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For missions in 2008 click here

ORBITAL LAUNCH ATTEMPTS IN 2009 (as of July 6, 2009 ):

The 2009 space launch score card (as of July 6, 2009 ):

PLANNED RUSSIAN SPACE MISSIONS IN 2009:

July 15-Aug. 15: The Proton rocket to launch AsiaSat 5 comsat from Baikonur. The contract was announced on Feb. 24, 2009, and at the time, the delivery of the satellite to the launch site was expected in the early summer of 2009. The mission was originally scheduled to fly on the Zenit-3SLB from Baikonur between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2008. It was later rescheduled for the second quarter of 2009 and continued slipping. By February 2009, Land Launch had to postpone the mission to the middle of 2010. In the meantime, AsiaSat-5's predecessor at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East-- AsiaSat-2 -- was to reach the end of its projected lifespan at the beginning of 2011.

The AsiaSat 5 was designed to offer an enhanced pan-Asian C-band footprint and high-power Ku-band beams over East Asia, South Asia, and an in-orbit steerable Ku beam. The satellite is a Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform, designed for a lifespan of 15 years. The station-keeping lifetime of the satellite was promised to be greatly improved due to the available performance of the Proton launch vehicle.

Beginning of 2009: Proton rocket to launch a new-generation military data relay satellite (Garpun) from Baikonur. (General Popovkin's statement in January 2008.)

June 30: Soyuz to launch the Progress cargo ship toward the ISS from Baikonur. (Delayed from June 24)

June: The Dnepr rocket to launch the Picard climate research satellite for the French space agency, CNES, and the Prisma dual satellite for the Swedish Space Corporation. (As of April 2008)

Mid-2009: Dnepr to launch the TanDEM-X remote-sensing satellite from Baikonur's Site 109. Original plans to launch this mission from Yasny/Dombarovsky were dropped. The satellite is expected to conduct formation flying with the TerraSAR-X spacecraft for as long as three years to produce high-resolution radar imagery of the Earth surface.

August: A Proton M/Block DM-2 to launch a trio of Uragan-M/GLONASS satellites from Baikonur.

Sept. 9: Rockot to launch SMOS and PROBA from Plesetsk. (Delayed from September and October 2007, the first quarter, May and October 2008 and April 2009)

September: A Proton M rocket with Breeze M upper stage to launch Nimiq 5 satellite from Baikonur for Telesat of Canada. Nimiq 5 will operate at 72.7 degrees West longitude, carrying a wide range of high-definition and specialty direct-to-home television services. Space Systems/Loral is building the high-power, 32-transponder Ku-band spacecraft. The contract of the launch was signed with the International Launch Services, ILS on April 26, 2007. (Delayed from early August 2009.)

Late September: A Proton to launch the DirecTV 12 communications satellite from Baikonur.

Oct. 1: Soyuz FG to launch Soyuz TMA-16 (No. 226) from Baikonur toward the ISS.

October: Zenit-3SL with a DM-SL upper stage to launch Eutelsat's W7 comsat from the Sea Launch platform (Delayed from July 2009).

Oct. 30: Soyuz to launch the Progress M-04M (No. 404) cargo ship toward the ISS from Baikonur.

Delayed from October to 2011: A Zenit rocket to launch the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft to study Mars and its Moon Phobos and return soil samples from Phobos to Earth. Chinese Yinghuo 1 satellite of Mars was expected to fly as a secondary payload. (As of 2004; During 2007, a delay to 2011 was considered likely. Switched from Soyuz-2 to Zenit to accomodate a Chinese spacecraft.)

Nov. 10: Soyuz to launch the Progress M-SO2 (No. 302) with Mini-Research Module-2, MIM-2 (formerly Docking Compartment-2) toward the ISS from Baikonur. The 4,000-kilogram module would provide 12.5 cubic meters of pressurized volume and two work stations for the installation of scientific payloads. (Delayed from Aug. 15).

