1968 in spaceflight

1968 in spaceflight
	The crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to witness Earthrise, photographed by William Anders on 24 December 1968
Orbital launches
Total	6
	v; t; e;

The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 157 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 1968.^[1] The first crewed Apollo missions occurred in 1968. It was also the year in which Earth lifeforms first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Zond 5 mission to the Moon and the Zond 6 lunar mission which crashed upon return, and the year that humans first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.

Deep space lunar missions edit

Date (UTC)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
10 January	Surveyor 7	Lunar landing	in the debris from Tycho crater
31 January	Lunar Orbiter 5	Lunar impact
10 April	Luna 14	Lunar orbit insertion
18 September	Zond 5	Flyby of the Moon; first return to Earth after flight to Moon; first Earth life forms to travel around the Moon (two Russian tortoises)	Closest approach: 1,950 kilometres (1,210 mi)
14 November	Zond 6	Flyby of the Moon, with turtles, flies, and bacteria	Closest approach: 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi)
24 December	Apollo 8	Lunar orbit insertion; first humans to travel around the Moon
25 December	Apollo 8	Leaves lunar orbit	Completed 10 orbits

Orbital launches edit

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Key

USA

Soviet Union

January edit

January launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
7 January	Atlas-SLV3 Centaur-D			Cape Canaveral SLC-36A

		Surveyor 7	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	In orbit	Successful
11 January	Delta E1			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Explorer 36 (GEOS-B)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
16 January	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 199 (Zenit-2 #58)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
17 January	Thor SLV-2A Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-2W

		OPS 1965 Multigroup 3&Setter 1B-2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
18 January	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5028 KH-8 4311	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
19 January	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 200 (Tselina O #2)		Low Earth Orbit	SIGNIT	In orbit	Successful
22 January 23:45	Saturn IB (C-1B)			LC-37B, Cape Canaveral		NASA

		Apollo 5	NASA	LEO	Test Lunar Module	12 February 1968 09:59	successful
		Minor malfunction of LM descent stage engine, otherwise successful
24 January	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 5028 KH-4A 1045	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		Tivoli 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful

February edit

February launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 February	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 201 (Zenit-4 #38)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 February	Molniya-M / Blok L			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		(Ye-6LS No 112)		Selenocentric	Lunar Orbiter	In orbit	Failure
20 January	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 202 (DS-U2-V #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Ionospheric research	In orbit	Successful
20 January	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 203 (Sfera #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful

March edit

March launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
2 March	Scout-A			Vandenberg SLC-5

		OPS 7034 Transit 18	USN	Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
2 March	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond 4 (L1 6)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	In orbit	Successful
4 March	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D			Cape Canaveral LC-13

		OGO 5 (EGO 3)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
5 March	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 204 (DS-P1-I #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
5 March	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 205 (Zenit-2 #59)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
5 March	Scout-B			Wallops

		Explorer 37 (Solrad 9)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
6 March	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		(DS-U1-Ya #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Failure
13 March	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5057 KH-8 4312	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 March	Vostok-2M			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 206 (Meteor-1 #9)		Low Earth Orbit	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
14 March	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 4849 KH-4A 1046	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7076 Lampan 1 / Sampan 2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
16 March	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 207 (Zenit-4 #39)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
21 March	Voskhod			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 208 (Zenit-2M #1,Gektor #1) & Nauka-1KS 1L	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
22 March	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/19, Baikonur

		Kosmos 209 (US-AO #4)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful

April edit

April launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
3 April	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 210 (Zenit-2 #60)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 April 12:00:02	Saturn V (C-5)			LC-39A, Kennedy		NASA

		Apollo 6	NASA	LEO	Test CSM heat shield at Lunar return speeds. Test S-IVB re-ignition in LEO.	4 April 1968 21:57:26	Partial failure
		Experienced Pogo oscillation during S-IC first stage ascent. S-IVB failed restart test.
6 April	Atlas F			Vandenberg

		OV1 13	USAF	Low Earth		In orbit	Successful
		OV1 14	USAF	Low Earth		In orbit	Successful
7 April	Molniya-M / Blok L			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Luna 14		Selenocentric	Lunar Orbiter	In orbit	Successful
9 April	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 211 (DS-P1-Yu #12)		Low Earth Orbit	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
14 April	Soyuz			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 212 (Soyuz Test #5)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
15 April	Soyuz			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 213 (Soyuz Test #6)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
17 April	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5105 KH-8 4313	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 April	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 214 (Zenit-4 #40)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 April	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 215 (DS-U1-A #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
20 April	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 216 (Zenit-2 #61)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
21 April	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Molniya-1 08		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
22 April	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond (L1 7)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	In orbit	Failure
24 April	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/19, Baikonur

