Previous Spaceflight Launches
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M-V | Haruka
IHI Corporation | JapanUchinoura Space Center, Japan
Feb. 12, 1997, 4:50 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communication and Astronomy), a.k.a. VSOP (Very Large Baseline Interferometry Space Observatory Programme) or Muses-B, is the first astronomical satellite dedicated to Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It was launched on its maiden flight by ISAS's M-5 [KM-V1] launch vehicle from Kagoshima Space Center on 12 February 1997.
Elliptical Orbit
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-82
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Feb. 11, 1997, 8:55 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
STS-82 was the 22nd flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery and the 82nd mission of the Space Shuttle program. It was NASA's second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, during which Discovery's crew repaired and upgraded the telescope's scientific instruments, increasing its research capabilities and achieved the highest altitude ever attained by a STS Orbiter (335-nautical-mile (620 km)).
Low Earth Orbit
Soyuz-U | Soyuz TM-25
Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Feb. 10, 1997, 2:09 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Soyuz TM-25 was the 30th mission and the 23rd long-duration expedition to Mir space station. It was also a part of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program. The mission began on February 10, 1997, 14:09:30 UTC, launching Commander Vasili Tsibliyev, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin and Research Cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts performed an EVA and various scientific experiments in medicine, biotechnology, Earth sciences etc. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, STS-84, and welcomed aboard Soyuz TM-26 with the next expedition crew. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on August 14, 1997, 12:17:10 UTC.
Low Earth Orbit
Ariane 44L | GE 2 & Nahuel 1A
Aérospatiale | FranceGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Jan. 30, 1997, 10:04 p.m.
Delta II | GPS IIR-1
United Launch Alliance | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Jan. 17, 1997, 4:28 p.m.
Space Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104 | STS-81
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 12, 1997, 9:27 a.m.
Soyuz U | Bion 11
Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Dec. 24, 1996, 1:50 p.m.
Titan 404A | KH-11 12
Lockheed Martin | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Dec. 20, 1996, 6:04 p.m.
Kosmos-3M | Parus 87
Russian Space Forces | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Dec. 20, 1996, 6:43 a.m.
Atlas IIA | INMARSAT III F-3
Lockheed Martin | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Dec. 18, 1996, 1:57 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Launched in 1996-8, the Inmarsat-3s were built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space (now Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space) of the USA, responsible for the basic spacecraft, and the European Matra Marconi Space (now Astrium), which developed the communications payload.
Geostationary Orbit
