Every major space launch to orbit during the year 2006 is listed here. Please send any corrections to SPACE.com.

Failures resulting in loss of mission are noted in red.

• January 19: An International Launch Services (ILS) Atlas 5 rocket launches NASA's Pluto New Horizons spacecraft, the first Pluto-bound spacecraft, from Space Launch Complex-41 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT). Read more. Click here for launch countdown coverage.
• January 23: The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launches its Earth-watching Advanced Land Observation Satellite atop the H-2A rocket in a space shot to be staged from Tanegashima Space Center. 8:33 p.m. to 8:43 EST (0133-0143 Jan. 24 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.
• February 15: A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket launches the EchoStar 10 satellite for the DISH Network from equatorial waters on the Pacific Ocean. 6:35 p.m. EST (2335 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.
• February 18: Japan's MTSAT-2 launches into space by an H-2A rocket that lifted off from the Yoshinobu launch complex at the Tanegashima Space Center on the southern end of the Japanese island chain. 3:27 p.m. Local Time, or 1:27 a.m. EST (0627 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now.
• February 21: Japan's Astro-F spacecraft, previously known as the InfraRed Imaging Surveyor (IRIS) launches spaceward atop an M-V rocket in a Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA) space shot to be staged from Uchinoura Space Center. 4:38 p.m. EST (2138 GMT). Read More.
• February 28: An International Launch Services (ILS) Proton M rocket equipped with a Breeze M upper stage orbits the ArabSat 4 satellite spaceward for the Arab Satellite Communications Organization on a mission staged from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 3:10 p.m. EST (2010 GMT). Read More from Spaceflight Now. Click here for countdown coverage.
• March 11: An Ariane 5 rocket launches the Hot Bird 7A and SPAINSAT communications satellites into orbit from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 5:32 p.m. EST (2232 GMT). Read More.
• March 22: NASA's Space Technology 5 microsatellite trio mission reaches orbit atop an Orbital Sciences-built Pegasus XL rocket. 9:03 a.m. EST (1403 GMT). Read More. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.
• March 24: A SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket launches the FalconSat-2 spacecraft for the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 GMT). Read more.
• March 29: The 13th astronaut crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and Brazil's first astronaut launch atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 9:30 p.m. EST (0230 GMT). Read More.
• April 5: A Rexus 3 Orion sounding rocket carrying a student experiment to launch from Sweden's Esrange Space Center. Read more.
• April 12: Sea Launch lofts a Zenit 3SL rocket carrying the Japanese JCSAT 9 telecommunications satellite in a space shot to be staged from the Odyssey Launch Platform atop the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 7:30 p.m. EDT (23:30 GMT). Read More. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• April 14: A Minotaur booster launches a series of satellites for the COSMIC project, a joint program between the U.S. and Taiwan, in a mission to lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 9:40 p.m. EDT (0140 April 15 GMT). Read More. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• April 21: An Atlas 5 booster orbits the ASTRA 1KR communications satellite in a space shot to be staged from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 4:27 p.m. EDT (2027 GMT). Read More. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• April 24: An unmanned Russian cargo ship, Progress 21, launches toward the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 12:03 p.m. EDT (1603 GMT). Read More.

• April 25: A Russian Start-1 rocket launches the Israeli Eros B imaging satellite for Israel Aircraft Industries Read More.

• April 26: China's Long March 4B rocket orbits the Remote Sensing-1 satellite from the the Taiyuan launch center in the northeastern Shanxi province. Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• April 28: NASA's CloudSat and CALIPSO spacecraft launches atop a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 6:02 a.m. EDT ((1002 GMT). Read more. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• May 3: A Maxus 7 sounding rocket carrying biological samples and other microgravity experiments launches from Sweden's Esrange Space Center. Read more.

• May 3: A Russian Soyuz U rocket carries a military satellite into orbit from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• May 10: A Texus 43 sounding rocket launches from Sweden's Esrange Launch Facility in Kiruna, Sweden.

• May 24: A Delta 4 rocket orbits the GOES-N satellite in a space shot staged from Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 6:11 p.m. EDT (2211 GMT). Read more. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• May 26: A converted Russian Shtil missile lofts the Kompass-2 earthquake monitoring satellite from a submarine on the Barents Sea. 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT). Read more.

• May 27: An Ariane 5 rocket orbits the SATMEX 6 and THAICOM 5 satellites from the Giuana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 5:09-5:54 p.m. EDT (2109-2154 GMT). Read more.

• June 15: A Russian-built Soyuz rocket carrying the Resurs DK-1 satellite launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Read more.

• June 17: A Russian-built Proton K rocket launches the KazSat communications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:44 p.m. EDT (2244 GMT). Read more.

• June 18: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket orbits the Galaxy 16 communications satellite from the Odyssey Launch Platform on the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 3:50 a.m. EDT (0750 GMT). Read more.

• June 21: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) MITEX spacecraft launches atop a Boeing-built Delta 2 rocket in a space shot to be staged from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 10:15 p.m. EDT (2215 GMT). Read more.

• June 24: A Russian-built Soyuz rocket launches the automated supply ship Progress 22 to the restock the International Space Station in a flight to begin at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT). Read more.

• June 27: A Delta 4 rocket launches a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office in a launch to be staged from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Read more. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• July 4: NASA's second space shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster, STS-121 aboard the Discovery orbiter, launches toward the International Space Station from at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 2:37:55 p.m. EDT (1837:55 GMT). Read more.

• July 10: The India Space Research Organization's Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle launches the Insat-4C communications satellite, but fails to reach orbit. Read more.

