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1978 in spaceflight

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Timeline of spaceflight/Cleanup|incomplete=yes|refs=yes}}

{{Infobox Year in spaceflight

|year = 1978

|image = Atlas Centaur with Pioneer Venus Orbiter.jpg

|caption = The Pioneer Venus Orbiter atop an Atlas-Centaur before launch

|first= 6 January

|last= 28 December

|total= 128

|success=

|failed=

|partial=

|catalogued= 124

|retired= Atlas-Agena
Mu-3H

|firsttrav = {{CSK}}
{{POL}}
{{GDR}} DDR

|orbital= 5

|totalcrew= 10

}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| programme = Timeline of spaceflight

| previous_mission = 1977

| next_mission = 1979

}}

1978 saw the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions launched by the United States, on 20 May and 8 August. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe landed four spacecraft on the planet, one of which transmitted data for 67 minutes before being destroyed by atmospheric pressure. ISEE-C, which was launched on 8 December, flew past comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner in 1985, and Halley's Comet in 1986.Hughes, J (1996) Larousse Desk Reference Encloypedia London RD Press

{{TLS-L|alignment=right|fixed=on}}

{{clear}}

Launches

{{TLS-M|1978}}

{{TLS-H2}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

=January=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 10 January |time = 12:26:00

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 1/5

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks = Crewed flight with two cosmonauts

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz 27

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 EP-1

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 16 March |d-time = 11:18

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date=20 January |time=08:25

|rocket={{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site={{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 31/6

|LSP={{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks=Maiden flight of Progress spacecraft. First in-orbit refuel, from Progress to Salyut 6, 2nd Feb.

|payload={{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Progress 1

|user=

|function=Salyut 6 logistics

|orbit=Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date=8 February |d-time=02:00

|outcome=Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL= 1

|date = 26 January

|time = 04:58

|rocket = {{flagicon|PRC}}Long March 2A

|flight =

|site = Jiuquan, LA-2/138

|LSP =

|remarks = Re-entry capsule recovered on 30 January.

|empty =

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|PRC}}FSW-0 3

|cubesat =

|user =

|orbit = Low Earth

|function = Reconnaissance

|d-date = 30 January

|d-time =

|outcome = Successful

|d-span =

|o-span =

}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=February=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date =4 February

|time =07:00

|rocket ={{flagicon|JPN}}M-3H

|flight =

|site ={{flagicon|JPN}}Kagoshima Space Center LP-M

|LSP =ISAS

|remarks =

|empty =

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name ={{flagicon|JPN}}EXOS-A (Kyokko)

|cubesat =

|user =ISAS

|orbit =Highly elliptical orbit

|function =Magnetosphere research

|d-date =

|d-time =

|outcome =Successful

|d-span =

|o-span =

}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=March=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 2 March |time = 15:28:10

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 1/5

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks = Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first Czechoslovakian in space

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz 28

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 EP-2

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 10 March |d-time = 11:24

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=May=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date=20 May |time=13:13:00

|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Atlas SLV-3D Centaur

|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-36A

|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}

|remarks=Entered 181.6 x 66,360-km orbit around Venus on 4 December 1978.

|payload={{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus Orbiter

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus orbiter

|orbit=Cytherocentric

|d-date=22 October 1992

|outcome=Successful}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=June=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 15 June |time = 20:16:45

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 1/5

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks = Crewed flight with two cosmonauts

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz 29

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 EO-2

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 31 September |d-time = 11:40

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date=16 June |time=10:49

|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Delta 2914

|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-17B

|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}

|remarks=Decommissioned on 29 June 2016.

|payload={{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}GOES 3

|user=NOAA

|function=Weather

|orbit=Geostationary

|outcome=Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 27 June |time = 15:27:21

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 1/5

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks = Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first Pole in space

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz 30

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 EP-3

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 5 July |d-time = 13:30

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=August=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=5

|date=8 August |time=07:33

|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Atlas SLV-3D Centaur

|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-36A

|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}

|remarks=Day Probe survived landing, sent data for an additional 67 minutes afterward. First American probe to send data from the surface of Venus.

