1990 in spaceflight

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First1 January

Last27 December

Total121

Successes114

1990 in spaceflight
Orbital launches
The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope
First	1 January
Last	27 December
Total	121
Successes	114
Failures	5
Partial failures	2
National firsts
Satellite	Pakistan
Space traveller	Japan
Rockets
Maiden flights	Ariane 4 40 Ariane 4 42P Atlas I Commercial Titan III Delta II 6920 Delta II 7925 Long March 2E Pegasus
Retirements	Delta 4925 Long March 4A
Crewed flights
Orbital	9
Total travellers	39
v t e

1990 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ← 1989 1991 →

The following is an outline of 1990 in spaceflight.

STS-31 was the 35th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the tenth flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The primary purpose of this mission was the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) into low Earth orbit. Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39B on April 24, 1990, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 (H1, H2) 1959 (H1, H2)
1960s	1960 (T1, T2, T3) 1961 (H1, H2) 1962 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 1963 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 1964 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 1965 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 (H1, H2) 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (H1, H2) 2019 (H1, H2)
2020s	2020 2021 (H1, H2) 2022 (H1, H2) 2023 (H1, H2) 2024 (H1, H2) 2025 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 2026 (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) 2027 2028 2029
2030s

Launches


Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January
1 January 00:07 (UTC)^[1]	Commercial Titan III^[1]			Cape Canaveral^[1] LC-40		Martin Marietta^[1]

		Skynet 4A^[1]	MoD	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful; placed in graveyard orbit 20 June 2005^[2]
		JCSAT 2^[1]	JSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful; placed in graveyard orbit 2002^[3]
		Maiden flight of Commercial Titan III
9 January 12:35 (UTC)^[4]	Space Shuttle Columbia			Kennedy LC-39A

		STS-32	NASA	Low Earth	Satellite deployment and retrieval	20 January 09:35 (UTC)^[5]	Successful
		Leasat F5 also known as Syncom IV-5.^[6]	NASA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful; placed in graveyard orbit 24 September 2015.^[7]
		Crewed orbital flight with 5 astronauts Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval mission Leasat F5 retired 24 September 2015.^[7]
17 January 14:45 (UTC)^[8]	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2055 (Zenit-8)^[8]		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	29 January^[8]	Successful
18 January 12:52 (UTC)^[9]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2056 (Strela-2M)^[9]		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful; replaced by Kosmos 2208 12 August 1992.^[10]
22 January 01:35 (UTC)^[11]	Ariane 4 (40)			Kourou^[11] ELA-2		Arianespace

		SPOT 2	CNES	Sun-synchronous	Earth observation	In orbit	Successful; retired July, 2009.^[12]
		UOSAT 3 also known as UoSAT-OSCAR 14^[13]	University of Surrey	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful; retired from active service in 1999^[14] and used as an amateur FM radio relay until 11 November 2003.^[15]
		UOSAT 4	University of Surrey	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure 30 hours after launch^[16]
		PACSAT	AMSAT	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Microsat 2	AMSAT	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Microsat 3	AMSAT	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Microsat 4	AMSAT	Sun-synchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Ariane 4 (40) UOSAT 4 ceased transmitting after 5 hours
23 January 02:52	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 3-53L		Molniya	Communications	23 June 2003	Successful
24 January 11:46	Mu-3S-II			Uchinoura		ISAS

		Hiten	ISAS		Lunar probe	11 April 1993	Successful
		Hagoromo	ISAS	Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		First Japanese lunar mission Hagoromo suffered a transmitter malfunction prior to selenocentric orbit injection
24 January 22:55:01 (UTC)^[17]^[18]	Delta II 6925^[18]			Cape Canaveral LC-17A^[17]		McDonnell Douglas

		GPS II-6 (USA-50)^[18]	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
25 January 17:15 (UTC)^[18]	Soyuz-U^[18]			Plesetsk Site 16/2^[18]

		Kosmos 2057 (Yantar-4K2)^[18]		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	19 March 1990^[19]	Successful
30 January 11:20 (UTC)^[18]	Tsyklon-3^[18]			Plesetsk^[18] Site 32

		Kosmos 2058 (Tselina-R)^[18]		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
February
4 February 12:27:03 (UTC)^[18]	Long March 3^[18]			Xichang^[18] LC-1

