2013 Rocket Launch Recap

Our roundup of all the launches that happened in 2013, 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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88

Total Launches

84

Successful Launches

4

Failed Launches

95.45%

Success Rate

20

Humans launched to space

Notable 2013 Achievements

📡 First laser communication with a lunar satellite

How 2013 Compares to Previous Years

There were 84 successful launch attempts in 2013 and 4 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 2013

In 2013, companies and agencies from 7 Nations attempted launches, including the United States (33 launches), Russia (24 launches) and China (15 launches).

Total Rocket Launches by Nation in 2013

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Service Providers in 2013

19 Launch Service Providers completed launches in 2013, including CASC (14 launches), ULA (11 launches) and ROSCOSMOS (10 launches).

Top 10 Space Launch Service Providers in 2013 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Vehicle in 2013

37 different Launch Vehicles launched off in 2013. The top 3 were the Proton-M Briz-M (9 launches), SpaceShipTwo (7 launches) and Soyuz 2.1b (5 launches) launch vehicles.

Top 10 Launch Vehicles in 2013 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Sites in 2013

Rockets launched from 16 Launch Sites in 2013. The most active launch sites were Baikonur Cosmodrome (23 launches), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (10 launches) and Plesetsk Cosmodrome (7 launches).

Top 10 Launch Sites in 2013

By RocketLaunch.org

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 2013

In 2013, 20 humans from 6 nations were launched into space, including the United States (8 astronauts), Russia (6 astronauts) and China (3 astronauts).

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 2013

By RocketLaunch.org

Where we launched to in 2013

We launched off to 7 different locations beyond earth in 2013 (including flybys). Most launches were to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (27 launches), Geostationary Orbit (GEO) (13 launches) and Suborbital (7 launches).

Top Launch Destinations in 2013

By RocketLaunch.org

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