1987 in spaceflight
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2019}}
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Timeline of spaceflight/Cleanup|incomplete=yes|refs=yes}}
{{Infobox Year in spaceflight
|year = 1987
|image = Atlas-H.jpg
|caption = The Atlas H launches on its final flight
|imsize=180
|first= 5 January
|last= 29 December
|total= 115
|success=
|failed=
|partial=
|catalogued= 110
|retired= Atlas H
N-II
Titan III(34)B
|firsttrav = {{SYR}}
|orbital= 3
|totalcrew= 8
}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| programme = Timeline of spaceflight
| previous_mission = 1986
| next_mission = 1988
}}
The following is an outline of 1987 in spaceflight.
{{TLS-L|alignment=right|fixed=on}}
{{clear}}
Launches
{{TLS-M|1987}}
{{TLS-H2}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 5 February |time = 21:38:16
|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz-U2
|site = {{flagicon|USSR}}Baikonur Site 1/5
|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR}}
|remarks = Crewed flight launching two cosmonauts and landing three, first crewed flight of Soyuz-TM
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz TM-2
|user =
|function = Mir EO-2
|d-date = 30 July |d-time = 01:04:12
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date=12 February |time=06:40
|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Titan 34B/Agena-D
|site={{flagicon|USA}}Vandenberg SLC-4W
|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}U.S. Air Force
|remarks=Final flight of the Titan IIIB rocket. Final use of the RM-81 Agena upper stage in any rocket.
|payload={{TLS-PL
|name={{flagicon|USA}}SDS-1 F-6{{Cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1987-015A |title=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |access-date=21 August 2019 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929151808/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1987-015A |url-status=live }}
|user=U.S. Air Force
|function=Communications
|orbit=Molniya
|outcome=Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date=26 February |time=23:05
|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Delta 3914
|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-17A
|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}
|remarks=
|payload={{TLS-PL
|name={{flagicon|USA}}GOES 7
|user=NOAA
|function=Weather
|orbit=Geostationary
|outcome=Operational}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date=20 March |time=23:05
|rocket={{flagicon|USA}}Delta-3920
|site={{flagicon|USA}}Cape Canaveral LC-17
|LSP={{flagicon|USA}}
|remarks=
|payload={{TLS-PL
|name={{flagicon|INA}}Palapa B2-P
|user=PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara
|function=Communications
|orbit=?
|outcome=Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=2
|date = 31 March |time = 00:16:16
|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR}}Proton-K
|site = {{flagicon|USSR}}Baikonur Site 200/39
|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR}}
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Kvant-1
|user = 1991–2001: Roskosmos
|function = Mir module
|orbit = Low Earth (Mir)
|d-date = 23 March 2001 |d-time = 05:59:36
|outcome = Successful
}}{{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Kvant FSB
|user =
|function = Space tug
|orbit = Low Earth (Kvant-1)
|d-date = 25 August 1988
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 15 May |time = 17:30:01
|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR}}Energia
|site = {{flagicon|USSR}}Baikonur Site 250
|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR}}
|remarks = Maiden flight of Energia, computer error resulted in spacecraft attempting to perform circularisation burn in a retrograde orientation, failed to orbit
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Polyus
|user =
|function = Weapons tests
Technology
|orbit = Intended: Low Earth
|d-date = 15 May
|outcome = Launch failure}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 8 June
|rocket = {{flagicon|India}} RH-300 Mk II
|site = {{flagicon|India}} Sriharikota
|LSP = {{flagicon|India}} ISRO
|remarks= First flight of the RH-300 Mk II, reached an altitude of 130 km (80 miles)
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|India}}
|user = ISRO
|function = Engineering test
|orbit = Suborbital
|d-date = 8 June
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 22 July |time = 01:59:17
|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz-U2
|site = {{flagicon|USSR}}Baikonur Site 1/5
|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR}}
|remarks = Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, first Syrian in space, carried replacement for ill EO-2 crewmember
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz TM-3
|user =
|function = Mir EP-1
|orbit = Low Earth (Mir)
|d-date = 29 December |d-time = 09:16:15
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date =24 August
|time =16:30
|rocket ={{flagicon|UK}}Skylark 7
|flight =
|site ={{flagicon|AUS}}Woomera Test Range LA2 D
|LSP ={{flagicon|FRG}}MORABA
|remarks =Apogee: ~270 km
|empty =
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name ={{flagicon|FRG}} Supernova (W-GR-147)
|cubesat =
|user =DFVLR
|orbit =Suborbital
|function =X-ray astronomy
|d-date =24 August
|d-time =
|outcome =Successful
|d-span =
|o-span =
}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 8 October
|rocket = {{flagicon|Brazil}} Sonda IV
|site = {{flagicon|Brazil}} Barreira do Inferno Launch Center
|LSP = {{flagicon|Brazil}} IAE
|remarks= "Operation Petrópolis". R&D launch for the VLS program. 510 kg payload. 570 km apogee.{{cite news |url=https://memoria.bn.br/DocReader/DocReader.aspx?bib=885959&pesq=%22Ve%C3%ADculo%20Lan%C3%A7ador%20de%20Sat%C3%A9lites%22&pasta=ano%20198&pagfis=106998 |title=Lançamento do foguete Sonda IV foi um sucesso |date=1987-10-09 |accessdate=2024-02-18 |newspaper=O Pioneiro |issue=528 |page=5|lang=pt-br}}
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|Brazil}}
|user = IAE
|function = Engineering test
|orbit = Suborbital
|d-date = 8 October
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date=21 November |time=02:19:00
|rocket={{flagicon|FRA}}Ariane 2
|site={{flagicon|FRA}}Kourou ELA-2
|LSP={{flagicon|FRA}}Arianespace
|remarks=Immediately after launch, one of its solar panels failed to deploy, and as a result of this the main uplink antenna, which was located behind the solar panel, could not deploy either. Briefly used to verify the systems of the Spacebus 300 satellite bus before being retired to a graveyard orbit.
|payload={{TLS-PL
|name={{flagicon|West Germany}}TV-SAT 1
|user=Deutsche Bundespost
|function=Communications
|orbit=Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
|outcome=Spacecraft failure}}
}}
{{TLS-RL|NoPL=1
|date = 21 December |time = 11:18:03
|rocket = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz-U2
|site = {{flagicon|USSR}}Baikonur Site 1/5
|LSP = {{flagicon|USSR}}
|remarks = Crewed flight with three cosmonauts
|payload = {{TLS-PL
|name = {{flagicon|USSR}}Soyuz TM-4
|user =
|function = Mir EO-3
|orbit = Low Earth (Mir)
|d-date = 17 June 1988 |d-time = 10:12:32
|outcome = Successful}}
}}
|}
{{Incomplete list|date=February 2011}}
Deep-space rendezvous
There were no deep-space rendezvous in 1987.
References
{{TLS-R}}
=Footnotes=
{{reflist|30em}}
{{TLS-L|year=1987|nav=on|state=expanded}}
{{Orbital launches in 1987}}