		DFH-2^[18] A-4		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful; retired in the early 1990s^[20]
6 February 16:30	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 2059 (Taifun-2)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	12 November	Successful
7 February 01:33	H-I			Tanegashima LA-N		Mitsubishi

		MOS 1B	NASDA	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		DEBUT		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		JAS-1B		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 February 06:16	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Soyuz TM-9		Low Earth (Mir)	Mir EO-9	9 August 07:33	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 2 cosmonauts
14 February 16:15:01 (UTC)^[21]^[18]	Delta II 6920-8^[18]			Cape Canaveral LC-17B^[18]		McDonnell Douglas

		LACE (USA-51)^[18]	DoD	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	24 May 2000^[22]	Successful
		RME (USA-52)^[18]	DoD	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	24 May 1992^[23]	Successful
		Maiden flight of Delta II 6920
15 February 07:52	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/23

		Raduga 25		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
22 February 23:17	Ariane 4 (44L)			Kourou ELA-2		Arianespace

		Superbird B	SCC	Intended: Geosynchronous transfer	Communications	T+ seconds	Launch failure
		BS 2X		Intended: Geosynchronous transfer	Communications	T+ seconds	Launch failure
		Blocked water line caused rocket explosion
27 February 20:59	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Nadezhda 2		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
28 February 00:55	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/2

		Okean 2		Low Earth	Earth science	In orbit	Operational
28 February 07:50	Space Shuttle Atlantis			Kennedy LC-39A

		STS-36	NASA	Low Earth	Satellite deployment	4 March 03:08	Successful
		USA-53 (Misty-1)	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed orbital flight with 5 astronauts
28 February 23:10	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Progress M-3		Low Earth (Mir)	Logistics	28 April 00:52	Successful
March
14 March 11:52	Commercial Titan III			Cape Canaveral LC-40		Martin Marietta

		Intelsat 603	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Partial launch failure
		Due to non-separation of second stage Intelsat 603 was released from its perigee motor into a Low Earth orbit. Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-49 attached a new perigee motor which boosted the satellite to geosynchronous orbit.
14 March 15:27	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90/20

		Kosmos 2060 (US-P)		Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	1 September 1991	Successful
20 March 00:25	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2061 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
22 March 07:20	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2062 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	28 April	Successful
26 March 02:45	Delta II 6925			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		McDonnell Douglas

		GPS II-7 (USA-54)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		Signal anomaly on 21 May 1996 made the satellite unusable in the GPS constellation.
27 March 16:40	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2063 (Oko)		Molniya	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
April
3 April 12:02	Shavit			Palmachim

		Ofeq-2		Low Earth (retrograde)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
3 April	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43

		Yantar-4K2		Intended: Low Earth	Reconnaissance	3 April	Launch failure
5 April 19:10	Pegasus			Balls 8 Edwards		Orbital Sciences

		Pegsat	NASA	Low Earth	Space Physics	14 November 1998	Successful
		USA-55 (SECS)	DoD	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Pegasus
6 April 03:13	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2064 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2065 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2066 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2067 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2068 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2069 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2070 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2071 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
7 April 13:30	Long March 3			Xichang LC-1

		AsiaSat 1	AsiaSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Originally launched as Westar 6 by Space Shuttle Challenger in February 1984 on mission STS-41-B. Was stranded in an incorrect orbit and was recovered in November 1984 by Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51-A. Westar 6 was refurbished and sold to AsiaSat who renamed it AsiaSat 1.
11 April 15:00	Atlas-E/Altair-3A			Vandenberg SLC-3W		Lockheed

		USA-56 (POGS)	DoD	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		USA-57 (TEX)	DoD	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		USA-58 (SCE)	DoD	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
11 April 17:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3

		/Foton 6	CNES	Low Earth	Microgravity research	27 April 06:15	Successful
13 April 18:53	Soyuz-U			Baikonur

		Kosmos 2072 (Yantar-4KS1)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	22 November	Successful
13 April 22:28	Delta II 6925-8			Cape Canaveral LC-17B		McDonnell Douglas

		Palapa B2R	Telkom Indonesia	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Originally launched in February 1984 as Palapa B2 by Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-41-B. Was stranded in an incorrect orbit and was recovered in November 1984 by Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51-A.
17 April 08:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2073 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	28 April	Successful
20 April 18:41	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2074 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
24 April 12:33	Space Shuttle Discovery			Kennedy LC-39B

