Space activities in 2023
On January 30, the head of RKTs Progress Dmitry Baranov was quoted by the official TASS news agency as promising "around 20" launches of Soyuz rockets during 2023. With two or three Proton launches and couple of Angara missions, Russia could make more than two dozen orbital launch attempts during the year.
For missions in 2022 click here

The world's orbital launch attempts in 2023 (as of
March 26, 2023
):
1 |
USA |
Jan. 3 |
9:56 a.m. EST |
Transporter-6 (114 satellites) |
Application |
Falcon-9 (B1060) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
2 |
China |
Jan. 9 |
06:00 Beijing Time |
Shi Jian-23 |
Application / communications |
Chang Zheng-7A (Y4) |
Wenchang |
- |
- |
Success |
3 |
China |
Jan. 9 |
13:04 Beijing Time |
Xiameng Keji-1, Tianqi-13, Tianmu-1-01, Tianmu-1-02, Nantong Zhongxue |
- |
Gushenxing-1 (Y5) |
Jiuquan |
- |
- |
Success |
4 |
USA |
Jan. 9 |
22:01 UTC |
9 satellites (Start Me Up payload): Amber-1 (IOD-Amber, IOD-3), AMAN, CIRCE-1, CIRCE-2, Dover, ForgeStar-0, Prometheus-2A, Prometheus-2B, STORK-6 |
- |
LauncherOne |
Newquay |
|
Air-launched |
Failure |
5 |
USA |
Jan. 9 |
11:50:17 p.m. EST |
|
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1076) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
6 |
USA |
Jan. 11 |
14:27 AKST |
VariSat-1A, VariSat-1B |
- |
RS1 |
Kodiak |
LP-3C |
C |
Failure |
7 |
China |
Jan. 13 |
02:10 Beijing Time |
APStar-6E, |
Application / communications |
Chang Zheng-2C (Y61) |
Xichang |
- |
- |
Success |
8 |
China |
Jan. 13 |
15:00 Beijing Time |
Yaogan-37, Shiyan-22A, Shiyan-22B |
- |
Chang Zheng-2D |
Jiuquan |
- |
- |
Success |
9 |
China |
Jan. 15 |
11:14 Beijing Time |
Qilu-2, Qilu-3, Jinzijing-3, Jinzijing-4, Jinzijing-6, Beiyou-1, Luojia-3 01 (Yantai-1), Tianzhi-2D (Rizhao-3), Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D34, Jilin-1 Mofang 02A03, Jilin-1 Mofang 02A04, Jilin-1 Mofang 02A07 (Huashui-1), Jilin-1 Hongwai 02A03 (Aofuman), Jilin-1 Hongwai 02A04 (Haihe-1) |
- |
Chang Zheng-2D |
Taiyuan |
- |
- |
- |
10 |
USA |
Jan. 15 |
5:56 p.m. EST |
USSF-67: USA-342 (CBAS-2), LDPE-3A |
Military |
Falcon Heavy (F5) |
Cape Canaveral |
39A |
A |
Success |
11 |
USA |
Jan. 18 |
7:24 a.m. Eastern Time |
GPS-3-SV06 (Navstar-79, Amelia Earhart) |
Dual use / navigation |
Falcon-9 ( B1077) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
12 |
USA |
Jan. 19 |
7:43:10 a.m. Pacific Time |
Starlink-2-4 (51 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1075) |
Vandenberg |
SLC-4E |
E |
Success |
13 |
USA |
Jan. 24 |
6 p.m. EST |
HawkEye-360 (3 satellites) |
Application |
Electron |
Wallops |
LC-2 (Pad 0C) |
2 |
Success |
14 |
Japan |
Jan. 26 |
10:50 Japan Standard Time |
IGS Radar-7 |
Military / reconnaissance |
H-2A-202 (F46) |
Tanegashima |
- |
- |
Success |
15 |
USA |
Jan. 26 |
4:32:20 a.m. EST |
Starlink-5-2 (56 satellites) |
Application/ Internet |
Falcon-9 v1.2 |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
16 |
USA |
Jan. 31 |
8:15:00 Pacific Time |
Starlink-2-6 (49 satellites), D-Orbit ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena |
Application/ Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1071.7) |
Vandenberg |
SLC-4E |
E |
Success |
17 |
USA |
Feb. 2 |
2:58 a.m. EST |
Starlink-5-3 (53 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1069) |
Cape Canaveral |
LC-39A |
A |
Success |
18 |
|
Feb. 5 |
12:12:51.993 Moscow Time |
|
|
|
|
|
Pad 24 |
Success |
19 |
USA |
Feb. 6 |
8:32 p.m. EST |
Amazonas Nexus |
Application / communications |
Falcon-9 (B1073-6) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
20 |
|
Feb. 9 |
09:15:36.381 Moscow Time |
|
Cargo supply |
|
|
|
6 |
Success |
21 |
India |
Feb. 10 |
09:18 India Standard Time |
EOS-07, Janus-1, AzaadiSat-2 |
Application / remote sensing |
SSLV-D2 |
Sriharikota |
- |
- |
Success |
22 |
USA |
Feb. 12 |
12:10:10 a.m. EST |
Starlink-5-4 (55 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1062) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
23 |
USA |
Feb. 17 |
11:12:20 a.m. Pacific Time |
Starlink-2-5 (51 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1063) |
Vandenberg |
SLC-4E |
E |
Success |
24 |
USA |
Feb. 17 |
10:59 p.m. EST |
Inmarsat I-6 F2 |
Application / communications |
Falcon-9 |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
25 |
China |
Feb. 23 |
19:49 Beijing Time |