Nov. 16: Soyuz FG to launch Soyuz TMA-01M (No. 701) from Baikonur toward the ISS.

November: A Proton M/Block DM-2 to launch a trio of Uragan-M/GLONASS satellites from Baikonur.

November: Russia to launch KazSat-2 comsat for the government of Kazakhstan. (Launch date announced on Sept. 26, 2006)

December: Zenit-3SL with a DM-SL upper stage to launch XM-5 satellite from the Sea Launch platform. (Delayed from December 2008 and late January/beginning of February 2009.

Second half of 2009: A Proton M/Block DM-3 to launch a pair of Yamal-300 satellites from Baikonur.

Nov. 30: A Zenit-3SLB to launch Intelsat 15 satellite from Baikonur. (Delayed from second quarter 2009).

Fourth quarter-first quarter 2010: A Proton to launch Intelsat 16 satellite from Baikonur. This mission was originally scheduled onboard Zenit-3SLB in the second half of 2009; it was then delayed to the first quarter of 2010, before being switched to Proton.

Fourth quarter of 2009: Rockot to launch KANOPUS-B remote-sensing satellite with Britain-based SSTL as a supplier of avionics platform along with the Belka-2 satellite, both built by VNIIEM, (As of July 2007. As of March 28, 2007, the launch was expected in 2008)

End of 2009: The Russian Soyuz rocket to fly its first mission from Kourou, French Guiana, with the Australian comsat Optus D3. (Soyuz launches from Kourou were originally expected as early as 2006. The launch of Optus D3 was initially scheduled for November 2008, however by mid-2007 was pushed to March 2009. In March 2008, the first launch was expected by mid 2009. By mid-2008, it was delayed to the end of 2009-beginning of 2010.)

Dec. 28: The Soyuz-2 rocket to fly first of four missions from a brand-new launch complex in Kourou, carrying a cluster of six 700-kilogram second-generation Globalstar-2 satellites into the 920-kilometer orbit with the inclination 52 degrees toward the Equator. The "service and solutions" contract for the launch was announced by Arianespace on Sept. 4, 2007. At the time, four additional launches were expected, thus delivering all 48 satellites of the Globalstar-2 constellation. As of November 2008, due to delays in the construction of the Soyuz launch pad in French Guiana, at least one cluster of Globalstar-2 satellites was expected to be moved to Baikonur, still maintaining the launch date in 2009. The first launch was delayed from the summer of 2009.

Delayed from March 25: Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat to launch Meteor-M No. 1 for Roskosmos the Sterkh No. 2 for the COSPAS network and Universitetsky-Tatyana-2 for Moscow State Univeristy. (Delayed from fourth quarter of 2007, July and third quarter of 2008)

Delayed from March: European Space Agency, ESA, to launch the CryoSat-2 remote-sensing satellite, to replace the original spacecraft lost as a result of the failure of the Rockot booster in October 2005. (As of March 2007

Delayed from 2008:

End of the year: Dnepr to launch DubaiSat-1, Deimos-1, Nanosat-1B, UK-DMC-2 from Dombarovsky (Yasny).

Second half of 2008: The Strela booster to launch the Kondor remote-sensing satellite for the Russian government. (As of May 2007, the launch was promised in the beginning of 2008).

2008: Russia to launch the TNS-O No. 2 nano-satellite developed by RNII KP in cooperation with the University of Bremen for testing flight control systems via Globalstar network and mobile phones.

End of 2008: Russia to launch the TNS-1 nano-satellite developed by RNII KP for testing technologies for a medium-resolution remote-sensing system.

Cosmos-3M to launch Parus navigation satellite and the Sterkh No. 1 satellite for the COSPAS network from Plesetsk.

A Soyuz rocket to launch the first Pleiades Earth observation satellite into heliosynchronous orbit. (Date set: Jan. 4, 2005)

A Soyuz-FG/Fregat to launch GIOVE-A2 navigation satellite for ESA from Baikonur (As of 2007)

Dnepr to launch Ukraine's Sich-2 remote-sensing satellite.