		STS-31	NASA	Low Earth	HST deployment	29 April 13:49	Successful
		/Hubble Space Telescope	NASA/ESA	Low Earth	Space Telescope	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed orbital flight with 5 astronauts
25 April 13:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 2075 (Taifun-2)		Low Earth	Target	20 February 1992	Successful
26 April 01:37	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 1-77		Molniya	Communications	25 February 2005	Successful
28 April 11:37	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2076 (Oko)		Molniya	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
May
5 May 20:44	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Progress 42		Low Earth (Mir)	Logistics	27 May 12:27	Successful
		Final flight of baseline Progress spacecraft
7 May 18:39	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2077 (Yantar-4K2)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	4 July	Successful
9 May 17:50	Scout G-1			Vandenberg SLC-5

		MacSat 1	DARPA	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		MacSat 2	DARPA	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
15 May 09:55	Soyuz-U			Baikonur

		Kosmos 2078 (Yantar-1KFT)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	28 June	Successful
19 May 08:32	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 200/40

		Kosmos 2079 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2080 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2081 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
22 May 05:14	Zenit-2			Baikonur Site 45/2

		Kosmos 2082 (Tselina-2)		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		First launch from Site 45/2
29 May 07:19	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/4

		Resurs-F6		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	14 June	Successful
31 May 10:33	Proton-K			Baikonur Site 200/39

		Kristall		Low Earth (Mir)	Mir module	23 March 2001 05:50	Successful
June
1 June 21:48	Delta II 6920-10			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		McDonnell Douglas

		ROSAT		Low Earth	Astronomy	23 October 2011	Successful
8 June 05:21	Titan IVA (405)			Cape Canaveral LC-41		Martin Marietta

		USA-59 (SLDCOM)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		USA-60 (NOSS-2)	US Navy	Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		USA-61 (NOSS-2)	US Navy	Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		USA-62 (NOSS-2)	US Navy	Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
12 June 05:52	Delta 4925			Cape Canaveral LC-17B		McDonnell Douglas

		INSAT 1D	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Final flight of Delta 4925
13 June 01:07	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 3-47L		Molniya	Communications	26 February 2006	Successful
19 June 08:45	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2083 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	3 July 1990	Successful
20 June 23:36	Proton-K/DM			Baikonur Site 200/40

		Gorizont 20		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
21 June 20:45	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 43/3

		Kosmos 2084 (Oko)		Intended: Molniya Achieved: Low Earth	Early warning	In orbit	Partial Failure
		Placed in an incorrect orbit and the satellite did not communicate with the ground.
23 June 11:19	Commercial Titan III			Cape Canaveral LC-40		Martin Marietta

		Intelsat 604	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
27 June 22:30	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32

		Meteor-2-19		Low Earth	Earth Sciences	In orbit	Successful
July
3 July	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2

		Yantar-4K2		Intended: Low Earth	Reconnaissance	3 July	Launch failure
11 July 10:00	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		/Gamma	CNES	Low Earth	Astronomy	28 February 1992	Successful
16 July 00:40	Long March 2E			Xichang LC-2

		Badr-1	SUPARCO	Low Earth	Communications	8 December	Successful
		HS-601		Low Earth	Boilerplate spacecraft	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Long March 2E
17 July 09:29	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3

		Resurs-F7		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	16 August	Successful
18 July 21:46	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 200/39

		Kosmos 2085 (Geizer 17L)		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
20 July 08:40	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2086 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	3 August	Successful
24 July 22:25	Ariane 4 (44L)			Kourou ELA-2		Arianespace

		TDF-2	Telediffusion	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		DFS-2		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
25 July 18:13	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2087 (Oko)		Molniya	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
25 July 19:21	Atlas I			Cape Canaveral LC-36B

		CRRES	US Air Force	Geosynchronous transfer	Space Physics	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Atlas I Contact with spacecraft lost on 12 October 1991 due to onboard battery failure.
30 July 00:06	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1

		Kosmos 2088 (Geo-IK)		Low Earth	Earth Science	In orbit	Successful
August
1 August 09:32	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Soyuz TM-10		Low Earth (Mir)	Mir EO-7	10 December 06:08	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 2 cosmonauts
2 August 05:39	Delta II 6925			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		McDonnell Douglas

