Wikipedia:WikiProject Spaceflight/Timeline of spaceflight working group

Lead

{{Infobox Year in spaceflight
|first=
|last=
|total=
|success=
|failed=
|partial=
|catalogued=
|firstflight=
|firstsat=
|firstlaunch=
|firsttrav=
|maidens=
|retired=
|orbital=
|suborbital=
|totalcrew=
}}

The first item on the page should be an infobox. {{Infobox Year in spaceflight}} (code right) should be used. For full instructions on its use, please refer to Template:Infobox Year in spaceflight (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs). The infobox should contain a freely-licensed image which either represents or shows a significant event that occurred that year.

The next thing on the page should be a summary of events that took place that year, including space exploration, human spaceflights, and launch failures. This should be illustrated where possible with free-use images. Remember that this section will appear to the left of the infobox, so unless the lead section is sufficiently long as to pass the bottom of the infobox, all images should be aligned to the left. There should also be a brief definition of the term "spaceflight", such as "The internationally accepted definition of a spaceflight is any flight which crosses the Kármán line, 100 kilometres above sea level.", early on in the lead.

The last two lines of the lead section should be:

{{TOC limit|2}}
{{clear}}

Which prevent display issues that can be caused by either the table of contents growing too big, or the infobox protruding into the launches section.

Launches

The first section of the article should be entitled "Launches". It should contain a comprehensive list of all rocket launches that crossed, or are/were intended to cross the Kármán line in the year which that article documents. If the number of launches are exceeding the WP:PEIS and the sections are collapsing into a single article (see WP:AS), affecting the readability and navigability of the article, the list of launches can be split in the following ways:

This list should be formatted using a series of templates. First of all, the navigation template, {{tl:TLS-M}}, should be transcluded. The first parameter of this template should be the year (eg: {{TLS-M|2026}} for 2026). This should be followed on the next line by the table header, {{TLS-H2}}, which should also be transcluded, but requires no parameters.

A new subsection should be started for each month, using a level three header. A colspan of 8 should be set to avoid breaking the table. For example:

|colspan="8"|
=== January ===
|-

Individual launches are listed using the templates {{TLS-RL}} and {{TLS-PL}}:

Transcluded from Template:TLS-RL/doc

• view
• talk
• edit

{{TLS-RL|NoPL= <!--number of payloads defined (MUST be the same as number of {{TLS-PL}} templates used below)-->
|date =    <!--launch date (GMT)-->
|time =    <!--launch time (GMT)-->
|rocket =  <!--type of rocket used-->
|flight =  <!--flight number-->
|site =    <!--launch site and pad-->
|LSP =     <!--launch service provider-->
|remarks = <!--notes, anything else that is not covered-->
|empty =   <!--creates indent, could be used for general Reference, preferred empty-->
|payload = {{TLS-PL <!--add one of these templates for each payload-->
  |name =     <!--payload name-->
  |cubesat =  <!--"yes" if this is a CubeSat, "p" if this is a PocketQube, empty for larger satellites-->
  |user =     <!--payload operator-->
  |orbit =    <!--orbit regime or "suborbital"-->
  |function = <!--function of the spacecraft/mission-->
  |d-date =   <!--decay date, omit if still in orbit or not yet launched-->
  |d-time =   <!--decay time, omit if still in orbit or not yet launched-->
  |outcome =  <!--outcome (successful, failed, partial failure, ongoing, etc), leave blank before launch-->
  |d-span =   <!--see below-->
  |o-span =   <!--see below-->
  }} <!--there should be NO LINEBREAK if a further {{TLS-PL}} template is added-->
}}

The d-span and o-span parameters can be used to apply the same decay date and outcome to different payloads on the same rocket. If a number is entered, then that field will be applied to that many consecutive payloads (including the one for which it is specified). If it is set to "inherit" then it will inherit from the cell above. If it is not set to "inherit" but a span is specified above, then it will cause a syntax error. The d-span parameter should only be used where the payloads will be attached during re-entry/landing, and o-span should only be used in the event of a total launch failure.