Dnepr to launch VENµS from Baikonur

A Soyuz to launch Kobalt-M military satellite from Plesetsk.

A Soyuz to launch Liana military satellite from Plesetsk.

A Rockot/Briz-KM to launch Servis-2 from Plesetsk.

Tsyklon-4 rocket to fly its first mission from Brazilian spaceport of Alcantara, carrying a satellite built by Brazil and Ukraine. (As of November 2006

Delayed from 2005: A Cosmos-3M to launch four Disaster Monitoring Constellation, DMC, satellites.

Delayed from 2002: A Strela rocket launch from Svobodny. (cancelled)

Canceled missions

Delayed from the end of second quarter: A Zenit-3SLB to launch PAS 11 (Star-2) for PanAmSat from Baikonur. (Contract announced on July 28, 2005). Switched to the Ariane-5 rocket and successfully launched in 2007.

Mid-year 2008: A Zenit-3SLB to launch AMC-21 spacecraft for SES Global from Baikonur. The launch contract was announced on June 1, 2006. Switched to the Ariane-5 rocket.

Delayed from July 2007: Shtil-2.1 booster to launch Sumbandila satellite for South Africa and Compass-3 for Russian space agency, from a submarine in the Barents Sea. (Delayed from Dec. 15 and 25, 2006, April and June 20, 2007. Switched to an Indian launch provider)

Second quarter (summer): The Soyuz-2 rocket to launch Thor 6 communications satellite for Telenor of Norway from Kourou. In the spring of 2009, the mission was delayed from the second to the fourth quarter of 2009 and was apparently had to be moved from Soyuz-2 to Ariane-5 rocket as a result.

Uncertain

Delayed from November 2008: A Zenit-3SLBF/Fregat-SB to launch the Elektro-L No. 1 weather forecasting satellite into geostationary orbit from Baikonur. (Delayed from 2006, June 2007 and fourth quarter of 2007)

2009: A Proton K/Block DM-2 to launch a military payload from Baikonur. (Postponed from July and Aug. 28, 2008)

Delayed from December 2008: A Zenit-3SLBF/Fregat-SB rocket to launch the Spektr-R radiotelescope from Baikonur, into a highly elliptical orbit with the apogee of 330,000 kliometers. The launch vehicle for the mission was delivered to Baikonur on Jan. 16, 2009. (The mission was delayed from November 2008.)

A Soyuz rocket to launch the second Pleiades Earth observation satellite into heliosynchronous orbit. (Date set: Jan. 4, 2005)

A Start-1 to launch Israeli EROS-C remote-sensing satellite from Svobodny/Vostochny. (Delayed from the second quarter of 2008)

The Proton rocket to launch a communications satellite for Mobile Satellite Ventures LP and joint venture partner Mobile Satellite Ventures (Canada) designed to provide broadband wireless coverage of North and Central America to consumer electronic devices. The two new MSV satellites, under construction by The Boeing Company, will operate in geostationary orbit over North America from 101 degrees and 107.3 degrees west longitude. The satellites feature 22-meter diameter, elliptical mesh reflectors that will support L-band communication with conventional handsets through a network based on MSV's patented ancillary terrestrial component technology. The contract between MSV and the ILS company was announced on May 15, 2007.

2009: The Rockot booster with Breeze KM upper stage to launch a 900-kilogram Space Environment Reliability Verification Integrated System, SERVIS-2, satellite for he Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer, USEF, of Tokyo, Japan, into a 1,200-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit from Plesetsk. The contract for the launch was announced on Feb. 15, 2007. The spacecraft was designed and built by USEF under a contract from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). The purpose of SERVIS-2 is the verification of commercial off - the - shelf (COTS) parts and technologies in the severe space environment, thus establishing evaluation and equipment design guidelines to use COTS in space.

2009: The Soyuz rocket to launch a second Docking Compartment to the International Space Station, ISS. (As of 2007. The module is later re-classified as Research Module-2, IM-2).

