1959 in spaceflight
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox Year in spaceflight
|year = 1959
|image =
|caption = Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon in September
|first = 2 January
|last = 26 November
|total = 23
|success = 10
|failed = 11
|partial = 2
|catalogued = 14
|maidens = Thor-Agena
Atlas-Able
Atlas D (suborbital test)
|retired = Vanguard
}}
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. Also in 1959, Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another celestial body, impacting the Moon, and Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon.
{{Infobox spaceflight
| programme = Timeline of spaceflight
| previous_mission = 1958
| next_mission = 1960
}}
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{{clear}}
Overview
Orbital and suborbital launches
{{Main|1959 in spaceflight (January–June)|1959 in spaceflight (July–December)}}
Deep Space Rendezvous
| class=wikitable width="100%"
!Date (GMT) !Spacecraft !Event !Remarks | |||
| 4 January | Luna 1 | First Lunar flyby | Failed impactor, closest approach: {{convert|6000|km}} |
| 4 March | Pioneer 4 | Lunar flyby | Closest approach: {{convert|60200|km}} |
| 14 September | Luna 2 | First Lunar impact | Landed in Mare Imbrium, first spacecraft to reach the surface of a celestial body |
| 6 October | Luna 3 | Lunar flyby | First Circumlunar flight, returned 29 pictures including first images of the far side of the Moon; closest approach {{convert|6200|km}} |
Orbital launch statistics
=By country=
{{Pie chart
| radius = 120
| legend = false
| thumb = left
| [
{"value":190, "color":"#484785", "label": "United States:19 (82.61%)"},
{"value":40, "color":"#a52a2a", "label": "Soviet Union: 4 (17.39%) "},
]
}}
| align="left" class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope=col colspan=2 | Country
! scope=col| Launches ! scope=col| Successes ! scope=col| Failures ! scope=col| Partial |
|---|
| scope=row style="background:#a52a2a;" | || style="text-align:left;" | {{USSR}}
| 4 || 2 || 1 || 1 |
| scope=row style="background:#484785;" | || style="text-align:left;" | {{USA}}
| 19 || 9 || 9 || 1 |
| colspan="2" | World
| {{sum|4|19}} || {{sum|2|9}} || {{sum|1|9}} || {{sum|1|1}} |
{{clear}}
=By rocket=
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| scope=col| Rocket
! scope=col| Country ! scope=col| Launches ! scope=col| Successes ! scope=col| Failures ! scope=col| Partial failures ! scope=col| Remarks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas-Able | {{USA}} | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Juno II | {{USA}} | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Luna 8K72 | {{USSR}} | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thor DM-18 Agena-A | {{USA}} | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Thor DM-18 Able-II | {{USA}} | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Thor DM-18 Able-III | {{USA}} | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vanguard | {{USA}} | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Final flight |
=By orbit=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||
| scope=col| Orbital regime
! scope=col| Launches ! scope=col| Successes ! scope=col| Failures ! scope=col| Accidentally ! scope=col| Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Earth | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| High Earth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Including Highly elliptical orbits |
| Heliocentric | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
See also
References
{{TLS-R}}
=Footnotes=
{{reflist|2}}
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{{Orbital launches in 1959}}