1962 Rocket Launch Recap

Our roundup of all the launches that happened in 1962, along with key stats, trends and info. You can learn more about our data, and how we present it here.

Include notable suborbital launches

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Total Launches

Successful Launches

Failed Launches

83.91%

Success Rate

Humans launched to space

Notable 1962 Achievements

🛰️ First orbital solar observatory

🌘 First impact on the far side of the Moon

📡 First active communications satellite

🪐 First Mars flyby

🪐 First planetary flyby to return data (Venus)

How 1962 Compares to Previous Years

There were 73 successful launch attempts in 1962 and 14 failed launch attempts. These figures include test/development launches, which are more prone to failure.

Rocket Launches by Year

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Nation in 1962

In 1962, companies and agencies from 2 Nations attempted launches. These Nations were the United States (65 launches) and Russia (22 launches).

Total Rocket Launches by Nation in 1962

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Service Providers in 1962

4 Launch Service Providers completed launches in 1962, including United States Air Force (55 launches), Soviet Space Program (22 launches) and NASA (9 launches).

Top Space Launch Service Providers in 1962 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Vehicle in 1962

19 different Launch Vehicles launched off in 1962. The top 3 were the Thor DM-21 Agena-B (18 launches), Atlas LV-3 Agena B (13 launches) and Kosmos-2I (8 launches) launch vehicles.

Top 10 Launch Vehicles in 1962 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Sites in 1962

Rockets launched from 6 Launch Sites in 1962. The most active launch sites were Vandenberg SFB (38 launches), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (22 launches) and Baikonur Cosmodrome (14 launches).

Top Launch Sites in 1962

By RocketLaunch.org

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1962

In 1962, 6 humans from 3 nations were launched into space. These nations were the United States (4 astronauts), Ukraine (1 astronaut) and Russia (1 astronaut).

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1962

By RocketLaunch.org

Where we launched to in 1962

We launched off to 7 different locations beyond earth in 1962 (including flybys). Most launches were to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (69 launches), Suborbital (5 launches) and Venus (5 launches).