2015 Rocket Launch Recap

Our roundup of all the launches that happened in 2015, 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

94.38%

Success Rate

Humans launched to space

Notable 2015 Achievements

🪐 First orbit of a dwarf planet

🪐 First flyby of Pluto

🥬 First food grown in space and eaten

🚀 First propulsive landing of a suborbital rocket

🚀 First propulsive landing of an orbital rocket

How 2015 Compares to Previous Years

There were 84 successful launch attempts in 2015 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 2015

In 2015, companies and agencies from 7 Nations attempted launches, including the United States (26 launches), Russia (22 launches) and China (19 launches).

Total Rocket Launches by Nation in 2015

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Service Providers in 2015

16 Launch Service Providers completed launches in 2015, including CASC (19 launches), Arianespace (12 launches) and ULA (12 launches).

Top 10 Space Launch Service Providers in 2015 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Vehicle in 2015

34 different Launch Vehicles launched off in 2015. The top 3 were the Long March 3B (8 launches), Proton-M Briz-M (7 launches) and Falcon 9 (7 launches) launch vehicles.

Top 10 Launch Vehicles in 2015 by total launch count

By RocketLaunch.org

Launches by Launch Sites in 2015

Rockets launched from 14 Launch Sites in 2015. The most active launch sites were Baikonur Cosmodrome (18 launches), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (17 launches) and Guiana Space Centre (12 launches).

Top 10 Launch Sites in 2015

By RocketLaunch.org

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 2015

In 2015, 12 humans from 6 nations were launched into space, including Russia (5 astronauts), the United States (3 astronauts) and Japan (1 astronaut).

Astronauts Launched by Nationality in 2015

By RocketLaunch.org

Where we launched to in 2015

We launched off to 5 different locations beyond earth in 2015 (including flybys). Most launches were to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (24 launches), Geostationary Orbit (GEO) (19 launches) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) (5 launches).