1981 Rocket Launch Statistics

In 1981, there were 126 orbital launch attempts worldwide, and 120 of them reached orbit. That is 18 more than in 1980. By country, the Soviet Union launched 87 and the United States 19. Together they put 445 tonnes of payload in orbit.

Statistics summary

Rockets launched

1981

126

vs 108 in 1980

Per week

2.4

vs 2.1 in 1980

Payload to orbit

1981

445 t

vs 411 t in 1980

Per week

9 t

vs 8 t in 1980

Reached orbit

1981

95%

120 of 126; 3 failures, 3 partial

1980

95%

103 of 108; 3 failures, 2 partial

Who flew

Companies

vs 12 in 1980

Countries

vs 6 in 1980

Who flew in 1981

Company1981 launches1981Share

1981 against 1980. Drawings at one true scale.

Every company, as a table

Orbital launch attempts and payload delivered to orbit by company, 1981.
Company	Launches	Share	Payload to orbit	Share
Progress RSC	56	44%	292 t	66%
Polyot	18	14%	13 t	3%
Yuzhmash	13	10%	32 t	7%
Khrunichev	7	6%	47 t	10%
Convair	6	5%	9 t	2%
RKK Energia	6	5%	10 t	2%
Lockheed Martin	5	4%	20 t	4%
McDonnell Douglas	5	4%	4 t	1%
Aérospatiale	2	2%	3 t	1%
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	2	2%	1 t	<1%
Rockwell / Martin Marietta / Thiokol	2	2%	13 t	3%
CASC	1	1%	820 kg	<1%
ISRO	1	1%	40 kg	<1%
Nissan	1	1%	188 kg	<1%
Vought	1	1%	165 kg	<1%

Launches and payload by week

Orbital launch attempts per week, 1981

SpaceX, and the rest of the world by region.

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Orbital launch attempts per week by region, and payload delivered to orbit, 1981, newest week first.
Week of	SpaceX	Rest of US	Europe	China	Russia	India	Rest of World	All	Payload to orbit
20 Dec 1981	–	–	1	–	1	–	–	2	4 t
13 Dec 1981	–	2	–	–	2	–	–	4	9 t
29 Nov 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	8 t
22 Nov 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	480 kg
15 Nov 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	3 t
8 Nov 1981	–	1	–	–	1	–	–	2	15 t
1 Nov 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	13 t
25 Oct 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	9 t
11 Oct 1981	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3	10 t
4 Oct 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	9 t
27 Sep 1981	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3	9 t
20 Sep 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	3 t
13 Sep 1981	–	–	–	1	4	–	–	5	18 t
6 Sep 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	2 t
30 Aug 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	21 t
23 Aug 1981	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	4	13 t
16 Aug 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	13 t
9 Aug 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	1	3	8 t
2 Aug 1981	–	2	–	–	4	–	–	6	10 t
26 Jul 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	9 t
12 Jul 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	13 t
5 Jul 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	8 t
28 Jun 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	13 t
21 Jun 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	6 t
14 Jun 1981	–	–	1	–	3	–	–	4	16 t
7 Jun 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	2 t
31 May 1981	–	–	–	–	2	1	–	3	7 t
17 May 1981	–	2	–	–	4	–	–	6	23 t
10 May 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	8 t
3 May 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	800 kg
26 Apr 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	6 t
19 Apr 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	29 t
12 Apr 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	3	17 t
5 Apr 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	7 t
29 Mar 1981	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	2 t
22 Mar 1981	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3	9 t
15 Mar 1981	–	1	–	–	3	–	–	4	14 t
8 Mar 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	8 t
1 Mar 1981	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	3	11 t
22 Feb 1981	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	1	3 t
15 Feb 1981	–	1	–	–	2	–	1	4	10 t
8 Feb 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	1	3	8 t
1 Feb 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	2 t
25 Jan 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	4 t
18 Jan 1981	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	4	17 t
11 Jan 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	7 t
4 Jan 1981	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	2	8 t

Year against year

Orbital launch attempts, year against year, 1978 to 1981

Added up through each year.

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Orbital launch attempts · payload delivered to orbit, added up by the end of each month, 1978 to 1981.
By the end of	1978	1979	1980	1981
January	13 · 49 t	8 · 30 t	8 · 22 t	10 · 37 t
February	22 · 67 t	21 · 59 t	18 · 57 t	20 · 59 t
March	36 · 134 t	28 · 93 t	24 · 78 t	33 · 103 t
April	42 · 154 t	38 · 128 t	35 · 124 t	42 · 162 t
May	56 · 186 t	47 · 185 t	44 · 159 t	53 · 195 t
June	70 · 237 t	62 · 241 t	56 · 216 t	63 · 226 t
July	76 · 259 t	72 · 273 t	69 · 257 t	71 · 268 t
August	85 · 291 t	82 · 313 t	73 · 278 t	86 · 312 t
September	91 · 318 t	88 · 341 t	81 · 322 t	100 · 358 t
October	105 · 357 t	99 · 365 t	90 · 360 t	110 · 392 t
November	112 · 386 t	103 · 375 t	97 · 383 t	118 · 424 t
December	128 · 428 t	110 · 400 t	108 · 411 t	126 · 445 t

Busiest rockets in 1981

Launches and payload by country in 1981

Orbital launch attempts by country, 1981

By the country of the rocket.

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Orbital launch attempts and payload delivered to orbit by the country of the rocket, 1981.
Country	Launches	Share	Payload to orbit	Share
Soviet Union	87	69%	361 t	81%
United States	19	15%	46 t	10%
Ukraine	13	10%	32 t	7%
Japan	3	2%	1 t	<1%
France	2	2%	3 t	1%
China	1	1%	820 kg	<1%
India	1	1%	40 kg	<1%