		Kosmos 217 (I2M #1)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
25 April	R-36-0			Site 162/36, Baikonur

		Kosmos 218 (OGCh #17)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
26 April	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 219 (DS-U2-D #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

May edit

May launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 May	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 1413 KH-4B 1103		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 May	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 220 (Zaliv #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
17 May	Scout B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		ESRO 2B (Iris 2)	ESRO	Low Earth Orbit	Research	In orbit	Successful
18 May	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Nimbus B	NASA/NOAA	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Failure
		SECOR 10	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Failure
23 May	Thor LV-2F Burner 2			Vandenberg SLC-10W

		OPS 7869 DMSP-4B F1		Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
24 May	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 221 (DS-P1-Yu #13)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
30 May	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 222 (DS-P1-Yu #14)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

June edit

June launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 June	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 223 (Zenit-2 #62)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 June	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 224 (Zenit-4 #41)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 June	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Sfera #2		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	In orbit	Failure
5 June	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5138 KH-8 4314		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 June	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 225 (DS-U1-Ya #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
12 June	Vostok-2M			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 226 (Meteor-1 #10)		Low Earth Orbit	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
13 June 14:03:00	Titan IIIC			LC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station		USAF

		OPS 9341 IDCSP 20	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9342 IDCSP 21	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9343 IDCSP 22	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9344 IDCSP 23	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9345 IDCSP 24	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9346 IDCSP 25	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9347 IDCSP 26	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9348 IDCSP 27	USAF	Sub-GSO	Part of the Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program	In orbit	Success
15 June	Kosmos 3			Plesetsk Site 41/15

		(Strela-2 #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Failure
18 June	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 227 (Zenit-4 #42)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
20 June	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 5343 KH-4A 1047		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 5259 Tripos 3/Sousea 2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
21 June	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 228 (Zenit-2M #2,Gektor #2&Nauka-1KS 2L)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
26 June	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 229 (Zenit-4 #43)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

July edit

July launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
4 July	Delta J			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Explorer 38 (RAE A)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
5 July	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 230 (DS-U3-S #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
5 July	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Molniya-1 09		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
10 July	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 231 (Zenit-2 #63)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 July	Atlas F			Vandenberg

		OV1 15 (SPADES)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV1 16 (LOADS 1)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
16 July	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 232 (Zenit-4 #44)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 July	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 233 (DS-P1-Yu #15)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
30 July	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 234 (Zenit-4 #45)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

August edit

August launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 August	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D			Cape Canaveral LC-13

		OPS 2222 Canyon 1	USAF	Low Earth	SIGNIT	In orbit	Successful
6 August	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5187 KH-8 4315	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 August	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 5955 KH-4B 1104		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
8 August	Scout B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		Explorer 39 (AD C)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
		Explorer 40 (Injun 5)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
9 August	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 235 (Zenit-2 #64)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
10 August	Atlas-SLV3 Centaur-D			Cape Canaveral SLC-36A

		ATS 4	NASA	Geosynchronous	Communications/Meteorology	In orbit	Failure
16 August	Delta N			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		ESSA 7		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
16 August	Atlas-SLV3 Burner-2			Vandenberg SLC-3E

		Orbiscal 1	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		OV5 8 (ERS 19)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		Gridsphere 1	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		Gridsphere 2	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		MylarBalloon	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		Rigidsphere	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
		LCS 3	MIT Lincoln Laboratory	Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Failure
		LIDOS	USAF	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Failure
		SECOR 11	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Failure
		SECOR 12	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Failure
		Radcat		Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Failure
		RM 18 & UVR	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Failure
27 August	Kosmos 3			Baikonur Site 41/15

		Kosmos 236 (Strela-2 #5)		Low Earth Orbit	Military communications	In orbit	Successful
27 August	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 237 (Zenit-4 #46)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
28 August	Soyuz			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 238 (Soyuz Test #7)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful

September edit

September launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
5 September	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 239 (Zenit-4 #47)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
10 September	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5247 KH-8 4316	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 September	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 240 (Zenit-2 #65)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 September	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond 5 (L1 9)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	In orbit	Successful
16 September	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 241 (Zenit-4 #48)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 September	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 0165 KH-4A 1048		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 8595 Vampan 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
19 September	Delta M			Cape Canaveral LC-17A

		Intelsat III F1	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Failure
20 September	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 242 (DS-P1-I #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
23 September	Voskhod			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 243 (Zenit-2M #3,Gektor #3 & Nauka-2KS 1L)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
26 September	Titan IIIC			Cape Canaveral SLC-41

		LES 6	USAF		Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV2 5	USAF		Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV5 2 (ERS 21)	USAF		Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV5 4 (ERS 28)	USAF		Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful

October edit

October launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
2 October	R-36-0			Site 161/35, Baikonur

		Kosmos 244 (OGCh #20)		Low Earth Orbit	Weapon System Test	In orbit	Successful
3 October	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 245 (DS-P1-Yu #16)		Low Earth Orbit	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
3 October	Scout-B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		ESRO 1A (Aurorae)	ESRO	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
5 October	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Molniya-1 10		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
5 October	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1W

		OPS 0964 Strawman 1	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 October	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 246 (Zenit-4 #49)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 October	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 247 (Zenit-2 #66)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 October 1968 15:02	Saturn IB (C-1B)			LC-34, Cape Canaveral		NASA

		Apollo 7	NASA	LEO	Crewed orbital flight	22 October 1968 11:11:48	Successful
		First crewed Apollo flight
19 October	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/19, Baikonur

		Kosmos 248 (I2M #2)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
20 October	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/20, Baikonur

		Kosmos 249 (I2P #1)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
23 October	Thor LV-2F Burner 2			Vandenberg SLC-10W

		OPS 4078 DSMP-4B F2		Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
25 October 1968 09:00	Soyuz (R-7/A-2)			LC-1/5, Baikonur		RVSN

		Soyuz 2	RVSN	LEO	Docking target for Soyuz 3	28 October 1968 07:21	Successful
		Soyuz 3 failed to dock
26 October 08:34	Soyuz (R-7/A-2)			LC-31/6 Baikonur		RVSN

		Soyuz 3	RVSN	LEO	Crewed orbital flight	30 October 1968 07:25:03	Partial Failure
		Failed to dock with Soyuz 2
30 October	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 250 (Tselina-O #3)		Low Earth Orbit	SIGNIT	In orbit	Successful
31 October	Voskhod			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 251 (Zenit-4M #1,Rotor #1)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

November edit

November launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 November	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/20, Baikonur

		Kosmos 252 (I2P #2)		Low Earth Orbit		In orbit	Successful
3 November	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 1315 KH-4B 1105		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
6 November	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5296 KH-8 4317	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
8 November	Delta E1			Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

		Pioneer 9	NASA	Heliocentric	Solar Orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		TTS 2	NASA	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
10 November	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond 6 (L1 12)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	In orbit	Successful
13 November	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 253 (Zenit-2 #67)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
16 November	Proton K			Pad 81/24, Baikonur		MOM

		Proton 4	MOM	Low Earth	Science	In orbit	Successful
21 November	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 254 (Zenit-4 #50)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
29 November	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 255 (Zenit-2 #68)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
29 November	Europa 1			Woomera

		STV 1	ELDO	Low Earth Orbit	Dummy Payload	In orbit	Failure
30 November	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk

		Kosmos 256 (Sfera #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful

December edit

December launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
3 December	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 257 (DS-P1-Yu #17)		Low Earth Orbit	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
4 December	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 6518 KH-8 4318	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Failure
5 December	Delta E1			Cape Canaveral LC-17B

		HEOS 1	ESRO	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
7 December	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D			Cape Canaveral LC-36B

		OAO 2		Low Earth	UV Astronomy	In orbit	Successful
10 December	Voskhod			Site 31/6, Baikonur

		Kosmos 258 (Zenit-2 #69)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
12 December	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 4740 KH-4A 1049	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7684 P-801 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
14 December	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 259 (DS-U2-I #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
15 December	Delta N			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		ESSA 8	ESSA	SSO	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
16 December	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 260 (Molniya-1 Yu 15L)		Molniya	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
19 December	Delta M			Cape Canaveral LC-17A

		Intelsat III F2		Intelsat	Geosynchronous	In orbit	Successful
19 December	Kosmos 2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 261 (DS-U2-GK #1)	Yuzhnoye Design Bureau	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
21 December 12:51	Saturn V (C-5)			LC-39A, Kennedy		NASA

		Apollo 8	NASA	Selenocentric	Crewed lunar orbiter	27 December 1968 15:51:42	Successful
		LTA B	NASA	Selenocentric	Mass Model	In orbit	Successful
		First crewed mission to the Moon
26 December	Kosmos 2			Kapustin Yar

		Kosmos 262 (DS-U2-GF #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

← Jan
Feb
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Apr
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Dec →

Suborbital Launches edit

← Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
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January edit

January launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks

← Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
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Dec →

Orbital launch summary edit

References edit

^ "Spacecraft Query Results". Master Catalog Search. NASA NSSDC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.

[1] "Spacecraft Query Results". Master Catalog Search. NASA NSSDC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.

[1]

Orbital launches
The crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to witness Earthrise, photographed by William Anders on 24 December 1968
Total	6
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