1991 in spaceflight

This was the final year of the Soviet Union, and thus the end of the Cold War competition between the two space superpowers. The number of launches subsequently declined in the 1990s, and 2018 was the first year since 1990 to have more than 100 orbital launches.

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Deep Space Rendezvous in 1991

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
29 October Galileo First flyby of asteroid - 951 Gaspra Closest approach: 1,600 kilometres (990 mi)

EVAs

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks
7 January
17:03
5 hours
18 minutes
22:21 Mir EO-8 Soviet UnionViktor Afanasyev
Soviet UnionMusa Manarov
Successfully repaired the damaged hatch on the Kvant-2 airlock and also positioned equipment for installation in a later EVA.
23 January
10:59
5 hours
33 minutes
16:32 Mir EO-8
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionViktor Afanasyev
Soviet UnionMusa Manarov
Installed the new Stela boom on the base block.
26 January
09:00
6 hours
20 minutes
15:20 Mir EO-8
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionViktor Afanasyev
Soviet UnionMusa Manarov
Installed supports on Kvant-1 to hold the solar arrays installed on Kristall.
7 April 4 hours
26 minutes
STS-37
Atlantis
United StatesJerry L. Ross
United StatesJerome Apt
When the boom antenna on the GRO satellite would not extend, Ross and Apt exited the shuttle on an unplanned EVA to extend the boom to prepare for final release into orbit.[1]
8 April 5 hours
47 minutes
STS-37
Atlantis
United StatesJerry L. Ross
United StatesJerome Apt
Installed and tested several monorail-type mobility tools for future space station construction.[1]
25 April
20:29
3 hours
34 minutes
26 April
00:03
Mir EO-8
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionViktor Afanasyev
Soviet UnionMusa Manarov
Inspected and filmed the Kurs antenna on Kvant-1, finding that one of the antenna dishes was missing and then re-installed the camera on Kvant-2 that was removed and repaired.
24 June
21:11
4 hours
58 minutes
25 June
02:09
Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Replaced the damaged Kurs antenna on Kvant-1 and performed assembly tests on an experimental structural joint.
28 June
19:02
3 hours
24 minutes
22:26 Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Attached TREK, a type of cosmic ray detector developed at the University of California, to the outside of Mir.[2]
15 July
11:45
5 hours
56 minutes
17:41 Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Moved ladders and the base platform parts for the Sofora girder using the Strela boom from the airlock at Kvant-2 and installed them on Kvant-1.
19 July
11:10
5 hours
28 minutes
16:38 Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Started construction of the Sofora girder by installing three of 20 structural pieces.
23 July
09:15
5 hours
42 minutes
14:57 Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Continued the construction of the Sofora girder by installing eleven more of the 20 girder pieces.
27 July
08:44
6 hours
49 minutes
15:33 Mir EO-9
Kvant-2
Soviet UnionAnatoly Artsebarsky
Soviet UnionSergei Krikalyov
Completed assembly of the Sofora girder and mounted a small Russian flag on top of the structure. Artsebarsky had trouble with fogging on his visor, due to overexertion, but Krikalyov was able to lead him back to the airlock.

References

  • Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
  • Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
  • Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.[dead link]
  • Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
  • Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  • McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
  • Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
  • Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
  • Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
  • Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
  • "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
  • "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
  • "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[dead link]
  • "Space Information Center". JAXA.[dead link]
  • "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
Generic references:
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 Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "Space Shuttle Flight 39 (STS-37)". Space Shuttle Video Library. National Space Society. 2008. Archived from the original on 27 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  2. ^ Price, P. B.; Lowder, D. M.; Westphal, A. J.; Wilkes, R. D.; Brennen, R. A.; Afanasyev, V. G.; Akimov, V. V.; Rodin, V. G.; Baryshnikov, G. K.; Gorshkov, L. A.; Shvets, N. I.; Tsigankov, O. S. (1992). "TREK: A cosmic-ray experiment on the Russian space station MIR". Astrophysics and Space Science. 197 (1): 121–143. Bibcode:1992Ap&SS.197..121P. doi:10.1007/BF00645077. S2CID 122308810.


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Orbital launches in 1991
January
  • NATO 4A
  • Progress M-6
  • Italsat 1, Eutelsat-2 F2
  • Kosmos 2121
  • Kosmos 2122
  • Informator No.1
February
  • Kosmos 2123
  • Kosmos 2124
  • Kosmos 2125, Kosmos 2126, Kosmos 2127, Kosmos 2128, Kosmos 2129, Kosmos 2130, Kosmos 2131, Kosmos 2132
  • Kosmos 2133
  • Kosmos 2134
  • Molniya 1-80
  • Kosmos 2135
  • Gran' No.38L
March
  • Astra 1B, Meteosat 5
  • Kosmos 2136
  • USA-69
  • Inmarsat-2 F2
  • Nadezhda No.409
  • Progress M-7
  • Kosmos 2137
  • Molniya-3 No.55
  • Kosmos 2138
  • Almaz 1
April
May
June
  • Okean-O1 No.6
  • STS-40
  • Kosmos 2150
  • Kosmos 2151
  • Molniya 1-81
  • Unnamed
  • Resurs-F1 No.52
  • REX
July
August
September
October
November
  • USA-72, USA-74, USA-76, USA-77
  • Kosmos 2165, Kosmos 2166, Kosmos 2167, Kosmos 2168, Kosmos 2169, Kosmos 2170
  • Kosmos 2171
  • Kosmos 2172
  • STS-44 (USA-75)
  • Kosmos 2173
  • USA-73
December
  • Eutelsat-2 F3
  • Telecom 2A, Inmarsat-2 F3
  • Kosmos 2174
  • Interkosmos 25, Magion 3
  • Gran' No.39L
  • Zhongxing-4
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). CubeSats are smaller.
Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).