2009-2010: Proton rocket with Breeze M upper stage to launch a fifth-generation satellite for Arabsat -- either Arabsat-5A or BADR-5. A consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space is building the satellites and is responsible for delivering the satellites in orbit. EADS Astrium will supply the Eurostar E3000 platforms and integrate the satellites. Thales Alenia Space will design and build the communications payloads.

Arabsat-5A will have a launch mass of 4,800 kg. The multi-payload satellite will replace Arabsat-2B, which is reaching the end of its service life. Arabsat-5A will provide additional capacity for a comprehensive range of satellite communications services over sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, and beyond.

BADR-5 will have a launch mass of 5,400 kg. It will primarily provide full in-orbit backup capacity for BADR-4 and BADR-6 television services. Complementary missions include supporting the expected boom of HDTV and, thanks to its Ka-band capacity, the development of sophisticated interactive services.

The contract for launches was announced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 17, 2007.

2009-2011: Up to five launches of the Proton rocket for ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Limited (ICO) within Dual Launch Study Agreement with ILS International Launch Services (ILS). The contract also called for ILS to design and propose a dual launch capability for ICO's Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. The agreement announced on May 24, 2007.

2009-2013: Proton rocket with Breeze M upper stage to launch five SES satellites for SES Satellite Leasing. The Proton flights will be available to SES' operating companies: SES AMERICOM, SES ASTRA, SES NEW SKIES and SES SIRIUS. Contract for launches was announced at the Paris Air Show on June 18, 2007.

2009: Russia to start flight testing of follow-on satellites for the nation's early-warning system, according to the statement of the Commander Russia's Space Forces, KVR, Vladimir Popovkin in August 2007, likely referring to the EKS system.

2009: Russia to launch the TNS-2 nano-satellite developed by RNII KP equipped with magnetic attitude-control system and research payloads.

2009: A Ukrainian Tsyklon-4 rocket to fly its first mission from the equatorial site in Alcantara, Brazil. (A Sept. 19, 2007 statement by the head of Ukrainian space agency Yu. Alekseev.)

2009: Russia to launch Express-MD2 comsat from Baikonur.

2009: Russia to launch the Arkon-2M radar-sensing satellite. (299)

Canceled missions

2009: A Proton/Breeze M to launch an Echostar 13 (CMBStar) satellite for an EchoStar Communications Corporation. The contract for the mission was announced on Feb. 21, 2007. Delayed from June and November 2008. By March 2009, EchoStar stopped the development of the CMBStar satellite.

For missions in 2010 click here

Last update: July 6, 2009

Arrow hits the target: Russia's defunct Strela-2M ("Arrow") satellite collided with a US Iridium communications spacecraft on Feb. 10, 2009. Both vehicles were reportedly pulverized into a cloud of debris. In the aftermath of the incident, Western press was full of inaccurate depictions and wild speculations about the design of the Russian satellite, including a ludicrous claim by the Wall Street Journal about a nuclear reactor onboard the spacecraft. In reality, Strela-2M was powered by drum-shaped solar panels. This was apparently the first instance in the history of space exploration, when two satellites have collided in space. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2009 Anatoly Zak

After many delays, the GOCE remote-sensing satellite finally took off on March 17, 2009. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2005 Anatoly Zak

Head of the Russian space agency Anatoly Perminov reviews a scaled model of the Soyuz launch complex in Kourou, at the opening of the Paris Air and Space Show on June 15, 2009. Copyright © 2009 Anatoly Zak

A scale model of Russia's flagship planetary mission, Phobos-Grunt was demonstrated at the ILA 2008 air and space show in Berlin. Despite official promises to launch the mission in 2009, most industry insiders considered such schedule unrealistic. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2008 Anatoly Zak

The KazSat-2 communications satellite was scheduled for launch in 2009. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2008 Anatoly Zak

A long-delayed Kondor remote-sensing satellite finally was promised to fly in 2008, but was postponed yet again to 2009. Click to enlarge Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak