1953 in spaceflight

The year 1953 saw the rockoon join the stable of sounding rockets capable of reaching beyond the 100 kilometres (62 mi) boundary of space (as defined by the World Air Sports Federation).^[1] Employed by both the University of Iowa and the Naval Research Laboratory, 22 total were launched from the decks of the USS Staten Island and the USCGC Eastwind this year. All branches of the United States military continued their program of Aerobee sounding rocket launches, a total of 23 were launched throughout 1953. The Soviet Union launched no sounding rockets in 1953; however, the Soviet Union did conduct several series of missile test launches.

1953 in spaceflight

Launch of a Deacon Rockoon; several such launches occurred in 1953
Rockets
Maiden flights	R-5 Pobeda
Retirements	Aerobee XASR-SC-2
v t e

1953 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ← 1952 1954 →

Both the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics continued their development of ballistic missiles: the United States Air Force with its Atlas ICBM, the United States Army with its Redstone SRBM, the Soviet OKB-1 with its R-5 IRBM, and Soviet Factory 586 with its R-12 IRBM. None entered active service during 1953.

The first meeting of the Comité Speciale de l'Année Géophysique Internationale (CSAGI), a special committee of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), began preliminary coordination of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), scheduled for 1957–58.

Space exploration highlights

US Navy

On 25 May 1953, Viking 10, originally planned to be the last of the Naval Research Laboratory-built Viking rockets, arrived at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. A successful static firing on 18 June cleared the way for a 30 June launch date, a schedule that had been made months prior, before the rocket had even left the Glenn L. Martin Company plant where it had been built. At the moment of liftoff, the tail of Viking 10 exploded, setting the rocket afire. Water was immediately flooded into the rocket's base in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but flames continued to burn in the East Quadrant of the firing platform. Half an hour after launch, two of the launch team under manager Milton Rosen were dispatched to put out the fire to salvage what remained of the rocket.

Though successful, these efforts were then threatened by a slow leak in the propellant tank. The vacuum created by the departing fuel was causing the tank to dimple with the danger of implosion that would cause the rocket to collapse. Lieutenant Joseph Pitts, a member of the launch team, shot a rifle round into the tank, equalizing the pressure and saving the rocket. Three hours after the attempted launch, the last of the alcohol propellant had been drained from Viking 10. The launch team was able to salvage the instrument package of cameras, including X-ray detectors, cosmic ray emulsions, and a radio-frequency mass-spectrometer, valued at tens of thousands of dollars, although there was concern that the rocket was irreparable.

A thorough investigation of the explosion began in July, but a conclusive cause could not be determined. In a reported presented in September, Milton Rosen noted that a similar occurrence had not happened in more than 100 prior tests of the Viking motor. It was decided to rebuild Viking 10, and a program for closer monitoring of potential fail points was implemented for the next launch, scheduled for 1954.^[2]

American civilian efforts

After the successful field tests of balloon-launched rockets (rockoons) the previous year, a University of Iowa physics team embarked on a second rockoon expedition aboard the USS Staten Island in summer 1953 with improved equipment. The new Skyhook balloons increased the rocket firing altitude from 40,000 feet (12,000 m) to 50,000 feet (15,000 m) affording a peak rocket altitude of 57 miles (92 km). The total payload weights were increased by 2 pounds (0.91 kg) to 30 pounds (14 kg). Between 18 July and 4 September, the Iowa team launched 16 rockoons from a variety of latitudes, 7 of which reached useful altitudes and returned usable data. An NRL team aboard the same vessel launched six rockoons, of which half were complete successes. Data from these launches provided the first evidence of radiation associated with aurora borealis.^[3]

Spacecraft development

US Air Force

Development of the Atlas, the nation's first ICBM proceeded slowly throughout 1953. Without firm figures as to the weight and dimension of a thermonuclear device (the US tested its first H-bomb in November 1952, the USSR announced their first successful test in August 1953), it was not known if the Atlas could deliver an atomic bomb payload.