		GPS II-8 (USA-63)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
3 August 19:45	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2089 (Yantar-4K2)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	1 October	Successful
8 August 04:15	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32

		Kosmos 2090 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2091 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2092 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2093 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2094 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2095 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
9 August 20:18	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 200/39

		Ekran-M		Intended: Geosynchronous	Communications	9 August	Launch failure
10 August 20:18	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 1-78		Molniya	Communications	6 July 2007	Successful
15 August 04:00	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Progress M-4		Low Earth (Mir)	Logistics	20 September 11:42	Successful
16 August 09:54	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/4

		Resurs-F8		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	1 September	Successful
18 August 00:42	Delta II 6925			Cape Canaveral LC-17B		McDonnell Douglas

		Marco Polo 2		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
23 August 16:17	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90/20

		Kosmos 2096 (US-P)		Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	30 August 1992	Successful
28 August 07:49	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2097 (Oko)		Molniya	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
28 August 09:05	H-1			Tanegashima LA-N		Mitsubishi

		BS 3A		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
28 August 15:45	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2098 (Taifun-1)		Low Earth	Earth Science	In orbit	Successful
30 August 22:46	Ariane 4 (44LP)			Kourou ELA-2		Arianespace

		Skynet 4C	MoD	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Eutelsat 2F1	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
31 August 08:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2099 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	14 September	Successful
September
3 September 00:53	Long March 4A			Taiyuan LC-1

		Feng Yun 1B		Sun-synchronous	Weather satellite	In orbit	Successful
		Qi Qiu Weixing 1		Sun-synchronous	Atmospheric research	11 March 1991	Successful
		Qi Qiu Weixing 2		Sun-synchronous	Atmospheric research	24 July 1991	Successful
		Final flight of Long March 4A
7 September 11:59	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2

		Resurs-F9		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	21 September	Successful
14 September 05:59	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2100 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
20 September 20:16	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 3-54L		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Operational
27 September 10:37	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Progress M-5		Low Earth (Mir)	Logistics	28 November 11:04	Successful
28 September 07:30	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32

		Meteor-2-20		Low Earth	Earth Science	In orbit	Successful
October
1 October 11:00	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Kosmos 2101 (Orlets-1)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	30 November	Successful
1 October 21:56	Delta II 6925			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		McDonnell Douglas

		GPS II-9 (USA-64)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
4 October	Zenit-2			Baikonur Site 45/2

		Tselina-2		Intended: Low Earth	ELINT	T+5 seconds	Launch failure
		First stage engine failure five seconds after launch. Subsequent explosion completely destroyed the launch pad, which was not rebuilt.
5 October 06:14	Long March 2C			Jiuquan LA-2B

		FSW-1-3		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	13 October 03:59	Successful
6 October 11:47	Space Shuttle Discovery			Kennedy LC-39B

		STS-41	NASA	Low Earth	Satellite deployment	10 October	Successful
		/Ulysses	ESA/NASA	Heliocentric	Solar probe	In orbit	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 5 astronauts
12 October 22:58	Ariane 4 (44L)			Kourou ELA-2		Arianespace

		SBS 6	SBS	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Galaxy 6	PanAmSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
16 October 19:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2102 (Yantar-4K2)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	12 December	Successful
30 October 23:16	Delta II 6925			Cape Canaveral LC-17B		McDonnell Douglas

		Inmarsat 2F1	Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
November
3 November 14:40	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/23

		Gorizont 21		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
13 November 00:37	Titan IVA (402)/IUS			Cape Canaveral LC-41		Martin Marietta

		USA-65 (DSP-15)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
14 November 06:33	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90/20

		Kosmos 2103 (US-P)		Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	3 April 1991	Successful
15 November 23:48	Space Shuttle Atlantis			Kennedy LC-39A

		STS-38	NASA	Low Earth	Satellite deployment	20 November 21:42	Successful
		USA-67 (SDS-2)	NRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Prowler	NRO	Geosynchronous	Satellite inspection Technology	In orbit	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 5 astronauts
16 November 16:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2104 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	4 December	Successful
20 November 02:33	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2105 (Oko)		Molniya	Early warning	16 January 2008	Successful
20 November 23:11	Ariane 4 (42P)			Kourou ELA-2		Arianespace

