1973 in spaceflight
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| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
January | |||||||
| 8 January 06:55 |
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| MOM | Selenocentric | Lunar rover | 15 January 1973 (At Moon) | Successful | |||
| 11 January 10:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 24 January 1973 | Successful | |||
| 20 January 03:36 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | ELINT | 15 June 1980 | Successful | |||
| 24 January 11:44 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 31 July 1973 | Successful | |||
| 26 January 11:44 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Boilerplate | In orbit | Successful | |||
February | |||||||
| 1 February 08:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 13 February 1973 | Successful | |||
| 3 February 05:48 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 23 October 1977 | Successful | |||
| 8 February 13:15 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 21 February 1973 | Successful | |||
| 15 February 01:11 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Solar flare detection | 31 December 1976 | Successful | |||
| 26 February 04:37 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | ELINT | 29 June 1980 | Successful | |||
March | |||||||
| 1 March 12:40 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 11 March 1973 | Successful | |||
| 6 March 09:20 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 20 March 1973 | Successful | |||
| 6 March 09:30 |
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| US Air Force | Geosynchronous | ELINT | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 9 March 21:00 |
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| NRO / CIA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 17 March 1973 | Successful | |||
| 20 March 11:20 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Weather | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 22 March 10:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 3 April 1973 | Successful | |||
| MOM | Low Earth | Technology | 9 April 1973 | Successful | |||
April | |||||||
| 3 April 09:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Space Station | 28 May 1973 | Spacecraft failure | |||
| Depressurised before crew launch could occur | |||||||
| 5 April 11:11 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communications | 6 January 1979 | Successful | |||
| 6 April 02:11 |
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| NASA | Heliocentric to Solar escape | Planetary probe | In orbit | Successful | |||
| First spacecraft to visit Saturn Maiden flight of Atlas SLV-3D Centaur rocket. | |||||||
| 12 April 11:49 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 11 November 1973 | Successful | |||
| 19 April 08:59 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 7 May 1973 | Successful | |||
| Destroyed in orbit after deactivation | |||||||
| 19 April 10:19 |
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| Interkosmos | Low Earth | Solar radiation detection | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 20 April 23:47 |
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| Telesat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 25 April | |||||||
| MO SSSR | Intended: Low Earth | Ocean surveillance | 25 April 1973 | Failure | |||
| Engine failure | |||||||
| 25 April 10:45 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 7 May 1973 | Successful | |||
| MOM | Low Earth | Scientific research | 9 May 1973 | Successful | |||
May | |||||||
| 5 May 07:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 14 May 1973 | Successful | |||
| 11 May 00:20 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Space Station | 22 May 1973 | Failure | |||
| Loss of control in orbit | |||||||
| 14 May 17:30 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA | Low Earth | Space Station | 11 July 1979 | Successful | |||
| First American Space Station Last flight of the Saturn V rocket Damaged during launch, but repaired | |||||||
| 16 May 16:40 |
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| NRO / US Air Force | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 13 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| 17 May 13:19 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 22 December 1973 | Successful | |||
| 18 May 11:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 23 May 1973 | Successful | |||
| Maiden flight of Soyuz-U carrier rocket | |||||||
| 21 May 08:47 |
SEREB | ||||||
| CNES | Intended:Low Earth | Technology | 21 May 1973 | Failure | |||
| CNES | Intended:Low Earth | Technology | |||||
| Final flight of Diamant-B Fairing failed to separate | |||||||
| 23 May 10:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 5 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| 24 May 02:00[1] |
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| Suborbital | Re-entry test for Spiral program | 22 May | Failure | ||||
| Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane.[2] Payload fairing failed at about 5 km altitude. Apogee: 20 km | |||||||
| 25 May | |||||||
| RVSN | Intended: Low Earth | Navigation | 25 May 1973 | Failure | |||
| Failed to reach orbit | |||||||
| 25 May 13:00 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA | Low Earth, docked to Skylab | Crewed orbital flight | 22 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with 3 astronauts, first crewed flight to Skylab | |||||||
| 25 May 13:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 6 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| MOM | Low Earth | Gamma ray telescope | 20 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| 29 May 10:16 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Weather | In orbit | Successful | |||
June | |||||||
| 5 June 11:26 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | 7 January 1974 | Successful | ||||
| 6 June 11:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 18 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| 8 June 15:50 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 10 June 10:10 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 23 June 1973 | Successful | |||
| 10 June 14:13 |
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| NASA | Selenocentric | Astronomy | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 12 June 07:14 |
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| US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Missile early warning | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 15 June 06:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Test spacecraft | 17 June 1973 06:01 | Successful | |||
| 20 June 06:16 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 21 June 13:29 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 3 July 1973 | Successful | |||
| 26 June 01:22 |
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| RVSN | Intended: Low Earth | SIGINT | Never left ground | Failure | |||
| Exploded on pad after fuelling error; 9 killed | |||||||
| 26 June 17:00 |
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| US Air Force | Intended: Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 26 June 1973 | Failure | |||
| Agena upper stage malfunction; Failed to reach orbit | |||||||
| 27 June 11:50 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 9 July 1973 | Successful | |||
July | |||||||
| 4 July | |||||||
| MOM | Intended: Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 4 July 1973 | Failure | |||
| 11 July 09:58 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 5 August 1978 | Successful | |||
| 13 July 20:24 |
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| NRO / CIA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 12 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 16 July 17:10 |
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| NASA / NOAA | Intended: Low Earth | Weather | 16 July 1973 | Failure | |||
| Second stage malfunction | |||||||
| 21 July 19:30 |
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| MOM | Intended: Areocentric Actual: Heliocentric |
Mars orbiter | In orbit | Failure | |||
| Retro-rockets failed, did not enter Martian orbit | |||||||
| 25 July 11:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 7 August 1973 | Successful | |||
| 25 July 18:55 |
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| MOM | Areocentric | Mars orbiter | In orbit | Partial Failure | |||
| Computer malfunction a few days after entering Martian orbit | |||||||