In spring 1953, Colonel Bernard Schriever, an assistant in development planning at The Pentagon and a proponent of long-ranged ballistic missiles, pushed to obtain accurate characteristics of a nuclear payload. Trevor Gardner, special assistant for research and development to the new Secretary of the Air Force, Harold Talbott, responded by organizing the Strategic Missiles Evaluation Committee or "Teapot Committee" comprising eleven of the top scientists and engineers in the country. Their goal would be to determine if a nuclear payload could be made small enough to fit on the Atlas rocket. If so, the importance of the committee's members would allow such findings to accelerate Atlas development. By October, committee member John von Neumann had completed his report on weights and figures indicating that smaller, more powerful warheads within Atlas' launch capability would soon be available. Pending test verification of von Neumann's theoretical results, the Air Force began revising the Atlas design for the projected nuclear payload.^[4]

US Army

The first production Redstone, a surface-to-surface missile capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads to a range of 200 miles (320 km), was delivered on 27 July 1953. A Redstone R&D missile was flight tested on 20 August 1953.^[5]

Soviet Union

The R-5 missile, able to carry the same 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) payload as the R-1 and R-2 but over a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi)^[6]: 242 underwent its first series of eight test launches from 15 March to 23 May 1953. After two failures, the third rocket, launched 2 April, marked the beginning of streak of success. Seven more missiles were launched between 30 October and December, all of which reached their targets. A final series of launches, designed to test modifications made in response to issues with the first series, was scheduled for mid-1954.^{[7]: 100–101}

In his brief tenure as Director of NII-88, responsible for the production of all Soviet ballistic missiles, engineer Mikhail Yangel chafed professionally with OKB-1 (formerly NII-88 Section 3) Chief Designer, Sergei Korolev, whom he had previously reported to as Deputy Chief Designer of the bureau. To relieve this tension, on 4 October 1953, Yangel was demoted to NII-88 Chief Engineer and assigned responsibility for production of missiles at State Union Plant No. 586 in Dnepropetrovsk. This plant under, Vasiliy Budnik, had been tasked on 13 February 1953 with developing the R-12 missile, possessing a performance similar to that of the R-5 (range of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) vs. 1,200 kilometres (750 mi)) but using storable propellants so that it could be stored at firing readiness for extended periods of time.^{[7]: 113–114}

At the end of 1953, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, it was determined that a transportable thermonuclear device be developed (as opposed to the one detonated in August, which was stationary). It was further determined that an ICBM be developed to carry said bomb. As no ICBMs existed at the time, in reality or even in planning, development of a nuclear capable R-5 (dubbed the "R-5M") was ordered.^[6]: 275

The International Geophysical Year

July 1953 saw the first meeting of the Comité Speciale de l'Année Géophysique Internationale (CSAGI), a special committee of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) tasked with coordinating the International Geophysical Year (IGY), set for 1957–58. This international effort would undertake simultaneous observations of geophysical phenomena over the entire surface of the Earth including such farflung regions as the Arctic and Antarctica. At its first meeting, CSAGI invited the world's nations to participate in the IGY. Response from most prominent nations was quick. The National Research Council of the US National Academy of Sciences set up a US National Committee for the IGY, with Joseph Kaplan serving as chairman and Hugh Odishaw as executive director. The only key nation slow in committing to the IGY was Soviet Union, which did not signal its involvement until spring 1955.^{[3]: 69–70}

Launches

← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

February

February launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
10 February 21:09	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 12	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Cosmic Radiation	10 February	Successful
		Apogee: 137.0 kilometres (85.1 mi)[8]: 305
12 February 07:09	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 13	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Cosmic Radiation	12 February	Successful
		Apogee: 137.3 kilometres (85.3 mi)[8]: 305
18 February 06:50	Aerobee XASR-SC-2		SC 27	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	18 February	Successful
		Apogee: 108.6 kilometres (67.5 mi)[8]: 240–241
18 February 17:42	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 34	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC	Suborbital	Rocket performance test	18 February	Successful
		Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi)[8]: 111–112

