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2008 Space Launch Log

Every major space launch to orbit during the year 2008 is listed here. Please send any corrections to SPACE.com.

Failures resulting in loss of mission are noted in red.

  • January 15: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL booster to launch Thuraya 3 mobile communications satellite from the Odyssey Launch Platform on the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 6:49 a.m. EST (1149 GMT). Read more.

  • January 20: An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launches the covert Israeli spy satellite TechSAR from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. 10:45 p.m. EST (0345 Jan. 21 GMT). Read more.

  • January 27: A Russian Proton rocket to launch the communication satellite Express AM33 from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. 7:17 p.m. EST (0017 Jan. 28 GMT). Read more.

  • February 4: Iran launched a research rocket Explorer-1 spaceward from the country's first space center. Read more.

  • February 5: A Russian Soyuz rocket to launch the Russian-built Progress 28 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 8:02:50 a.m. EST (13:02:50 GMT) Read more.

  • February 7: NASA's space shuttle Atlantis to launch NASA's STS-122 mission to deliver the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station in a flight to begin at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 2:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT). Read more. Click here for mission updates!

  • February 10: An International Launch Alliance Proton rocket to launch the Thor 5 communications satellite into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:33 a.m. EST (1133 GMT). Read more.

  • February 23: A Japanese H-2A rocket launched the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, Japan. 3:55 a.m. EST (0855 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

  • March 8: An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket launched the European Space Agency's first Automated Transfer Vehicle Jules Verne toward the International Space Station from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT). Read More. Click here for mission updates!

  • March 11: NASA's space shuttle Endeavour to launch Japan's Kibo Experiment Logistics Module and Canada's Dextre robotic arm addition on the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT). Read More. Click here for mission updates!

  • March 13: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch a classified payload aboard the NROL-28 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 6:02 a.m. EDT (1002 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • March 14: An International Launch Services Proton rocket to launch the AMC-14 communications satellite from Baoikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 7:18 p.m. EDT (2318 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • March 15: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 booster to orbit the GPS 2R-19 global positioning system satellite for the U.S. Air Force in a space shot staged from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Fla. 2:10 a.m. EDT (0610 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • March 19: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket orbits the DIRECTV 11 television broadcasting satellite from the Odyssey Launch Platform in the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 6:48 p.m. EDT (2248 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • March 27: A Russian-built Kosmos 3M rocket launches the German SAR-Lupe 4 radar spy satellites from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 8: A Russian Soyuz rocket launched the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan with the Expedition 17 crew and South Korea's first astronaut aboard. 7:16 a.m. EDT (1116 GMT). Read More. Click here for Mission Updates.

  • April 14: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch the ICO G1 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 16: A Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket to launch the Communication and Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite for the U.S. military in a space shot to be staged from the Marshall Islands' Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. 1:01 p.m. EDT (1701 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 18: An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket to orbit the VINASAT 1 communications satellite for Vietnam and Brazil's Star One C2 communications satellite from a spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. 6:17 p.m. EDT (2217 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 26: A Russian-built Soyuz rocket to launch the European Galileo navigation satellite GIOVE-B from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:16:02 p.m. EDT (2216:02 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 27: An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launches the CartoSat 2A Earth observatory and a series of other satellites into orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. 11:53:51 p.m. EDT (0353:51 April 28 GMT). Read More. Launch coverage from Spaceflight Now.

  • April 28: A Land Launch Zenit 3SLB rocket orbits the Amos 3 communications satellite for Israel's Spacecom Limited from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 1:00 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT). Read More. UPDATE: Satellite failed to reach intended orbit after launch due to software glitch, forcing more propellant use to begin primary mission.

  • April 28: A Chinese Long March 3C rocket launched the Tianlian I relay satellite that will aid the country's first planned spacewalk. Read More.

  • May 14: A Russian Soyuz rocket launched the unmanned Progress 29 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 4:22 p.m. EDT (2022 GMT). Read More.

  • May 21: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket to launch the Galaxy 18 telecommunications satellite from the Odyssey launch platform on the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 5:43 a.m. EDT (0943 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • May 23: Several satellites have been lunched into space with a Rockot light launch vehicle from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia. Read More from Interfax News Agency. Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • May 28: A Chinese Long March-4C rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province tor orbit the Fengyun-3 weather forecasting satellite. Read More.

  • May 31: NASA's space shuttle Discovery launches Japan's Kibo Pressurized module and robotic arm on the STS-124 mission to the International Space Station. 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT) Read More.

  • June 9: A Chinese Long March 3B rocket successfully placed the Chinasat-9 direct-broadcast television satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. Read More.

  • June 11: NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT). Read More. Launch coverage from Spaceflight Now.

  • June 12: An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket orbits the Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A communciations satellites from a spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. 6:05 p.m. EDT (2205 GMT). Read More.

  • June 19: A Russian-built Kosmos 3M rocket launches six ORBCOMM satellites from Kasputin Yar, Russia. 2:36 a.m. EDT (0636 GMT). Read More.

  • June 20: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket launches the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason 2 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 3:46 a.m. EDT (0746 GMT) Read More.

  • July 7: An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket launched the Protostar 1 and BADR 6 communications satellites from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 5:47 p.m. EDT (2147 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • July 16: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket launched the Echostar 11 direct-to-home television broadcast satellite for the DISH Network from the Odyssey Launch Platform in the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 1:21 a.m. EDT (0521 GMT).