|payload={{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Bus

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus atmospheric probe

|orbit=Heliocentric

|d-date=9 December 1978
20:22:55

|outcome=Successful

}}{{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus Large Probe

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus atmospheric probe

|orbit=Heliocentric

|d-date=9 December 1978
19:39:53

|outcome=Successful

}}{{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus North Probe

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus atmospheric probe

|orbit=Heliocentric

|d-date=9 December 1978
19:42:40

|outcome=Successful

}}{{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus Night Probe

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus atmospheric probe

|orbit=Heliocentric

|d-date=9 December 1978
19:52:07

|outcome=Successful

}}{{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}Pioneer Venus Day Probe

|user=NASA/ARC

|function=Venus atmospheric probe

|orbit=Heliocentric

|d-date=9 December 1978
20:55:34

|outcome=Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date=12 August |time=14:12:00

|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Delta 2914

|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-17B

|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}

|remarks=First probe stationed at Sun/Earth {{L1}} Lagrangian point. Later entered heliocentric orbit, encountering Comet Giacobini–Zinner on 11 September 1985. It would also study Halley's Comet from a distance in 1986.

|payload={{TLS-PL

|name={{flagicon|USA}}International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3)/International Cometary Explorer (ICE)

|user=NASA/ESRO

|function=Probing interaction of Earth's magnetic field with solar wind, later cometary research

|orbit=Sun/Earth {{L1}} to Heliocentric

|outcome=Successful}}

}}

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 26 August |time = 14:51:30

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 1/5

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks = Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first East German in space

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz 31

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 EP-4

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 2 November |d-time = 11:04

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"| {{TLS-M|1979}}

=September=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date =16 September

|time =05:00

|rocket ={{flagicon|JPN}}M-3H

|flight =

|site ={{flagicon|JPN}}Kagoshima Space Center LP-M

|LSP ={{flagicon|JPN}}ISAS

|remarks =

|empty =

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name ={{flagicon|JPN}}EXOS-B (Jikiken)

|cubesat =

|user =ISAS

|orbit =Highly elliptical orbit

|function =Magnetosphere research

|d-date =23 April 2018

|d-time =

|outcome =Successful

|d-span =

|o-span =

}}

}}

|colspan=8|

=October=

|-

{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1

|date = 3 October |time = 23:09:30

|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Soyuz-U

|site = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Baikonur Site 31/6

|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}

|remarks =

|payload = {{TLS-PL

|name = {{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Progress 4

|user =

|function = Salyut 6 logistics

|orbit = Low Earth (Salyut 6)

|d-date = 26 October |d-time = 16:28

|outcome = Successful}}

}}

|}

Deep Space Rendezvous

class=wikitable width="100%"

!Date (GMT)

!Spacecraft

!Event

!Remarks

4 DecemberPioneer Venus OrbiterCytherocentric orbit insertion
9 DecemberPioneer Venus MultiprobeVenerian atmospheric entryThe bus, one large and three small subprobes
21 DecemberVenera 12Venerian landing
25 DecemberVenera 11Venerian landing

EVAs

class="wikitable" width="100%"
Start Date/Time

!Duration

!End Time

!Spacecraft

!Crew

!Remarks

29 July
04:00

|2 hours
{{nowrap|20 minutes}}

|06:20

|Salyut 6
PE-2

|{{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Vladimir Kovalyonok
{{nowrap|{{flagicon|USSR|1955}}Aleksandr Ivanchenkov}}

|Ivanchenkov retrieved samples and experiments attached to the outside of Salyut. Kovalyonok assisted with the retrievals and used a color television camera to transmit EVA images to the ground controllers.

References

{{TLS-R}}

=Footnotes=

{{reflist|2}}


{{TLS-L|year=1978|nav=on|state=expanded}}

{{Orbital launches in 1978}}

Category:Spaceflight by year