Timeline of first orbital launches by country


This is a timeline of first orbital launches by country. While a number of countries have built satellites, as of 2019, eleven countries have had the capability to send objects into orbit using their own launch vehicles. Russia and Ukraine inherited the space launchers and satellites capability from the Soviet Union, following its dissolution in 1991. Russia launches its rockets from its own and foreign spaceports.
Ukraine launched only from foreign launch facilities until 2015, after which political differences with Russia effectively halted Ukraine's ability to produce orbital rockets. France became a space power independently, launching a payload into orbit from Algeria, before joining space launcher facilities in the multi-national Ariane project. The United Kingdom became a space power independently following a single payload insertion into orbit from Australia, before discontinuing official participation in space launch capability, including the Ariane project, in the 1970s.
Thus,, nine countries and one inter-governmental organisation currently have a proven orbital launch capability, and three countries formerly had such an independent capability. In all cases where a country has conducted independent human spaceflights, these launches were preceded by independent unmanned launch capability.
The race to launch the first satellite was closely contested by the Soviet Union and the United States, and was the beginning of the Space Race. The launching of satellites, while still contributing to national prestige, is a significant economic activity as well, with public and private rocket systems competing for launches, using cost and reliability as selling points.
, the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957

List of first orbital launches by country

Note: Countries like South Korea and New Zealand are not included since they have not yet developed an orbital rocket from scratch; i.e., an orbital rocket that was designed and engineered in its entirety in the country in question.
OrderCountrySectorSatelliteRocketLocationDate
1Soviet UnionGovernmentalSputnik 1Sputnik-PSBaikonur, Soviet Union 4 October 1957
2United StatesGovernmentalExplorer 1Juno ICape Canaveral, United States1 February 1958
3FranceGovernmentalAstérixDiamant ACIEES/Hammaguir, Algeria26 November 1965
4JapanGovernmentalOhsumiLambda-4SUchinoura, Japan11 February 1970
5ChinaGovernmentalDong Fang Hong ILong March 1Jiuquan, China24 April 1970
6United KingdomGovernmentalProsperoBlack ArrowWoomera, Australia28 October 1971
—European Space AgencyGovernmentalCAT-1 Ariane 1Kourou, French Guiana24 December 1979
7IndiaGovernmentalRohini 1 SLVSriharikota, India18 July 1980
8IsraelGovernmentalOfeq 1ShavitPalmachim, Israel19 September 1988
—UkraineGovernmentalStrela-3 Tsyklon-3Plesetsk, Russia28 September 1991
—RussiaGovernmentalKosmos 2175Soyuz-UPlesetsk, Russia21 January 1992
9IranGovernmentalOmidSafir-1ASemnan, Iran2 February 2009
10North KoreaGovernmentalKwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2Unha-3Sohae, North Korea12 December 2012

Other launches and projects

The above list includes confirmed satellite launches with rockets produced by the launching country. Lists with differing criteria might include the following launches:

Failed launches

Some countries have no self-developed rocket systems, but have provided their spaceports for launches of their own and foreign satellites on foreign launchers:
Many other countries have launched their own satellites on one of the foreign launchers listed above (the first being the British owned and operated, although American-built satellite Ariel 1, was launched by a US rocket in April 1962. In September 1962 the Canadian satellite, Alouette-1, was launched by a US rocket, but unlike Ariel 1 it was constructed by Canada.