March

March launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 March	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 March	Successful[9]
5 March	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	5 March	Successful[9]
15 March	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	15 March	Partial failure [7]
		Maiden flight of R-5[10]
18 March	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	18 March	Partial failure [10][7]
19 March	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	19 March	Successful[9]

April

April launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
2 April	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	2 April	Successful
		First successful R-5 launch[10]
8 April	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	8 April	Partial failure[10]
14 April 15:47	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 35	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC	Suborbital	Rocket performance test	14 April	Successful
		Apogee: 122 kilometres (76 mi)[8]: 113–114
19 April	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	19 April	Successful[10]
23 April 19:33	Aerobee XASR-SC-2		SC 30	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Sphere	SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy	23 April	Successful
		Apogee: 123.3 kilometres (76.6 mi)[8]: 246–247
24 April 10:19	Aerobee XASR-SC-2		SC 28	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	24 April	Successful
		Apogee: 108 kilometres (67 mi)[8]: 242–243
24 April	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	24 April	Partial failure[10]

May

May launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
11 May	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	11 May	Successful[9]
13 May	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	13 May	Successful[10]
20 May 14:04	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 36	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Airglow 3	AFCRC	Suborbital	Sky Brightness	20 May	Successful
		Apogee: 114 kilometres (71 mi)[8]: 115–116
21 May 15:57	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 37	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Airglow 4	AFCRC	Suborbital	Sky Brightness	21 May	Successful
		Apogee: 114 kilometres (71 mi)[8]: 117–118
23 May	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	23 May	Successful
		Contained 4 supplementary combat compartments; end of 1st set of experimental launches[10]

June

June launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
26 June 19:10	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 38	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 3	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	26 June	Successful
		Apogee: 135 kilometres (84 mi)[8]: 119–120
30 June	Viking (second model)			White Sands LC-33		US Navy
		Viking 10	NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Ionospheric	30 June	Launch Failure
		Apogee: 0 kilometres (0 mi), tail exploded on launch pad; rocket rebuilt and launched successfully on 7 May 1954

July

July launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 July 17:52	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 39	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 4	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	1 July	Successful
		Apogee: 138 kilometres (86 mi)[8]: 121–122
6 July	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	6 July	Successful[9]
14 July 15:30	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 40	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Rhode Island	Suborbital	Solar UV	14 July	Successful
		Apogee: 103 kilometres (64 mi)[8]: 123–124
18 July 22:27	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 8	USS Staten Island, Atlantic Ocean, 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Boston		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	18 July	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 22.0 kilometres (13.7 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 313
19 July 10:30	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 9	USS Staten Island, Atlantic Ocean, near Nova Scotia		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	19 July	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 22.2 kilometres (13.8 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 313
19 July 15:53	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 10	USS Staten Island, Atlantic Ocean, near Nova Scotia		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	19 July	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 22.2 kilometres (13.8 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 313
19 July 21:57	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 11	USS Staten Island, Atlantic Ocean, near Nova Scotia		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	19 July	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 23.2 kilometres (14.4 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 314
22 July 09:47	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 41	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	23 July	Successful
		Apogee: 95.6 kilometres (59.4 mi)[8]: 125–126
24 July 16:40	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 12	USS Staten Island, Labrador Sea		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	24 July	Launch failure
		Balloon cut down, rocket failed to fire[8]: 314
28 July 09:41	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 13	USS Staten Island, southern Davis Strait, near Baffin Island		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	28 July	Successful
		Apogee: 88.4 kilometres (54.9 mi)[8]: 314