Zhongxing-26 |
Communications |
Chang Zheng-3B |
Xichang |
- |
- |
Success |
26 |
|
Feb. 24 |
03:24:29.466 Moscow Time |
|
Unpiloted |
|
|
|
6 |
Success |
27 |
China |
Feb. 24 |
12:01 Beijing Time |
Horus-1 |
Remote sensing |
Chang Zheng-2C |
Jiuquan |
- |
- |
Success |
28 |
USA |
Feb. 27 |
6:13 p.m. EST |
Starlink-6-1 (21 v2-Mini satellites) |
Application / Internet |
|
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
29 |
USA |
March 2 |
12:34:14 a.m. EST |
Crew Dragon, USCV-6 |
Piloted |
Falcon-9 |
Cape Canaveral, KSC |
LC-39A |
A |
Success |
30 |
USA |
March 3 |
11:31 a.m. Pacific Time |
Starlink-2-7 (51 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1061-12) |
Vandenberg |
SLC-4E |
E |
Success |
31 |
Japan |
March 7 |
10:37:55.000 Japan Standard Time |
Daichi-3 (Advanced Land Observing Satellite, ALOS-3) |
Application / remote sensing |
H-3 22S (TF1) |
Tanegashima |
- |
- |
Failure |
32 |
USA |
March 9 |
2:13 p.m. EST |
|
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1062) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
33 |
China |
March 10 |
06:41 Beijing Time |
Tianhui-6A, Tianhui-6B |
Observation |
Chang Zheng-4C |
Taiyuan |
9 |
- |
Success |
34 |
|
March 13 |
02:12:59.981 Moscow Time |
|
Electronic intelligence |
|
|
|
39 |
Success |
35 |
China |
March 13 |
12:02 Beijing Time |
Horus-2 |
Remote-sensing |
Chang Zheng-4C |
Jiuquan |
- |
- |
Success |
36 |
USA |
March 14 |
8:30 p.m. EDT |
Cargo Dragon CRS-27 |
Space station / cargo supply |
Falcon-9 (B1073.7) |
Cape Canaveral/KSC |
LC-39A |
- |
Success |
37 |
China |
March 15 |
19:41 Beijing Time |
Shiyan-19 |
- |
Chang Zheng-11 (Y11) |
Jiuquan |
43/95A |
- |
Success |
38 |
USA |
March 16 |
6:38:59 p.m. EDT |
Capella-9, Capella-10 |
Application / remote sensing |
Electron |
Wallops |
LC-2 |
- |
Success |
39 |
China |
March 17 |
16:33 Beijing Time |
Gaofen-13 (02) |
Imaging |
Chang Zheng-3B |
Xichang |
- |
- |
Success |
40 |
USA |
March 17 |
12:26 p.m. Pacific Time |
Starlink-2-8 (52 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 |
Vandenberg |
SLC-4E |
E |
Success |
41 |
USA |
March 17 |
7:38 p.m. EDT |
SES-18, SES-19 |
Application / communications |
Falcon-9 (B1069.6) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
42 |
China |
March 22 |
17:09 Beijing Time |
Tianmu-1-03, -04, -05, -06 |
Weather forcasting |
Kuaizhou-1A |
Jiuquan |
- |
- |
Success |
43 |
USA |
March 22 |
11:25 p.m. EDT |
Good Luck Have Fun 3D print |
Experimental |
Terran-1 |
Cape Canaveral |
LC-16 |
- |
Failure |
44 |
|
March 23 |
09:40 Moscow Time |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Success |
45 |
USA |
March 24 |
20:45 New Zealand Daylight Time |
Black Sky Global-19, Black Sky Global-5 |
Application / remote sensing |
Electron-KS (F35) |
Mahia |
LC-1B |
B |
Success |
46 |
USA |
March 24 |
11:43:10 a.m. EDT |
Starlink-5-5 (56 satellites) |
Application / Internet |
Falcon-9 (B1067) |
Cape Canaveral |
SLC-40 |
- |
Success |
47 |
India |
March 26 |
9:00:20 a.m. India Standard Time |
OneWeb (36 satellites: 581-616) |
Application / Internet |
GSLV Mk-3 (LVM3-M3) |
Sriharikota |
SLP |
2 |
In progress |
The 2023 space launch score card (as of
March 26, 2023
):
Falcon-9:
19 |
Chang Zheng-7A:
1 |
|
H-2A:
1 |
SSLV:
1 |
|
LauncherOne:
1* |
Gushenxing-1:
1 |
|
H-3:
1* |
GSLV Mk-3:
1 |
|
RS1:
1* |
Chang Zheng-2C:
3 |
|
|
|
|
Falcon Heavy:
1 |
Chang Zheng-2D:
2 |
|
|
|
|
Electron:
3 |
Chang Zheng-3B:
2 |
|
|
|
|
Terran-1:
1* |
Chang Zheng-4C:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Chang Zheng-11:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Kuaizhou-1A:
1 |
|
|
|
|
USA failed:
3 |
China failed:
0 |
Russia failed:
0 |
Japan failed:
1 |
India failed:
0 |
World failed:
4 |
|
Cape Canaveral:
16 |
Wenchang:
1 |
|
Tanegashima:
2 |
Sriharikota:
2 |
World sites:
14 |
Newquay:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Kodiak:
1 |
Xichang:
3 |
|
|
|
|
Vandenberg:
5 |
Taiyuan:
2 |
|
|
|
|
Wallops:
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Mahia:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Planned Russian space launches in 2023:
May 24: A Soyuz-2 rocket to launch the Progress MS-23 cargo ship from Baikonur to the International Space Station, ISS. As of 2014, two Progress missions were penciled for April 16, and July 1, 2023. By 2022, only one cargo flight was planned in the Summer of 2023.
