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| Designation |
Date |
Country |
Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Horizons | Jan 19 | United States | Launch on a Atlas 5 as humankind's first mission to the planet Pluto, with flyby at Jupiter in Feb. 2007, to arrive at Pluto in summer 2015. |
| Akari (Astro-F) |
Feb 21 | Japan | Infrared observatory, launched by JAXA on an M-V rocket into a 462-mi. (739 km) high polar orbit. Mass: 2,035 lbs (925 kg). |
| MRO | March 10 | United States | Arrival of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) at the Red Planet and start of maneuvers into final science orbit at 155 mi. (250 km) x 196 mi. (316 km). |
| Soyuz TMA-8IISS-12S | March 29 | Russia | Launch of the 7th ISS crew rotation flight on a Soyuz-FG, bringing the Expedition 13 crew of Pavel Vinogradov & Jeffrey Williams, plus 8-day visitor Marcos Cezar Pontes. |
| Venus Express | April 11 | Europe | Arrival of ESA's first Venus exploration probe at the target planet, after a 153 day cruise, to study Venus from a 250 x 60,000 km/24-hour orbit. |
| Progress M-56/21P |
April 24 | Russia | Uncrewed logistics cargo/resupply mission to the International Space Station ISS, on a Soyuz-U rocket. |
| CloudSat/ CALIPSO | April 28 | United States | Launch of twin environmental satellites by NASA on a Delta 2 into a polar orbit at 438 mi. (705 km) for observation of cloud & aerosol effects on climate & weather. |
| Progress M-57/22P |
June 24 | Russia | Uncrewed logistics cargo/resupply mission to the International Space Station ISS, on a Soyuz-U rocket. |
| STS-121 (Discovery) | July 4 | United States | The long delayed 2nd shuttle Return to Flight Mission (ULF1.1) to ISS, with cargo for ISS, ESA Astronaut Thomas Reiter for ISS, and 3 EVAs during a 13d 6h 37m mission. |
| STS-115 (Atlantis) | Sept 9 | United States | ISS Mission 12A with new truss elements (P3/P4) to resume station assembly and deployment of new solar arrays, with 3 EVAs, for a mission duration of 11d 19h 6m. |
| Soyuz TMA-9IISS-13S | Sept 18 | Russia | Launch of the 8th crew rotation flight to ISS on a Soyuz-FG, bringing the Expedition 14 crew of M. Lopez-Alegria & M. Tyurin, plus first female space tourist Anousheh Ansari (10d). |
| Progress M-58/23P |
Oct 23 | Russia | Uncrewed logistics cargo/resupply mission to the International Space Station ISS, on a Soyuz-U rocket. |
| STEREO-A/STEREO-B | Oct 25 | United States | Launch of twin Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites by NASA on a Delta 2 into solar orbit, STEREO-A ahead of Earth, STEREO-B trailing behind Earth. |
| STS-116 (Discovery) | Dec 9 | United States | ISS Mission 12A.1 with the P5 truss element for assembly, ISS crewmember Sunita Williams to replace Thomas Reiter, four EVAs. Total mission duration: 12d 20h 45m. |