Flags should be inserted, using the {{flagicon}} template, to show the nationalities of the rocket, launch site, LSP and spacecraft.

All items that require it should be linked on the first occurrence. The link should encompass the full name. In the case of rockets, the configuration should not be linked unless there is no space between it and the rocket name (eg [[Ariane 5|Ariane 5ECA]] not [[Ariane 5]]ECA, and [[Delta II]] 7925 not [[Delta II|Delta II 7925]]), and that the configuration is not necessary to identify the type of rocket (eg [[Delta 2000|Delta 2913]] not [[Delta 2000|Delta]] 2913). Rocket names which contain version numbers rather than configuration numbers should be linked in full (eg [[Saturn V]] not [[Saturn V|Saturn]] V). Missiles should use their full designation when being launched as missiles, but the common name if conducting an orbital or civilian launch. (eg. SM-65B Atlas B for missile tests, Atlas B for launching SCORE).

At the end of the launches section, close the table using

|}

Then insert another instance of {{TLS-M}}, the same as above.

Deep Space Rendezvous

The Deep Space Rendezvous section should immediately follow the launches section. It should contain a table listing of all encounters between spacecraft and astronomical objects, such as planets, in the year. Note that the spelling "rendezvous" should be used, not "rendez-vous". The same table format should be used in all articles:

{| class=wikitable width="100%"
!Date (GMT)
!Spacecraft
!Event
!Remarks
|-

Deep Space Rendezvous sections should only occur in articles where they are required. There should be no Deep Space Rendezvous section in articles prior to 1959, or in the 1960, 1984, 1987 or 1988 articles.

EVAs

The EVAs section should follow the Deep Space Rendezvous section if present, or otherwise the table of launches. It should list all spacewalks and moonwalks conducted during that year. It should only be present in years where EVAs occurred. There should be no EVAs section for years prior to 1965, or for 1967, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981 or 1989, or for any year which has not yet occurred. The same template format should be used for all EVA sections:

{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
|- 
!Start Date/Time
!Duration
!End Time
!Spacecraft
!Crew
!Remarks
|-

(Sub)Orbital launch statistics

The suborbital and orbital launch summary should follow the EVAs section where present, otherwise the Deep Space Rendezvous or Launches section, depending on the article. It provides statistical information on the numbers and types of orbital launches conducted during that year. For the purpose of statistics, catalogued suborbital launches are also included in this section. This section should be included in all articles from 1957 onwards. It should be split into three level three subsections:

By country

This subsection gives statistics for orbital launches by country. It starts with a pie chart, which was earlier generated using the template {{TLS-PC}}, before switching to the standard pie chart template used across Wikipedia.

{{Pie chart
| radius = 120
| legend = false
| thumb = left
| autoscale = true

| value1 = 39 | color1 = #ff0000 | label1 = China:
| value2 = 34 | color2 = #484785 | label2 = United States:
| value3 = 20 | color3 = #a52a2a | label3 = Russia:
| value4 = 7  | color4 = #ff9933 | label4 = India:
| value5 = 6  | color5 = #ffffff | label5 = Japan:
| value6 = 6  | color6 = #318ce7 | label6 = France:
| value7 = 2  | color7 = #808000 | label7 = Italy:
}}

This should be followed by a table showing the raw data displayed by the pie chart, with remarks if any placed as a note next to the number.

{| align="left" class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country
! Launches
! Successes
! Failures
! Partial<br/>failures
|-

Note that former Soviet republics (eg. Ukraine) should be listed as "Russia/CIS". The section should be followed with a clearing linebreak to prevent the pie chart overlapping into the next subsection

{{clear}}

By rocket

This subsection gives statistics for individual rockets. It consists of one table:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rocket
! Country
! Launches
! Successes
! Failures
! Partial failures
! Remarks
|-