August

August launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
3 August 18:28	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 14	USS Staten Island, Frobisher Bay		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	3 August	Successful
		Apogee uncertain[8]: 314
5 August 21:54	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 1	USS Staten Island, southern Davis Strait, near Baffin Island		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	5 August
		Apogee: 79.2 kilometres (49.2 mi);[8]: 311  first of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
6 August 15:07	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 15	USS Staten Island, Davis Strait		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	6 August	Successful
		Apogee: 65.5 kilometres (40.7 mi)[8]: 314
6 August 18:40	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 16	USS Staten Island, Davis Strait		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	6 August	Successful
		Apogee uncertain[8]: 315
8 August 15:09	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 2	USS Staten Island, Baffin Bay		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	8 August
		Apogee uncertain;[8]: 311  second of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
9 August 05:54	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 17	USS Staten Island, Baffin Bay		US Navy
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	9 August	Successful
		Apogee: 99.1 kilometres (61.6 mi)[8]: 315
9 August 19:15	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 3	USS Staten Island, Baffin Bay		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	9 August	Launch failure
		Apogee: 38.1 kilometres (23.7 mi);[8]: 311  third of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
11 August 17:09	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 4	USS Staten Island, Baffin Bay		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	11 August
		Apogee: 80.8 kilometres (50.2 mi);[8]: 311  fourth of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
30 August 14:00	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 18	USCGC Eastwind, Labrador Sea		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	30 August	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 315
30 August 16:20	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 19	USCGC Eastwind, Labrador Sea		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	30 August	Launch failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 19.2 kilometres (11.9 mi), rocket failed to fire[8]: 315
30 August 20:46	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 20	USCGC Eastwind, Labrador Sea		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	30 August	Successful
		Apogee: 103.6 kilometres (64.4 mi)[8]: 315

September

September launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 September 05:10	Aerobee XASR-SC-2		SC 32	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	1 September	Successful
		Apogee: 107.3 kilometres (66.7 mi), final flight of the Aerobee XASR-SC-2[8]: 251–252
3 September 09:50	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 21	USCGC Eastwind, Atlantic Ocean, east of Nova Scotia		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	3 September	Successful
		Apogee uncertain[8]: 316
3 September 11:51	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 22	USCGC Eastwind, Atlantic Ocean, east of Nova Scotia		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	3 September	Successful
		Apogee: 103.6 kilometres (64.4 mi)[8]: 316
3 September 14:05	Deacon Rockoon		SUI 23	USCGC Eastwind, Atlantic Ocean, east of Nova Scotia		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	3 September	Successful
		Apogee: 99.1 kilometres (61.6 mi)[8]: 316
4 September 03:59	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 5	USCGC Eastwind, Atlantic Ocean, east of Nova Scotia		US Coast Guard
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	4 September
		Apogee: 67.1 kilometres (41.7 mi);[8]: 311  fifth of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
4 September 15:51	Deacon Rockoon		NRL Rockoon 6	USCGC Eastwind, Atlantic Ocean, near Nova Scotia		US Coast Guard
			NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	4 September	Launch Failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi), rocket failed to fire;[8]: 311  sixth of six 1953 NRL flights, three of which reached altitude and returned data[3]
5 September 05:35	Aerobee XASR-SC-1		SC 33	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	5 September	Successful
		Apogee: 114 kilometres (71 mi)[8]: 253–254
15 September 15:02	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 42	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Airglow 5	AFCRC	Suborbital	Sky Brightness	15 September	Launch failure
		Apogee: 32 kilometres (20 mi), early cut-off due to a thrust chamber burn-through[8]: 127–128
29 September 20:50	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		SC 31	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Sphere	SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy	29 September	Successful
		Apogee: 58 kilometres (36 mi)[8]: 249–250

October

October launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 October	Successful[11]
1 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 October	Successful[11]
1 October	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 October	Successful[12]
1 October	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 October	Successful[12]
7 October 17:00	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 43	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Colorado	Suborbital	Solar UV	7 October	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)[8]: 129–130
10 October	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	10 October	Successful[12]
16 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	16 October	Successful[9]
17 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	17 October	Successful[9]
19 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	19 October	Successful[9]
20 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	20 October	Successful[9]
24 October	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	24 October	Successful[12]
26 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	26 October	Successful[9]
27 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	27 October	Successful[9]
28 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	28 October	Successful[9]
28 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	28 October	Successful[9]
30 October	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful
		Beginning of 2nd stage of experimental launches[10]

