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1974 in spaceflight

First spacecraft to fly by Mercury

On 29 March 1974 Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to fly by Mercury, that saw a spacecraft for the first and last time in the 20th century.

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Orbital launches

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

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload(⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January
17 January10:07¹	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk (LC-132/2)		VKS

		Kosmos 628 (Tsiklon)	MOM	LEO	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
19 January01:39²	Delta 2313			CCAFS (LC-17B)		UK Ministry of Defence

		Skynet 2A	UK MOD	Intended: GEO Achieved: LEO	Comms	25 January 1974	Failure
		Placed in incorrect orbit due to carrier rocket malfunction
24 January15:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk		MOM

		Kosmos 629 (Zenit-2M)	MOM	LEO	Recon	5 February 1974	Success
30 January11:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk		MOM

		Kosmos 630 (Zenit-4MK)	MOM	LEO	Aurora research	13 February 1974	Success
February
6 February00:34	Kosmos-3M			LC-132/2, Plesetsk		VKS

		Kosmos 631 (Tselina-O)	VKS	LEO	ELINT	3 October 1980	Successful
11 February13:48	Titan IIIE/Centaur			LC-41, CCAFS		NASA

		Boilerplate	NASA	Intended: GSO	Test carrier rocket	12 February 1974	Failure
		Sphinx	NASA	Intended: GSO	Plasma research	12 February 1974	Failure
		Upper stage turbopump malfunction
16 February05:00	M-3C			Kagoshima Space Center LP-M		ISAS

		MS T2 (Tansei 2)	ISAS	Highly elliptical orbit	Technology test	22 January 1983	Successful
		First flight of M-3C
18 February	Scout D-1			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS

		San Marco 4	CRS / NASA	Low Earth	Atmospheric	In orbit	Successful
March
April
May
June
July
3 July	Soyuz (11A511)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 14		LEO, docked to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	19 July 1974	Successful
12 July13:55	Feng Bao 1			Jiquan Satellite Launch Center, LA-2B (Site 138)

		JSSW		Intended: Low Earth	Unknown	12 July	Failure
		Carrier rocket lost attitude control.
16 July	Scout			Western Space and Missile Center at Vandenberg AFB		NASA

		Aeros 2	NASA
August
28 August10:08	Soyuz (11A511)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 15		LEO Plan: Dock to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	28 August 1974	Failure
		Failed to dock with Salyut 3
September
October
15 October07:47	Scout B-1			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS

		Ariel 5	SERC / NASA	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	14 March 1980	Successful
November
December
2 December15:00	Soyuz-U (11A511U)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 16		LEO	Crewed orbital flight	8 December 1974	Successful
		First successful crewed use of Soyuz-U launch vehicle
10 December07:11:01	Titan IIIE/Star-37			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		NASA

		Helios-A	NASA / DFVLR	Heliocentric	Solar probe	In orbit	Successful
		Achieved a closest approach to the Sun of 46.5 million km (0.31 AU) in February 1975, the closest approach achieved by an artificial satellite at that point; it was succeeded later by Helios-B.

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

Suborbital launches

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

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January-March
12 January19:12³	Skylark			El Arenosillo		NASA

		H-GR-58	DFVLR	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	12 Jan 1974	Successful
5 January01:45⁴	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	5 January 1974	Successful
8 January01:40⁵	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	8 January 1974	Successful
11 January22:00⁶	R-36			Baikonur (LC-162/36)		RVSN

		Dkh	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	12 January 1974	Successful
15 January20:00⁷	Black Brant VC			White Sands (LC-36)		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	15 January 1974	Successful
16 January02:00⁸	Kappa 9M			Kagoshima (LC-36)		ISAS

			ISAS	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere & Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January17:40⁹	Nike Apache			Wallops Island		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January18:13¹⁰	Super Arcas			Wallops Island		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January¹¹01:40	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
17 January02:37¹²	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	17 January 1974	Successful
19 January11:34	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	19 January 1974	Success
19 January	R-36M			LC-103, Baikonur		RVSN

		POR	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM Test	20 January 1974	Success
21 January02:39	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	21 January 1974	Success
21 January11:30	Skua 4			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	21 January 1974	Success
22 January02:41	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	22 January 1974	Success
22 January11:00	Lambda 3H			Area 3L, Kagoshima		ISAS

