1991 in spaceflight

For launches in the first half of the year, see 1991 in spaceflight (January–June), for launches in the second half, see 1991 in spaceflight (July–December).

This was the final year of the Soviet Union, and thus the end of the Cold War competition between the two space superpowers. The number of launches subsequently declined in the 1990s, and 2018 was the first year since 1990 to have more than 100 orbital launches.

1991 in spaceflight

The crew of STS-37 deploys the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Orbital launches
First	8 January
Last	28 December
Total	91
Successes	86
Failures	3
Partial failures	2
National firsts
Space traveller	Austria  United Kingdom
Rockets
Maiden flights	Ariane 4 44P Atlas II
Retirements	Vostok-2M
Crewed flights
Orbital	8
Total travellers	36
v t e

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

Deep Space Rendezvous in 1991

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
29 October	Galileo	First flyby of asteroid - 951 Gaspra	Closest approach: 1,600 kilometres (990 mi)

EVAs

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
7 January 17:03	5 hours 18 minutes	22:21	Mir EO-8	Viktor Afanasyev Musa Manarov	Successfully repaired the damaged hatch on the Kvant-2 airlock and also positioned equipment for installation in a later EVA.
23 January 10:59	5 hours 33 minutes	16:32	Mir EO-8 Kvant-2	Viktor Afanasyev Musa Manarov	Installed the new Stela boom on the base block.
26 January 09:00	6 hours 20 minutes	15:20	Mir EO-8 Kvant-2	Viktor Afanasyev Musa Manarov	Installed supports on Kvant-1 to hold the solar arrays installed on Kristall.
7 April	4 hours 26 minutes		STS-37 Atlantis	Jerry L. Ross Jerome Apt	When the boom antenna on the GRO satellite would not extend, Ross and Apt exited the shuttle on an unplanned EVA to extend the boom to prepare for final release into orbit.[1]
8 April	5 hours 47 minutes		STS-37 Atlantis	Jerry L. Ross Jerome Apt	Installed and tested several monorail-type mobility tools for future space station construction.[1]
25 April 20:29	3 hours 34 minutes	26 April 00:03	Mir EO-8 Kvant-2	Viktor Afanasyev Musa Manarov	Inspected and filmed the Kurs antenna on Kvant-1, finding that one of the antenna dishes was missing and then re-installed the camera on Kvant-2 that was removed and repaired.
24 June 21:11	4 hours 58 minutes	25 June 02:09	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Replaced the damaged Kurs antenna on Kvant-1 and performed assembly tests on an experimental structural joint.
28 June 19:02	3 hours 24 minutes	22:26	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Attached TREK, a type of cosmic ray detector developed at the University of California, to the outside of Mir.[2]
15 July 11:45	5 hours 56 minutes	17:41	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Moved ladders and the base platform parts for the Sofora girder using the Strela boom from the airlock at Kvant-2 and installed them on Kvant-1.
19 July 11:10	5 hours 28 minutes	16:38	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Started construction of the Sofora girder by installing three of 20 structural pieces.
23 July 09:15	5 hours 42 minutes	14:57	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Continued the construction of the Sofora girder by installing eleven more of the 20 girder pieces.
27 July 08:44	6 hours 49 minutes	15:33	Mir EO-9 Kvant-2	Anatoly Artsebarsky Sergei Krikalyov	Completed assembly of the Sofora girder and mounted a small Russian flag on top of the structure. Artsebarsky had trouble with fogging on his visor, due to overexertion, but Krikalyov was able to lead him back to the airlock.

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:

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Footnotes

1. "Space Shuttle Flight 39 (STS-37)". Space Shuttle Video Library. National Space Society. 2008. Archived from the original on 27 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
2. Price, P. B.; Lowder, D. M.; Westphal, A. J.; Wilkes, R. D.; Brennen, R. A.; Afanasyev, V. G.; Akimov, V. V.; Rodin, V. G.; Baryshnikov, G. K.; Gorshkov, L. A.; Shvets, N. I.; Tsigankov, O. S. (1992). "TREK: A cosmic-ray experiment on the Russian space station MIR". Astrophysics and Space Science. 197 (1): 121–143. Bibcode:1992Ap&SS.197..121P. doi:10.1007/BF00645077. S2CID 122308810.