By orbit

This subsection gives statistics for different orbital regimes. Unlike the rest of the article, in this section a "success" is a launch which reached the planned orbit, and a "failure" is one which did not. For more details, see Outcomes. The section contains one table, and should list the following trajectories in the following order:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Orbital regime
! Launches
! Successes
! Failures
! Accidentally<br />Achieved
! Remarks
|-
| [[International Designator|Catalogued]] [[Sub-orbital spaceflight|Suborbital]]     ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
|-
| [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]                                                      ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
|-
| [[Medium Earth orbit|Medium Earth]]                                                ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
|-
| [[Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous]]/[[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|transfer]] ||   ||   ||   ||   || 
|-
| [[High Earth orbit|High Earth]]                                                    ||   ||   ||   ||   || 
|-
| [[Heliocentric orbit|Heliocentric]]                                                ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
|-
| [[Galactocentric orbit|Galactocentric]]                                            ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
|}

Orbits to which no launches were made should be removed.

Maiden flights

This section should list all the inaugural flights and their outcomes within a table, arranged according to dates. Add references for each in the column for same. First successful orbital flights can also be listed if the rocket had a failure the previous time.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:small;"
! Rocket
! Origin
! Organization
! Launch
! Outcome
! Ref.
|-
|}

Rocket color scheme

The color scheme we have adopted, at least for the earlier end of the Timeline, is outlined here: User_talk:Sotakarhu#Spaceflight_Colors

Country color scheme

Countries

	Australia	Austr. Wattle	#e8af00
	Brazil	Green (old)	#008000
	Brazil	Brazil Green	#009c3b
	Canada	#fe6f5e (old)	#fe6f5e
	Canada	OrangeRed	#ff4500
	China	red	#ff0000
	Europe	navy (old)	#000080
	Europe	ESA blue	#0e2180
	France (old)	Amethyst	#9966CC
	France	French Blue	#318CE7
	Germany	Dust grey	#7c7f7e
	Germany	German yellow	#ffcc00
	India	darkorange (old)	#ff8c00
	India	India Orange	#ff9933
	Iran	darkgreen (old)	#006400
	Iran	Iran green	#239F40
	Israel	teal	#008080
	Italy	Olive	#808000
	Japan	white	#ffffff
	Oman	Oman green	#007e3c
	Netherlands	#91a3b0	#91a3b0
	Pakistan	Chinook green	#Ace1af
	Poland	Polish fuchsia	#f54293
	North Korea	crimson (old)	#dc143c
	North Korea	pink	#ffc0cb
	Slovenia	Navy Blue	#000066
	South Korea	Purple	#800080
	Soviet Union	Brown	brown
	Russia	Brown	brown
	Spain	Gualda yellow	#ffc500
	Taiwan	Earth blue	#0000a0
	Turkey	#7c3030	#7c3030
	Ukraine	Yellow (old)	#ffff00
	Ukraine	Ukraine Yellow	#ffd700
	United Kingdom (unused)	Tan 30-80	tan
	United Kingdom	British Khaki	#beaf97
	United States (old)	Blue	#0000ff
	United States	American Blue	#484785
	United States	US Army Green	#4b5320
	United States	Sky Blue	#87ceeb
	Yemen	Iridium	#3b3c36

See also

The see also section should follow the orbital launch summary if present, or otherwise the table of launches. It should contain links to the appropriate page of the list of human spaceflights (if the article is for 1961 or later), an article providing more details of suborbital flights in that year (Suborbital spaceflight in [year]), and the main Timeline of spaceflight. Other relevant links which are not covered elsewhere in the article may also be included here.

References

The references section, which should follow the See also section, should start with the generic references, which are inserted by transcluding {{TLS-R}}. This should be followed by a level three subsection entitled "Footnotes", containing a {{Reflist}} template.

==References==
{{TLS-R}}

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

After this, there should be a linebreak followed by the Timeline navigation box:

<br />
{{TLS-L|year=2008|nav=on}}

This should be followed by categories:

[[Category:Space lists]]
[[Category:Timeline of spaceflight working group|XX]]
[[Category:XXXX in spaceflight]]

Replacing "XX" with the last two digits of the year, and "XXXX" with the whole year.

Finally, interwiki links to foreign language versions of the page should be the last item on the page.

This section can be added by substituting {{TLS-F}} at the bottom of the page, in the format:

{{subst:TLS-F|XXXX|XX}}

Replacing the Xs as above.