List of human spaceflights, 1961–1970

This is a detailed list of human spaceflights from 1961 to 1970, spanning the Soviet Vostok and Voskhod programs, the start of the Soviet Soyuz program, the American Mercury and Gemini programs, and the first lunar landings of the American Apollo program.

  • Red indicates fatalities.
  • Green indicates sub-orbital spaceflight (including flights that failed to attain intended orbit).
  • Grey indicates flights to the Moon.
  • The United States defines spaceflight as any flight reaching an altitude of 50 miles, while the FAI definition requires an altitude of 100 kilometers. During the 1960s, 13 crewed flights of the U.S. North American X-15 rocket plane met the U.S. criteria, of which only two met the FAI's. This article's primary list includes only the latter two flights. A separate, secondary list gives the other eleven which flew between 50 miles and 100 kilometers.

Flights between 50 miles and 100 kilometers

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In addition to the above spaceflights, eleven flights of the North American X-15 reached a maximum altitude above 50 miles but below 100 kilometers, thus satisfying the U.S. definition of spaceflight but failing to surpass the Kármán line. Among the twelve X-15 pilots, only Neil Armstrong and Joe Engle would travel to space following their participation in the program. Eleven of the thirteen flights above 50 miles were made in the X-15-3, the program's third plane; only two were made in the X-15-1, its first.

In the below table, "spaceflight" and related phrases refer to the American convention.

# Crew Launch
spacecraft
Habitation Return
spacecraft
Brief mission summary
  Robert M. White 17 July 1962
  X-15 Flight 62
White's only spaceflight. First spaceflight of X-15 program.
  Joseph A. Walker 17 January 1963
  X-15 Flight 77
Walker's first spaceflight.
  Robert A. Rushworth 27 June 1963
  X-15 Flight 87
Rushworth's only spaceflight.
  Joe Engle 29 June 1965
  X-15 Flight 138
Engle's first spaceflight.
  Joe Engle 10 August 1965
  X-15 Flight 143
Engle's second spaceflight.
  John B. McKay 18 September 1965
  X-15 Flight 150
McKay's only spaceflight.
  Joe Engle 14 October 1965
  X-15 Flight 153
Engle's third and last spaceflight, and final flight with X-15 program. First spaceflight of the X-15-1.
  William H. Dana 1 November 1966
  X-15 Flight 174
Dana's first spaceflight.
  William J. Knight 17 October 1967
  X-15 Flight 190
Knight's only spaceflight. Last successful flight of the X-15-3.
  Michael J. Adams 15 November 1967
  X-15 Flight 191
Adams' only spaceflight. Fatal disaster, killing Adams and destroying the X-15-3.
  William H. Dana 21 August 1968
  X-15 Flight 197
Dana's second and last spaceflight. Third-to-last flight of X-15 program. Second and last spaceflight of the X-15-1.

See also

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A chart showing U.S. astronaut assignments during the 1960s through the Apollo era.

References

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  1. ^ Sparrow, Giles (2019). Spaceflight : the complete story, from Sputnik to Curiosity (Second [American] ed.). New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 82. ISBN 978-1465479655.
  2. ^ a b "FAI Sporting Code Section 8 – Astronautics, 2009 Edition (Class K, Class P)" (PDF). Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ Williams, Matthew S. (28 April 2022). "Ad Astra: The past, present, and future of spacecraft". interestingengineering.com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Vostok/Mercury". abyss.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. ^ Burgess, Colin (2009). The first Soviet cosmonaut team : their lives, legacy, and historical impact. Berlin: Springer. p. xxiii. ISBN 978-0387848235.