success
China starts building a permanent space station
Tianhe, the station's core module, delivered life support, living quarters and control systems — the foundation China would expand into a permanent orbital outpost.
Jun 17 Long March 2F
Success
China's first crew reaches its new space station
Three taikonauts ended a five-year gap in Chinese human spaceflight and stayed about 90 days, their country's longest mission in orbit yet.
Jul 20 New Shepard 4
Success
Jeff Bezos flies on Blue Origin's first crewed launch
The flight opened Blue Origin's tourism business and carried the oldest and youngest people then to reach space: Wally Funk, 82, and Oliver Daemen, 18.
Sep 16 Falcon 9 B5
Success
The first all-civilian crew reaches orbit
They flew farther from Earth than any crew since the 2009 Hubble servicing mission, and orbital spaceflight was no longer reserved for professional astronauts.
Nov 24 Falcon 9 B5
Success
NASA launches the first mission to deflect an asteroid
Ten months later it slammed into the moonlet Dimorphos and shortened its orbital period, proving a spacecraft can shift an asteroid's path.
All 2021 launches
Quick filters
152 launches
| January | ||||
Jan 8, 2021 | Türksat 5A USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jan 14, 2021 | NS-14 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 4 | |||
Jan 17, 2021 | ELaNa 20 USA • Virgin Orbit • LauncherOne | |||
Jan 19, 2021 | Tiantong-1 03 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Jan 20, 2021 | "Another One Leaves The Crust" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
Jan 20, 2021 | Starlink Launch 16 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jan 24, 2021 | Transporter-1 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jan 29, 2021 | Yaogan 31-02 China • Long March 4C | |||
| February | ||||
Feb 1, 2021Failure | Tianshu China • i-Space • Hyperbola 1 | |||
Feb 2, 2021 | Lotos-S1 4 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b | |||
Feb 4, 2021 | Starlink Launch 18 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Feb 4, 2021 | TJS-6 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Feb 15, 2021 | Progress MS-16 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
Feb 16, 2021 | Starlink Launch 19 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Feb 20, 2021 | Cygnus NG-15 S. S. Katherine Johnson USA • Antares 230+ | |||
Feb 24, 2021 | Yaogan 31-03 China • Long March 4C | |||
Feb 28, 2021 | Amazônia-1 India • PSLV DL | |||
Feb 28, 2021 | Arktika-M 1 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
| March | ||||
Mar 4, 2021 | Starlink Launch 17 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Mar 11, 2021 | Starlink Launch 20 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Mar 11, 2021 | Shiyan 9 China • Long March 7A | |||
Mar 13, 2021 | Yaogan 31-04 China • Long March 4C | |||
Mar 14, 2021 | Starlink Launch 21 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Mar 22, 2021 | CAS500-1 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | |||
Mar 22, 2021 | "They Go Up So Fast" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
Mar 24, 2021 | Starlink Launch 22 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Mar 25, 2021 | OneWeb 5 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Mar 30, 2021 | Gaofen-12 02 China • Long March 4C | |||
| April | ||||
Apr 7, 2021 | Starlink Launch 23 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Apr 8, 2021 | Shiyan 6-03 China • Long March 4B | |||
Apr 9, 2021 | Soyuz MS-18 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
Apr 14, 2021 | NS-15 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 4 | |||
Apr 23, 2021 | Crew-2 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Apr 25, 2021 | OneWeb 6 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Apr 26, 2021 | KH-11 18 USA • Delta IV Heavy | |||
Apr 27, 2021 | Long March 6 Y5 China • Long March 6 | |||
Apr 29, 2021 | Pléiades Neo 3 France • Arianespace • Vega | |||