		Satcom C1	GE Americom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		GStar 4	Spacenet	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Ariane 4 (42P)
23 November 03:51	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk

		Molniya 1-79		Molniya	Communications	30 August 2005	Successful
23 November 13:22	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 200/39

		Gorizont 22		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
26 November 21:39	Delta II 7925			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		McDonnell Douglas

		GPS IIA-1 (USA-66)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Delta II 7925
28 November 16:33	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32

		Kosmos 2106 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	7 April 2000	Successful
December
1 December 15:57	Atlas-E/Star-37			Vandenberg SLC-3W		Lockheed

		USA-68 (DMSP-5D2 F10)	US Air Force	Sun-synchronous	Weather satellite	In orbit	Successful
2 December 06:49	Space Shuttle Columbia			Kennedy LC-39B

		STS-35	NASA	Low Earth	Astronomy	10 December 23:54	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 7 astronauts
2 December 08:13	Soyuz-U2			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Soyuz TM-11		Low Earth (Mir)	Mir EO-8	26 May 1991 10:04	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts including the first Japanese space traveler.
4 December 00:48	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90/20

		Kosmos 2107 (US-P)		Low Earth	Naval Reconnaissance	6 April 1992	Successful
4 December 18:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2108 (Yantar-4K2)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	28 January 1991	Successful
8 December 02:43	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/23

		Kosmos 2109 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2110 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2111 (GLONASS)		Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
10 December 07:54	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 133/3

		Kosmos 2112 (Strela-2M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
20 December 11:35	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/23

		Raduga 26		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
21 December 06:20	Soyuz-U			Baikonur

		Kosmos 2113 (Yantar-4KS1)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	11 June 1991	Successful
22 December 07:28	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32

		Kosmos 2114 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2115 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2116 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2117 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2118 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2119 (Strela-3)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
26 December 11:10	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 2120 (Zenit-8)		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	17 January 1991	Successful
27 December 11:08	Proton-K/DM-2			Baikonur Site 200/39

		Raduga-1-2		Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
10 February	Galileo	Flyby of Venus	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi)
19 March	Hiten	Flyby of the Moon
19 March	Hagoromo	Selenocentric orbit injection
10 August	Magellan	Cytherean orbit injection
8 December	Galileo	1st flyby of the Earth	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 960 kilometres (600 mi)

EVAs

Start date/time	Duration	End time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
8 January 20:23	2 hours 56 minutes	23:19	Mir EO-5	Alexander Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov	Installed new star tracker sensors launched in the Kvant-2 module onto Kvant-1.
11 January 18:01	2 hours 54 minutes	20:55	Mir EO-5	Alexander Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov	Closed out experimental racks, either retrieving for return to Earth, or discarding into space. Modified the docking node for the arrival of the Kristall module.
26 January 12:09	3 hours 2 minutes	15:11	Mir EO-5 Kvant-2	Alexander Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov	Tested the new Orlan-DMA spacesuit. This spacewalk team was the first use of the EVA airlock hatch on the Kvant-2 module. During the spacewalk a mooring post was attached outside the airlock, and a Kurs antenna was removed to enable future EVAs.
1 February 08:15	4 hours 59 minutes	13:14	Mir EO-5 Kvant-2	Alexander Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov	Tested the SPK "flying armchair", analogous to NASA's MMU. The SPK did not fly free, but remained tethered to Kvant-2 during the tests.
5 February 06:08	3 hours 45 minutes	09:53	Mir EO-5 Kvant-2	Alexander Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov	Conducted more tests of the SPK. Viktorenko reached as far as 45 metres (148 ft) from Mir.
17 July 13:06	7 hours 15 minutes	20:22	Mir EO-6 Kvant-2	Anatoly Solovyev Aleksandr Balandin	At the start of their EVA to repair torn insulation on the Soyuz TM-9, Solovyev and Balandin damaged the hatch on Kvant-2 by opening it before the airlock was completely depressurized. The spacewalking team repaired the insulation on Soyuz, but time constraints required returning to Kvant-2 before they collected their tools and ladders. Unable to securely close the damaged hatch, they used the center section of Kvant-2 as a back-up airlock.
26 July 11:15	3 hours 31 minutes	14:46	Mir EO-6 Kvant-2	Anatoly Solovyev Aleksandr Balandin	Transmitted images of the damaged hatch to TsUP, recovered the ladders and tools left outside earlier and removed debris lodged in the hinge of the airlock hatch, allowing the hatch to close and seal for repressurization.
29 October 21:45	2 hours 45 minutes	30 October 00:30	Mir EO-7 Kvant-2	Gennadi Manakov Gennady Strekalov	After removing insulation around the damaged Kvant-2 hatch, they found the hatch to be more heavily damaged than previously understood. Although unable to completely repair the hatch, they added hardware to the hatch.