  • July 21: A Russian-built Kosmos 3M rocket launched the SAR-Lupe 5 radar spy satellite for the German military from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. 10:40 p.m. EDT (0240 July 22 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • August 2: SpaceX's third attempt to launch its Falcon 1 rocket failed due to a stage separation glitch on to launched the Trailblazer satellite into orbit on the Pentagon's Jumpstart mission from Omelek Island of the Kwajalein Atoll in the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 11:34 p.m. EDT (0334 Aug. 7 GMT). Read More. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

  • August 12: An UP Aerospace rocket launched a Lockheed Martin-built space plane prototype that went out of control and crashed back to Earth in a test flight at Spaceport America near Las Cruces, N.M. Read More.

  • August 14: An Ariane 5 rocket launches the Superbird 7 and AMC 21 communications satellites from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 4:44 p.m. EDT (2044 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • August 17: Iran reportedly test launched a two-stage Safir-e Omid rocket and released equipment that beamed telemetry back to Earth. Read More.

  • August 18: An International Launch Services Proton booster lofts the Inmarsat 4-F3 mobile communications spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:46 p.m. EDT (2246 GMT). Read More.

  • August 22: A prototype suborbital rocket ALV-X1 built by ATK strays off course while launching NASA's HYBOLT and SOAREX experiments, forcing launch range controllers to remotely destroy after liftoff from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Va. 5:10 a.m. EDT (0810 GMT) Read More. Related Video.

  • August 29: A Russian-Ukranian Dnepr rocket launched five RapidEye Earth-observing satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:46 p.m. EDT (2246 GMT). Read More.

  • September 5: China launched two disaster monitoring satellites atop a Long March 2C rocket from its Taiyuan launch site while preparing for its third manned spaceflight. 11:25 p.m. EDT Friday (0325 GMT Saturday). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • September 6: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 booster launches the GeoEye 1 Earth-watching satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. 2:50:57 p.m. EDT (1850:57 GMT). Read More.

  • September 10: A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 30 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 3:49 p.m. EDT (1749 GMT).Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • September 19: An International Launch Services Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage launches the Nimiq 4 television broadcasting satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 5:48 p.m. EDT (2148 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • September 24: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket launched the Galaxy 19 communications satellite from the Odyssey Launch Platform on the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 5:27:59.108 a.m. EDT (0927:59.108 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • September 25: A Chinese Long March 2F rocket makes history by launching China's third manned spaceflight aboard Shenzhou 7 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to stage the country's first three-man flight and feature the nation's first spacewalk. 9:10 a.m. EDT (1310 GMT). Read More on the launch, spacewalk and landing success.

  • September 25: A Russian Proton rocket launched a set of three new Glonass navigation satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 4:49 a.m. EDT (0849 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • September 28: A Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 1 rocket successfully reaches orbit in the fourth test of the new U.S.-built rocket in a space shot staged from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Pacific Ocean. Read More. Click here for launch video.

  • October 1: A Russian-Ukranian Dnepr rocket launched the THEOS Earth-observing satellite for Thailand from a silo at Russia's Yasny spaceport, in the Orenburg region 74 miles (120 km) west of Orsk. Read More.

  • October 12:A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan with the Expedition 18 crew and U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott aboard. 3:01 a.m. EDT (0701 GMT). Read More.

  • October 19: The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft launches spaceward atop Orbital Sciences' air-loaunched Pegasus XL rocket from the Reagan Missile Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 2:58 p.m. EDT (1858 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.

  • October 21: An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lofts the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter toward the Moon from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. Read More.

  • October 24: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket to loft the COSMO-SkyMed 3 Earth-imaging radar satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. 10:28 p.m. EDT (0228 Oct. 25 GMT). Read More.

  • October 25: A Chinese Long March 4B rocket launched two research satellites from the Taiyuan launch site in Shanxi province of northeastern China. It was early Saturday at the launch site. 9:15 p.m. EDT Friday (0115 Oct. 25 GMT).

  • October 30: A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launched Venezuela's first satellite Venesat-1 Simon Bolivar from the Xichang spaceport in southwest China's Sichuan Province. It was early Saturday at the launch site.

  • November 5: An International Launch Services Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage launches the ASTRA 1M television broadcasting satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 3:44 p.m. EST (2044 GMT). Read More.

  • November 14: A Soyuz-U rocket launched a military satellite for the Russian Space Force and Russian Defence Ministry from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, according to the country's Interfax news agency.

  • November 14: NASA's space shuttle Endeavour launches on the STS-126 cargo flight to the International Space Station. 7:55 p.m. EST (0055 Nov. 15 GMT). Read More. Click here for mission updates!

  • November 26: A Russian Soyuz rocket launched the unmanned Progress 31 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 7:38 a.m. EST (1238 GMT). Read More.

  • November 30: China launches the Yaogan 4 Earth-observation satellite atop a Long March 2D rocket that lifted off from the Taiyan launch base in northern China. 11:42 p.m. EST (0442 Dec. 1 GMT).

  • December 2: A Russian Molniya=M booster launched a military satellte from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome. 12:00 a.m. EST (0500 GMT).

  • December 10: An International Launch Services Proton rocket launched the Canadian Ciel 2 telecommunications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 8:43 a.m. EST (1343 GMT).

  • December 14: China launches the Yaogan 5 Earth-observation satellite atop a Long March 4B rocket that lifted off from the Taiyan launch base in northern China. 10:22 p.m. EST (0322 Dec. 15 GMT). Read Morefrom Spaceflight Now.

  • December 20: A heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket launched two new communications spacecraft, Hot Bird 9 and W2M, from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 5:35 p.m. EST (2235 GMT).Read More from Spaceflight Now.
    • .

  • December 22: China's Feng Yun 2E satellite blasted off aboard a Long March 3A rocket at 0054 GMT (8:54 a.m. local time) from the Xichang launch center in southwestern China's Sichuan province to mark the country's 11th - a record - for 2008. 7:54 p.m. EST (0054 Dec. 23 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.
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  • December 25: A Russian Proton rocket launched three Glonass satellite navigation satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Read More.

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