Apr 29, 2021 | Tianhe space station module China • Long March 5B | |||
Apr 29, 2021 | Starlink Launch 24 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Apr 30, 2021 | Yaogan 34 China • Long March 4C | |||
| May | ||||
May 4, 2021 | Starlink Launch 25 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
May 6, 2021 | Yaogan 30-08 China • Long March 2C | |||
May 9, 2021 | Starlink Launch 27 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
May 15, 2021Failure | "Running Out of Toes" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
May 15, 2021 | Starlink Launch 26 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
May 18, 2021 | SBIRS GEO-5 USA • Atlas V 421 | |||
May 19, 2021 | HaiYang-2D China • Long March 4B | |||
May 26, 2021 | Starlink Launch 28 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
May 28, 2021 | OneWeb 7 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
May 29, 2021 | Tianzhou 2 China • Long March 7 | |||
| June | ||||
Jun 2, 2021 | Fengyun 4B China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Jun 3, 2021 | CRS-22 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jun 6, 2021 | SXM-8 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jun 11, 2021 | Long March 2D-Y54 China • Long March 2D | |||
Jun 12, 2021Failure | Simorgh launch Iran • Simorgh | |||
Jun 13, 2021 | Odyssey USA • Pegasus XL | |||
Jun 15, 2021 | NROL-111 USA • Minotaur I | |||
Jun 17, 2021 | Shenzhou 12 China • Long March 2F | |||
Jun 17, 2021 | GPS III - 05 Neil Armstrong USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Jun 18, 2021 | Yaogan 30-09 China • Long March 2C | |||
Jun 25, 2021 | Pion-NKS 1 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b | |||
Jun 29, 2021 | Progress MS-17 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
Jun 30, 2021 | BRIK-II USA • Virgin Orbit • LauncherOne | |||
Jun 30, 2021 | Transporter-2 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
| July | ||||
Jul 1, 2021 | OneWeb 8 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Jul 3, 2021 | Long March 2D-Y74 China • Long March 2D | |||
Jul 4, 2021 | Fengyun 3E China • Long March 4C | |||
Jul 6, 2021 | Tianlian I-05 China • Long March 3C/E | |||
Jul 9, 2021 | Zhuzhou-1 China • Long March 6 | |||
Jul 19, 2021 | Yaogan 30-10 China • Long March 2C | |||
Jul 20, 2021 | NS-16 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 4 | |||
Jul 21, 2021 | Nauka ISS module Russia • Proton M | |||
Jul 27, 2021 | Fractional Orbital Bombardment System China • Long March 2C ? | |||
Jul 29, 2021 | Tianhui-1D China • Long March 2D | |||
Jul 29, 2021 | "It’s a Little Chile Up Here" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
Jul 30, 2021 | Eutelsat Quantum France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
| August | ||||
Aug 3, 2021Failure | Jilin-1 Mofang-01A China • i-Space • Hyperbola 1 | |||
Aug 4, 2021 | KL-Beta A/B China • Long March 6 | |||
Aug 5, 2021 | ChinaSat 2E China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Aug 10, 2021 | Cygnus NG-16 S. S. Ellison Onizuka USA • Antares 230+ | |||
Aug 12, 2021Failure | EOS-03 India • GSLV Mk II | |||
Aug 17, 2021 | Pléiades Neo 4 France • Arianespace • Vega | |||
Aug 18, 2021 | Tianhui-2 02 China • Long March 4B | |||
Aug 21, 2021 | OneWeb 9 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Aug 24, 2021 | Long March 2C-Y51 China • Long March 2C / YZ-1S | |||
Aug 24, 2021 | TJS-7 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Aug 26, 2021 | NS-17 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 3 | |||
Aug 28, 2021Failure | STP-27AD1 USA • Astra • Astra 3.3 | |||
Aug 29, 2021 | CRS-23 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
| September | ||||
Sep 3, 2021Failure | BSS1 USA • Firefly Aerospace • Firefly Alpha | |||
Sep 7, 2021 | Gaofen-5 02 China • Long March 4C | |||
Sep 9, 2021 | ChinaSat 9B China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Sep 9, 2021Partial failure | EO MKA 1 Russia • Soyuz 2.1v / Volga | |||