November

November launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 November	Successful[11]
1 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 November	Successful[11]
1 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 November	Successful[11]
1 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	1 November	Successful[11]
2 November 18:32	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 44	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 5	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	2 November	Successful
		Apogee: 121 kilometres (75 mi)[8]: 131–132
3 November	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	3 November	Successful[10]
3 November 18:15	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 45	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 6	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	3 November	Successful
		Apogee: 121.5 kilometres (75.5 mi)[8]: 133–134
12 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	12 November	Successful[9]
15 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	15 November	Successful[11]
15 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	15 November	Successful[9]
17 November	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	17 November	Successful[10]
19 November 22:40	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 14	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Solar X-Ray / Solar UV / Aeronomy	19 November	Successful
		Apogee: 112 kilometres (70 mi)[13]
21 November	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful[10]
24 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	24 November	Successful[9]
25 November 15:46	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 15	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Solar X-Ray / Solar UV / Aeronomy	25 November	Successful
		Apogee: 95 kilometres (59 mi)[13]
26 November	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	26 November	Partial failure[10]

December

December launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 December 15:30	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 16	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Solar X-Ray / Solar UV / Aeronomy	1 December	Successful
		Apogee: 129 kilometres (80 mi)[13]
5 December	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	5 December	Successful[10]
9 December	R-5			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	9 December	Successful
		End of second experimental flight series[10]

← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

Suborbital launch summary

By country

Launches by country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
	United States	46	34	12	0
	Soviet Union	42	37	0	5

By rocket

6

12

18

24

30

Viking

Aerobee

Deacon rockoon

R-1

R-2

R-5

•   Viking (second model)
•   Aerobee RTV-N-10
•   Aerobee XASR-SC-1
•   Aerobee XASR-SC-2
•   Aerobee RTV-A-1a
•   Deacon rockoon (SUI)
•   Deacon rockoon (NRL)
•   R-1
•   R-2
•   R-5

Launches by rocket

Rocket	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Viking (second model)	United States	1	0	1	0
Aerobee RTV-N-10	United States	5	5	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-1	United States	1	1	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-2	United States	4	4	0	0	Retired
Aerobee RTV-A-1a	United States	13	12	1	0
Deacon rockoon (SUI)	United States	16	9	7	0
Deacon rockoon (NRL)	United States	6	3	3	0
R-1	Soviet Union	23	23	0	0
R-2	Soviet Union	4	4	0	0
R-5	Soviet Union	15	10	0	5	Maiden flight

See also

• Timeline of spaceflight

References

• Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
• Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
• Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.^{[dead link]}
• Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
• Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
• McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
• Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
• Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
• Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
• Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
• "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
• "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.^{[dead link]}
• "Space Information Center". JAXA.^{[dead link]}
• "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).

Generic references:

• view
• talk
• edit

Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

1. Voosen, Paul (24 July 2018). "Outer space may have just gotten a bit closer". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aau8822. S2CID 126154837. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
2. Milton W. Rosen (1955). The Viking Rocket Story. New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 204–221. OCLC 317524549.
3. George Ludwig (2011). Opening Space Research. Washington D.C.: geopress. pp. 18–32. OCLC 845256256.
4. John L. Chapman (1960). Atlas The Story of a Missile. New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 71–73. OCLC 492591218.
5. "Installation History 1953 – 1955". U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command. 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
6. Boris Chertok (June 2006). Rockets and People, Volume II: Creating a Rocket Industry. Washington D.C.: NASA. OCLC 946818748.
7. Asif A. Siddiqi. Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974 (PDF). Washington D.C.: NASA. OCLC 1001823253. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
8. Charles P. Smith Jr. (April 1958). Naval Research Laboratory Report No. 4276: Upper Atmosphere Research Report No. XXI, Summary of Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Firings (pdf). Washington D.C.: Naval Research Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
9. Wade, Mark. "R-1 8A11". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
10. Asif Siddiqi (2021). "R-5 Launches 1953-1959". Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
11. Wade, Mark. "R-1". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
12. Wade, Mark. "R-2". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
13. McDowell, Jonathan C. "General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects, Launches, Aerobee". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2022.