v t e ← 1989 Orbital launches in 1990 1991 →
January	Skynet 4A, JCSAT-2 STS-32 (Leasat 5) Kosmos 2055 Kosmos 2056 SPOT-2, UoSAT-3, UoSAT-4, Pacsat, DOVE, Webersat, LUSat Molniya-3 No.53L Hiten, Hagoromo USA-50) Kosmos 2057 Kosmos 2058
February	Zhongxing 3 Kosmos 2059 Momo 1b, Orizuru, Fuju 1b Soyuz TM-9 USA-51, USA-52 Gran' No.35L Superbird B, BS 2x Nadezhda No.405 Okean-O1 No.5 STS-36 (USA-53) Progress M-3
March	Intelsat 603 Kosmos 2060 Kosmos 2061 Kosmos 2062 USA-54 Kosmos 2063
April	Ofek-2 Unnamed Pegsat, USA-55 Kosmos 2064, Kosmos 2065, Kosmos 2066, Kosmos 2067, Kosmos 2068, Kosmos 2069, Kosmos 2070, Kosmos 2071 AsiaSat 1 USA-56, USA-57, USA-58 Foton No.6L Kosmos 2072 Palapa B2R Kosmos 2073 Kosmos 2074 STS-31 (Hubble) Kosmos 2075 Molniya-1 No.71 Kosmos 2076
May	Progress 42 Kosmos 2077 MacSat 1, MacSat 2 Kosmos 2078 Kosmos 2079, Kosmos 2080, Kosmos 2081 Kosmos 2082 Resurs-F1 No.50 Kristall
June	ROSAT USA-59, USA-60, USA-61, USA-62 INSAT-1D Molniya 3 No.47L Kosmos 2083 Gorizont No.30L Kosmos 2084 Intelsat 604 Meteor-2 No.23
July	Unnamed Gamma Badr-1, Optus-MFS Resurs-F2 No.5 Kosmos 2085 Kosmos 2086 TDF 2, DFS Kopernikus 2 Kosmos 2087 CRRES Kosmos 2088
August	Soyuz TM-10 USA-63 Kosmos 2089 Kosmos 2090, Kosmos 2091, Kosmos 2092, Kosmos 2093, Kosmos 2094, Kosmos 2095 Ekran-M No.14L Molniya-1T No.68 Progress M-4 Resurs-F1 No.49 Marco Polo 2 Kosmos 2096 Kosmos 2097 Yuri 3a Kosmos 2098 Skynet 4C, Eutelsat II F-1 Kosmos 2099
September	Fengyun I-02, Qiqiuweixing 1, Qiqiuweixing 2 Resurs-F1 No.51 Kosmos 2100 Molniya-3 No.54L Progress M-5 Meteor-2 No.25
October	Kosmos 2101 USA-64 Unnamed FSW-1 No.3 STS-41 (Ulysses) SBS 6, Westar 6S Kosmos 2102 Inmarsat-2F1
November	Gorizont No.32L USA-65 Kosmos 2103 STS-38 (USA-67, Prowler) Kosmos 2104 Kosmos 2105 Satcom C1, GStar 4 Molniya 1T No.70 Gorizont No.33L USA-66 Kosmos 2106
December	USA-68 STS-35 Soyuz TM-11 Kosmos 2107 Kosmos 2108 Kosmos 2109, Kosmos 2110, Kosmos 2111 Kosmos 2112 Gran' No.37L Kosmos 2113 Kosmos 2114, Kosmos 2115, Kosmos 2116, Kosmos 2117, Kosmos 2118, Kosmos 2119 Kosmos 2120 Globus No.12
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

1990 in spaceflight

Launches

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deep-space rendezvous

EVAs

See also

Footnotes

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