			ISAS	Sub-orbital	X-ray astronomy	22 January 1974	Success
22 January01:40	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Solar research	22 January 1974	Successful
22 January01:40	Minuteman I			LF-06, Vandenberg AFB		USAF

			USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	22 January 1974	Successful
23 January11:30	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	23 January 1974	Success
23 January12:50	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC

			NRC	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ionosphere/Aurora research	23 January 1974	Success
25 January11:30	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	25 January 1974	Success
25 January	UR-100N			Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN

			RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	25 January 1974	Success
26 January	Minuteman III			LF-25, Vandenberg AFB		USAF

		GT-24GB-1	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
26 January	UR-100N			Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN

		GT-24GB-1	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
27 January19:08	Nike Tomahawk			Andøya		NASA

		Ferdinand 35 (Polar 3)	NDRE	Sub-orbital	Aurora research	27 January 1974	Success
30 January	SSBS S2			BLB, Biscarosse		DMA

			DMA	Sub-orbital	Missile test	30 January 1974	Success
1 February06:30	JCR			Area T, Tanegashima		NASDA

			NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	1 February 1974	Successful
4 February14:40	Skylark 6AC			LA-2SL, Woomera		BAC

			BAC	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	4 February 1974	Successful
4 February	MR-UR-100			LC-177, Baikonur		RVSN

			RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	4 February 1974	Successful
6 February22:48	Black Brant IVB			Andoya		DLR

			DLR	Sub-orbital	Aurora research (DLR A-BB4-63 Auroral mission)	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3			Submarine, WTR		US Navy

			US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3			Submarine, WTR		US Navy

			US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
9 February02:10	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	9 February 1974	Successful
9 February06:30	LS-C			Area T, Tanegashima		NASDA

			NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	9 February 1974	Successful
April-June
July-September
11 July05:01¹³	K63D			Vladimirovka test range, near Kapustin Yar

		BOR-3 No.302		Suborbital	Re-entry test for Spiral program	11 July	Partial success
		Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane.¹⁴ After nominal flight, parachute system failed and the craft crashed. Apogee: 100 km
October-December

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

Deep Space Rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
5 February	Mariner 10	Flyby of Venus	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 5,768 kilometres (3,584 mi)
10 February	Mars 4	Flyby of Mars	Closest approach: 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) (orbiter mission)
12 February	Mars 5	Areocentric orbit injection
9 March	Mars 7	Lander missed mars by 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
12 March	Mars 6	Lander lost a few seconds before anticipated landing
29 March	Mariner 10	1st flyby of Mercury	Closest approach: 703 kilometres (437 mi)
2 June	Luna 22	Selenocentric orbit injection	Photographic mission
21 September	Mariner 10	2nd flyby of Mercury	Closest approach: 48,069 kilometres (29,869 mi)
2 November	Luna 23	Landed rough at Mare Crisium, the Moon	Sample return mission
3 December	Pioneer 11	Flyby of Jupiter	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 42,960 kilometres (26,690 mi)

EVAs

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
3 February15:19	5 hours19 minutes	20:38	Skylab SLM-3	Gerald P. Carr Edward Gibson	Retrieved the final film from the solar observatory and photographed Kohoutek using an electronographic camera.

Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
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.
"Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
"Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.

Generic references:

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Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

References

McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-14". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/R-14.html ↩
"British Satellite Launched". The News-Press. Associated Press. 19 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-press-british-satellite-launched/122251607/ ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Raven". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Raven.html ↩
"Scientits See Comet From Plane". The Daily Mail. Baltimore. Associated Press. 5 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-mail-scientits-see-comet-from/122250738/ ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Nike.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-36". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/R-36.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: BB5". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/BB5.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: K420". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/K420.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Nike.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Arcas". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Arcas.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Nike.html ↩
McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/launch/Nike.html ↩
Wade, Mark. "K63D". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024. http://www.astronautix.com/k/k63d.html ↩
Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "BOR-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 August 2024. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bor-3.htm ↩

Orbital launches

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Suborbital launches

January-March

April-June

July-September

October-December

Deep Space Rendezvous

EVAs

Footnotes

References