Sep 14, 2021 | Starlink Group 2-1 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Sep 14, 2021 | OneWeb 10 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Sep 16, 2021 | Inspiration4 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Sep 20, 2021 | Tianzhou 3 China • Long March 7 | |||
Sep 27, 2021 | Jilin-1 Gaofen-02D China • Kuaizhou 1A | |||
Sep 27, 2021 | Shiyan 10 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Sep 27, 2021 | Landsat 9 USA • Atlas V 401 | |||
| October | ||||
Oct 5, 2021 | Soyuz MS-19 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
Oct 13, 2021 | NS-18 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 4 | |||
Oct 14, 2021 | OneWeb 11 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Oct 14, 2021 | CHASE China • Long March 2D | |||
Oct 15, 2021 | Shenzhou 13 China • Long March 2F | |||
Oct 16, 2021 | Lucy Trojan asteroid mission USA • Atlas V 401 | |||
Oct 21, 2021Failure | Nuri maiden flight South Korea • Nuri | |||
Oct 24, 2021 | Shijian-21 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Oct 24, 2021 | SES-17 France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Oct 26, 2021 | QZS-1R Japan • H2A 202 | |||
Oct 27, 2021 | Jilin-1 Gaofen-02F China • Kuaizhou 1A | |||
Oct 28, 2021 | Progress MS-18 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
| November | ||||
Nov 3, 2021 | Yaogan 32-02 China • Long March 2C / YZ-1S | |||
Nov 5, 2021 | SDGSAT-1 China • Long March 6 | |||
Nov 6, 2021 | Yaogan 35 China • Long March 2D | |||
Nov 9, 2021 | RAISE-2 Japan • Epsilon | |||
Nov 11, 2021 | Crew-3 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Nov 13, 2021 | Starlink Group 4-1 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Nov 16, 2021 | CERES x 3 France • Arianespace • Vega | |||
Nov 18, 2021 | "Love At First Insight" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
Nov 20, 2021 | Gaofen 11-03 China • Long March 4B | |||
Nov 20, 2021 | STP-27AD2 USA • Astra • Astra 3.3 | |||
Nov 22, 2021 | Gaofen 3-02 China • Long March 4C | |||
Nov 24, 2021 | Double Asteroid Redirection Test USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Nov 24, 2021 | Prichal ISS module Russia • Soyuz 2.1b | |||
Nov 24, 2021 | Shiyan 11 China • Kuaizhou 1A | |||
Nov 25, 2021 | EKS-5 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Nov 26, 2021 | ChinaSat-1D China • Long March 3B/E | |||
| December | ||||
Dec 2, 2021 | Starlink Group 4-3 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Dec 5, 2021 | Galileo FOC FM23-24 France • Arianespace • Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT | |||
Dec 7, 2021 | Tianjin University-1 China • Galactic Energy • Ceres 1 | |||
Dec 7, 2021 | STPSat-6 USA • Atlas V 551 | |||
Dec 8, 2021 | Soyuz MS-20 Russia • Soyuz 2.1a | |||
Dec 9, 2021 | "A Data With Destiny" USA • Rocket Lab • Electron | |||
Dec 9, 2021 | Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Dec 10, 2021 | Shijian 6-05A China • Long March 4B | |||
Dec 11, 2021 | NS-19 USA • Blue Origin • New Shepard 4 | |||
Dec 13, 2021 | Ekspress-AMU3 and AMU7 Russia • Proton M / Briz-M | |||
Dec 13, 2021 | Tianlian II-02 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Dec 15, 2021Failure | GeeSAT-1A China • Kuaizhou 1A | |||
Dec 18, 2021 | Starlink Group 4-4 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Dec 19, 2021 | Türksat 5B USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Dec 21, 2021 | CRS-24 USA • SpaceX • Falcon 9 B5 | |||
Dec 22, 2021 | Inmarsat-6 F1 Japan • H2A 204 | |||
Dec 23, 2021 | Shiyan 12 01-02 China • Long March 7A | |||
Dec 25, 2021 | James Webb Space Telescope France • Arianespace • Ariane 5 ECA | |||
Dec 26, 2021 | Ziyuan I-02E China • Long March 4C | |||
Dec 27, 2021 | OneWeb 12 Russia • Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | |||
Dec 27, 2021Failure | IPN 1 Russia • Angara A5 / Persei | |||
Dec 29, 2021 | Tianhui-4 China • Long March 2D | |||
Dec 29, 2021 | TJS-9 China • Long March 3B/E | |||
Dec 30, 2021Failure | Mission TBA Iran • Simorgh | |||