| 28 July 11:10 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA | Low Earth, docked to Skylab | Crewed orbital flight | 25 September 1973 | Partial Failure | |||
| Crewed flight with 3 astronauts. Thruster malfunction, nearly required rescue mission | |||||||
August | |||||||
| 1 August 14:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 13 August 1973 | Successful | |||
| 5 August 17:45 |
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| MOM | Heliocentric | Mars lander | 12 March 1974 | Failure | |||
| Disappeared shortly before landing | |||||||
| 8 August 17:00 |
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| MOM | Heliocentric | Mars lander | In orbit | Failure | |||
| Missed planet due to premature separation | |||||||
| 17 August 04:49 |
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| US Air Force | Low Earth | Weather | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 21 August 12:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 3 September 1973 | Successful | |||
| 21 August 16:07 |
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| NRO / US Air Force | Molniya | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 22 August 11:24 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | 1 April 1974 | Successful | ||||
| 23 August 22:57 |
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| Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 24 August 10:59 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 6 September 1973 | Successful | |||
| 28 August 10:08 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | ELINT | 5 September 1980 | Successful | |||
| 30 August 00:07 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 5 December 1979 | Successful | |||
| 30 August 10:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 12 September 1973 | Successful | |||
September | |||||||
| 6 September 10:40 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 20 September 1973 | Successful | |||
| 8 September 01:50 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | In orbit | Successful | ||||
| 14 September 00:31 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 18 September | |||||||
| Intended: Low Earth | Unknown | 18 September | Failure | ||||
| First orbital launch of Feng Bao 1. | |||||||
| 21 September 13:05 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 4 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 27 September 12:18 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 29 September 1973 | Successful | |||
| Return-to-flight after Soyuz 11 incident | |||||||
| 27 September 17:15 |
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| Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 29 October 1973 | Successful | ||||
October | |||||||
| 2 October 21:46 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 3 October 13:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 9 October 1973 | Failure | |||
| RVSN | Low Earth | Magnetosphere | 9 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| Parachute failed to deploy during recovery | |||||||
| 6 October 12:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 12 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 10 October 10:45 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 16 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 15 October 08:45 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 28 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 16 October 12:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 23 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 16 October 14:00 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | 15 August 1984 | Successful | ||||
| 19 October 10:26 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 8 July 1983 | Successful | |||
| 20 October 10:14 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 29 October 1973 | Successful | |||
| 26 October 02:26 |
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| NASA | High Earth | Magnetosphere | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 27 October 11:09 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 9 November 1973 | Successful | |||
| 29 October 14:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | SIGINT | 19 January 1992 | Successful | |||
| 30 October 00:37 |
Vought | ||||||
| US Navy | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Final flight of Scout A rocket | |||||||
| 30 October 19:00 |
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| Interkosmos | Low Earth | Geophysics | 1 July 1977 | Successful | |||
| 31 October 18:24 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Biology | 22 November 1973 | Successful | |||
November | |||||||
| 2 November 13:01 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Missile Early Warning | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 3 November 05:45 |
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| NASA | Heliocentric | Planetary probe | 24 March 1975 | Successful | |||
| Flybys of Venus and Mercury First spacecraft to visit Mercury | |||||||
| 6 November 17:02 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA / NOAA | Low Earth | Weather | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Final flight of Delta 0100 series | |||||||
| 10 November 12:38 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 22 November 1973 | Successful | |||
| 10 November 20:09 |
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| NRO / CIA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 13 March 1974 | Successful | |||
| NRO / US Air Force | Low Earth | SIGINT | 26 December 1978 | Successful | |||
| NRO / US Air Force | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 14 November 20:40 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 26 May 1979 | Successful | |||
| 16 November 14:01 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA | Low Earth, docked to Skylab | Crewed orbital flight | 8 February 1974 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with 3 astronauts. Final flight of Skylab programme | |||||||
| 20 November 12:29 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 10 July 1974 | Successful | |||
| 21 November 10:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 4 December 1973 | Successful | |||
| 27 November 00:08 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | SIGINT / ELINT | 15 September 1980 | Successful | |||
| 28 November 09:29 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 19 June 1974 | Successful | |||
| 28 November 11:43 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 11 December 1973 | Successful | |||
| 30 November 05:20 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Test spacecraft | 29 January 1974 05:29 | Successful | |||
| 30 November 13:08 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 9 June 1985 | Successful | |||
December | |||||||
| 4 December 15:00 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 13 December 11:10 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | 17 December 1975 | Successful | ||||
| 13 December 23:57 |
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| US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communication | 1 August 1982 | Successful | |||
| US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communication | 20 December 1993 | Successful | |||
| 16 December 06:18 |
NASA | ||||||
| NASA | Low Earth / Medium Earth | Atmospheric | 12 December 1978 | Successful | |||
| 17 December 12:00 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 28 December 1973 | Successful | |||
| 18 December 11:55 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 26 December 1973 | Successful | |||
| Orion 2 Astrophysics / Astronomy | |||||||
| 19 December 09:43 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Communication | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 21 December 12:30 |
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| MOM | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 3 January 1974 | Successful | |||
| 25 December 11:17 |
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| MOM | Molniya | Communication | 24 November 1985 | Successful | |||
| 26 December 16:30 |
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| MO SSSR / CNES | Low Earth | Auroral research | 30 April 1974 | Successful | |||
| 27 December 20:19 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Ocean Reconnaissance | 22 March 1974 | Successful | |||
| 29 December 04:12 |
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| MO SSSR | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||