Progress MS-23 was shipped from Korolev to Baikonur on June 29, 2022. It reached the space center on July 4, 2022.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Roskosmos announced that two Soyuz-2-1a rockets for launching Progress MS-23 and Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft had been shipped from the manufacturing site at RKTs Progress in Samara to the Baikonur launch site.
The launch campaign for the Progress MS-23 mission officially started in the processing building at Site 254 on March 17 with the inspection of the spacecraft and preparation for its electrical check, Roskosmos said.
Postponed from May 25, 20:34 Moscow Time: A Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat rocket to launch a Meteor-M No. 2-3 meteorological satellite and a cluster of secondary payloads from Pad 1S in Vostochny. (As of March 10, 2023, the launch was postponed from May 25, 2023, at 20:34 Moscow Time)
June 27: A Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat rocket to launch the Kondor-FKA No. 1 radar satellite from Pad 1S in Vostochny. The Fregat upper stage and the payload fairing for the mission were delivered to Vostochny around March 14, 2023. On March 22, Roskosmos announced that the Kondor-FKA spacecraft was packed and ready for shipment to the launch site within days.
August 23: A Soyuz-2 rocket to launch Progress MS-24 from Baikonur to the International Space Station, ISS.
September 15: A Soyuz-2-1a rocket to launch the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft (No. 755) with a crew of three from Baikonur to the International Space Station, ISS. One of its three crew members was expected to be a guest cosmonaut from Belarus, who would return to Earth with the crew of Soyuz MS-23 after a short visit to the station. His return seat aboard Soyuz MS-24 in early 2024 would be occupied by one member of the original Soyuz MS-23 crew. According to Roskosmos, on June 14, 2022, National Academy of Belarus submitted 29 candidates to Roskosmos for the guest-cosmonaut selection after screening more than 100 applicants. Two finalists expected to be females serving as a primary candidate and a backup. They were scheduled to be selected early in 2023.
By January 2023, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, originally slated to launch aboard Soyuz MS-23, were re-assigned to the Soyuz MS-24 mission, due to the need to use their spacecraft as a replacement vehicle for Soyuz MS-22, which was damaged by a coolant leak in December 2022. In turn, the flight of a guest cosmonaut from Belarus was shifted to the follow-on Soyuz mission in 2024.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Roskosmos announced that two Soyuz-2-1a rockets for launching Progress MS-23 and Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft had been shipped from the manufacturing site at RKTs Progress in Samara to the Baikonur launch site.
In early March 2023, plans surfaced to advance the launch of Soyuz MS-24 from September 15 to June 7, 2023, probably in order to provide an earlier landing of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, which could be affected by an issue that caused coolant leaks aboard Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 transport ships.
On March 11, Sergei Krikalev, Head of Piloted Space Flight at Roskosmos, confirmed to the Interfax news agency, that an earlier launch for the Soyuz MS-24 had been under consideration among several other scenarios. However, the meeting of the State Commission on March 24, 2023, kept the schedule as is for the time being, possibly because it would be impossible to sustain future crew rotations aboard the ISS with the newly proposed schedule.
The first phase of preparation for the Soyuz MS-24 mission started in the processing building at Site 254 on March 17, 2023, with a visual inspection, initial measurements and the connection of the ship to test equipment, RKK Energia said.
December 1: A Soyuz rocket to launch Progress MS-25 from Baikonur toward the International Space Station, ISS. The spacecraft was shipped from its assembly plant in Korolev to Baikonur on Jan. 20, 2023.
For missions in 2024 click here
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