1976 Rocket Launch Recap

Our roundup of all the launches that happened in 1976, 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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132

Total Launches

127

Successful Launches

5

Failed Launches

96.21%

Success Rate

6

Humans launched to space

Notable 1976 Achievements

📸 First photos from the surface of Mars
🪐 First soil samples taken from Mars

How 1976 Compares to Previous Years

There were 127 successful launch attempts in 1976 and 5 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 1976

In 1976, companies and agencies from 4 Nations attempted launches, including Russia (100 launches), the United States (27 launches) and China (3 launches).

Total Rocket Launches by Nation in 1976

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Service Providers in 1976

7 Launch Service Providers completed launches in 1976, including Soviet Space Program (100 launches), United States Air Force (25 launches) and Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry (3 launches).

Top Space Launch Service Providers in 1976 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Vehicle in 1976

31 different Launch Vehicles launched off in 1976. The top 3 were the Kosmos-3M (11K65M) (28 launches), Soyuz U (24 launches) and Voskhod (12 launches) launch vehicles.

Top 10 Launch Vehicles in 1976 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Sites in 1976

Rockets launched from 9 Launch Sites in 1976. The most active launch sites were Plesetsk Cosmodrome (65 launches), Baikonur Cosmodrome (34 launches) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (13 launches).

Top Launch Sites in 1976

By RocketLaunch.org

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1976

In 1976, humans from only 1 nation were launched into space. This nation was and Russia (6 astronauts).

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 1976

By RocketLaunch.org

Where we launched to in 1976

We launched off to 6 different locations beyond earth in 1976 (including flybys). Most launches were to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (113 launches), Geostationary Orbit (GEO) (14 launches) and Solar and Heliocentric Orbit (1 launch).

Top Launch Destinations in 1976

By RocketLaunch.org

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