Rocket Launches in 1960
Spaceflight in 1960: The first practical satellites reach orbit. TIROS-1 sends back the first television pictures of weather from space, Transit 1B tests satellite navigation, and the Echo 1 balloon reflects radio calls between distant ground stations. In August a Discoverer capsule brings the first spy film home from orbit, and the dogs Belka and Strelka return alive from a day in space.
38 launches in 1960 · 19 failures
Launch list for 1960
| Date (UTC) | Rocket | Mission | Provider | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-02-04 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 9 | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-02-19 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 10 | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-02-26 | Atlas LV-3 Agena A | Midas 1 | Convair | Failure |
| 1960-03-11 | Thor Able IV | Pioneer V | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-03-23 | Juno II | NASA S-46 | Chrysler | Failure |
| 1960-04-01 | Thor Able II | Tiros 1 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-04-13 | Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit 1B | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-04-15 | Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-4a | RKK Energia | Failure |
| 1960-04-15 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 11 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-04-16 | Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-4b | RKK Energia | Failure |
| 1960-05-13 | Thor Delta | Echo | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-05-15 | Vostok 8K72 | Korabl'-Sputnik-1 | RKK Energia | Success |
| 1960-05-24 | Atlas LV-3 Agena A | Midas 2 | Convair | Success |
| 1960-06-22 | Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit 2A | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-06-29 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 12 | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-07-28 | Vostok 8K72 | Korabl-Sputnik (2) | RKK Energia | Failure |
| 1960-08-10 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 13 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-08-12 | Thor Delta | Echo 1 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-08-18 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 14 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-08-18 | Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Courier 1A | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-08-19 | Vostok 8K72 | Korabl'-Sputnik-2 | RKK Energia | Success |
| 1960-09-13 | Thor Agena A | Discoverer 15 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-09-25 | Atlas-Able | P-30 (Able VA) | Convair | Failure |
| 1960-10-04 | Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Courier 1B | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-10-10 | Molniya 8K78 | Mars-1a | RKK Energia | Failure |
| 1960-10-11 | Atlas LV-3 Agena A | Samos 1 | Convair | Failure |
| 1960-10-14 | Molniya 8K78 | Mars-1b | RKK Energia | Failure |
| 1960-10-26 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Discoverer 16 | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-11-03 | Juno II | Explorer 8 | Chrysler | Success |
| 1960-11-12 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Discoverer 17 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-11-23 | Thor Delta | Tiros 2 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-11-30 | Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit 3A | McDonnell Douglas | Failure |
| 1960-12-01 | Vostok 8K72 | Korabl'-Sputnik-3 | RKK Energia | Success |
| 1960-12-04 | Scout X-1 | NASA S-56 | Vought | Failure |
| 1960-12-07 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Discoverer 18 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-12-15 | Atlas-Able | P-31 | Convair | Failure |
| 1960-12-20 | Thor DM-21 Agena-B | Discoverer 19 | McDonnell Douglas | Success |
| 1960-12-22 | Vostok-K | Korabl-Sputnik (4) | RKK Energia | Failure |