• July 12: A Dnepr rocket launches Genesis-1, an inflatable test vehicle for future orbital habitats designed by Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Read more.

• July 21: A Molniya-M rocket launches a Russian spy satellite into orbit from Plesetsk Cosmodrome near the Arctic Circle.

• July 26: An ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket laden with a 18 small satellites crashes just after launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 3:43 p.m. EDT (1943 GMT). Read more.

• July 28: A Eurockot Rockot orbits the KOMPSAT 2 Earth-watching satellite from a staging ground at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. 3:05 a.m. EDT (0705 GMT). Read more.

• August 4: An International Launch Services Proton rocket carrying the Hot Bird 8 direct television satellite launches into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 5:48 p.m. EDT (2148 GMT).Read more.

• August 11: An Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA booster lofts the Syracuse 3B and JCSAT 10 satellites into orbit from Kourou, French Guiana. 6:15-7:52 p.m. EDT (2215-2352 GMT). Read more. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• September 9: NASA's STS-115 shuttle flight aboard the Atlantis orbiter launches six astronauts, new truss segments and solar arrays to the International Space Station in a launch to be staged from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch window runs through Sept. 18. 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629 GMT).

• September 10: A Chinese Long March 2C rocket bearing the Shijian 8 recoverable science platform launches from Jiuquan Space Center in China's Gansu Province on a two-week mission.

• September 11: Japan's H-2A rocket orbits the nation's third Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) from Tanegashima Space Center. 12:35 a.m. EDT (0425 GMT).

• September 18: The 14th astronaut crew and the world's first female space tourist ride toward the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Soyuz rocket launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 1:44 a.m. EDT (0544 GMT). Read more.

• September 22: A Japanese M-5 rocket launches the Solar-B Sun-watching observatory from Uchinoura Space Center. 5:36 p.m. EDT (2136 GMT). Read more.

• September 25: A Delta 2 rocket launches the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite GPS 2R-M2 in a space shot staged from Pad 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT). Read more.

• September 25: An privately-built unmanned suborbital SpaceLoft XL rocket developed by UP Aerospace fails just after launch from an Upham, New Mexico launch pad. 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814 GMT). Read more.

• October 13: An Ariane 5 rocket launches the DIRECTV 9S and Optus D1 communications satellites. as well as Japan's LDREX-2 satellite, into orbit from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 4:56 p.m. EDT (2056 GMT). Read more.

• October 19: The European Space Agency's MetOp-A meteorological satellite launches atop a Russian-built Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 12:28 p.m. EDT (1628 GMT). Read more.

• October 21: Several rocket demonstrations, launches and competitions held during the Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Click here for full coverage.

• October 23: A Russian-built Soyuz rocket launches the automated supply ship Progress 23 to the restock the International Space Station in a flight to begin at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. 9:40 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT). Read more.

• October 24: A Chinese Long March 4B rocket launched two satellites to study the space environment in a mission staged from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi province at 7:34 a.m. Local Time.

• October 25: NASA's STEREO mission orbits two solar observatories to generate three dimensional images of the Sun to launch atop a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. 8:52 p.m. EDT (0052 Oct. 26 GMT). Read more. Click here for countdown coverage from Spaceflight Now.

• October 30: A Chinese-built Long March 3B rocket launches the Sinosat-2 communications satellite into orbit from the Xichang Launch Center. Spacecraft failed to deploy properly. Read more.

• October 30: A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket to launch the XM 4 radio satellite from the Odyssey Launch Platform on the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. 6:48:59.11 p.m. EST (2348:59.11 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now..

• November 4: A Delta 4 rocket is slated to loft the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Program-17 (DMSP-17) in a spaceflight to be staged from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 8:53 a.m. EST (1353 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now..

• November 8: An International Launch Services Proton M rocket equipped with a Breeze M upper stage lofts the ARABSAT 4B satellite - the second of a series of new communications satellites for Arab Satellite Communications - from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Also known as Badr 4. 3:01 p.m. EST (2001 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• November 17: A Boeing-built Delta 2 rocket launches the GPS 2R-16 global positioning system satellite for the U.S. Air Force from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 2:12 p.m. EST (1912 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• December 8: A Chinese Long March 3A booster launches the FengYun 2D communications satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. Read more.

• December 8: An Ariane 5 rocket carrying the Wildblue 1 and AMC 18 communications satellites launches from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 5:08 p.m. EST (2208 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now. Countdown coverage.

• December 9: NASA's STS-116 space shuttle mission launches the Discovery orbiter toward the International Space Station from Launch Complex-39 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 8:47:35 p.m. EST (0147:35 Dec. 10 GMT). Read More.

• December 11: An International Launch Services Proton rocket orbits the Malaysia-East Asia Satellite 3 (MEASAT 3) communications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 6:28:43 p.m. EST (2328:43 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now. Countdown coverage.

• December 14: An Delta 2 rocket launches a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• December 16: An Orbital Sciences Minotaur Rocket orbits the TacSat-2 satellite for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. 7:00 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• December 18: A Japanese H-2A rocket launches the Engineering Test Satellite 8 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. 1:32 a.m. EST (0632 GMT). Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• December 19: A Cosmos 3M booster launches two reconnaissance satellites - SAR-Lupe 1 and 2 - for the German military. 9:00 a.m. EST (1400 GMT).

• December 25: A Russian-built Proton rocket orbits three Glonass navigation satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Read more from Spaceflight Now.

• December 27: A Russian Soyuz 2 rocket launched France's COROT planet-hunting satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 9:23 a.m. EST(1423 GMT) Read more.