1974 Rocket Launch Recap

Our roundup of all the launches that happened in 1974, 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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113

Total Launches

104

Successful Launches

9

Failed Launches

92.04%

Success Rate

6

Humans launched to space

Notable 1974 Achievements

🪐 First gravity assist
🪐 First flyby of Mercury

How 1974 Compares to Previous Years

There were 104 successful launch attempts in 1974 and 9 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 1974

In 1974, companies and agencies from 5 Nations attempted launches, including Russia (85 launches), the United States (22 launches) and Europe (3 launches).

Total Rocket Launches by Nation in 1974

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Service Providers in 1974

8 Launch Service Providers completed launches in 1974, including Soviet Space Program (85 launches), United States Air Force (17 launches) and NASA (3 launches).

Top Space Launch Service Providers in 1974 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Vehicle in 1974

28 different Launch Vehicles launched off in 1974. The top 3 were the Voskhod (24 launches), Kosmos-3M (11K65M) (17 launches) and Soyuz U (10 launches) launch vehicles.

Top 10 Launch Vehicles in 1974 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Sites in 1974

Rockets launched from 8 Launch Sites in 1974. The most active launch sites were Plesetsk Cosmodrome (58 launches), Baikonur Cosmodrome (26 launches) and Vandenberg SFB (13 launches).

Top Launch Sites in 1974

By RocketLaunch.org

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1974

In 1974, 6 humans from 2 nations were launched into space. These nations were Russia (5 astronauts) and Ukraine (1 astronaut).

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1974

By RocketLaunch.org

Where we launched to in 1974

We launched off to 6 different locations beyond earth in 1974 (including flybys). Most launches were to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (94 launches), Geostationary Orbit (GEO) (10 launches) and The Moon (2 launches).

Top Launch Destinations in 1974

By RocketLaunch.org

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