This is atimeline of first orbital launches by country. While a number of countries, incl.Canada,Australia,Germany,Brazil,Algeria,Kazakhstan,Turkey,Argentina,Italy,Indonesia,Poland,South Africa, thePhilippines,Egypt,Spain,Mexico,Thailand andChile, have built or launchedsatellites, as of 2022, elevencountries, incl. theUnited States,Japan,China,India,Iran,Israel,France, theUnited Kingdom andSouth Korea, have had the capability to send objects intoorbit with their ownlaunch vehicles.Russia andUkraine inherited the capability of the space launchers and satellites from theSoviet Union, following itsdissolution in 1991. Russia launches its rockets from its own and foreign (Kazakh)spaceports.
Ukraine launched only from foreign (Kazakh and Russian) launch facilities until 2015, after which political differences with Russia effectively halted Ukraine's ability to produce orbital rockets.[1][2] France became a space power independently, launching a payload into orbit from Algeria, before joining space launcher facilities in the multi-nationalAriane project. The United Kingdom became a space power independently following a single payload insertion into orbit from Australia.
Twelve countries and one inter-governmental organization (ESA) presently have a proven orbital launch capability, as of March 2025[update].[a] The former Soviet Union and the United Kingdom formerly had such an independent capability. In all cases where a country has conducted independenthuman spaceflights (as of 2021, three — China, the Soviet Union/Russia, and the United States), these launches were preceded by independent uncrewed 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 theSpace 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.
Countries like Italy 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.
Two countries,Italy andNew Zealand, have contributed in the creation or continuation of orbital launch systems.
| Order | Country | Sector | Satellite | Rocket | Location | Date (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Italy | Governmental | San Marco 1 | Scout-X4 | San Marco platform,Kenya | 15 December 1964 |
| 2 |  New Zealand | Private | Humanity Star | Electron | Mahia LC-1A,New Zealand | 21 January 2018 |
The above list includes confirmed satellite launches with rockets produced by the launching country, like Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom or the United States. Lists with differing criteria might include the following launches:
Brazil had yet to launch a satellite into orbit independently and itsspace program suffered three satellite launch failures, the latest being theexplosion of aVLS-1 rocket on 22 August 2003 at theAlcântara Launch Centre, which resulted in 21 deaths.[9]Some countries have no self-developed rocket systems, but have provided their spaceports for launches of their own and foreign satellites on foreign launchers:
Algeria with the first successful launch fromHammaguir of the French satelliteAstérix on 26 November 1965 by FrenchDiamant A. The last orbital launch from Hammaguir was on 15 February 1967 by French Diamant A and there are no further launches scheduled (the first Algerian satellite isAlSAT-1 launched by RussianKosmos-3M fromPlesetsk, Russia on 28 November 2002). Italy with the first successful launch from theSan Marco platform of its satelliteSan Marco 2 on 26 April 1967 by USScout B (the first Italian satellite isSan Marco 1 launched by another Scout fromWallops, USA on 15 December 1964). The last orbital launch from San Marco was on 25 March 1988 by US Scout G-1 and there are no further launches scheduled.
Australia with the first successful launch fromWoomera Test Range of its first satelliteWRESAT on 29 November 1967 by USSparta.[10] The second and final successful orbital launch from Woomera was performed on 28 October 1971 by the UKBlack Arrow.
Kazakhstan with the first launch after its independence from theBaikonur Cosmodrome[12] on 21 January 1992 of the RussianSoyuz-U2 andProgress M-11 (the first Kazakh satellite isKazSat-1 launched by RussianProton-K from Baikonur on 17 June 2006). Currently the spaceport continues to be utilized for launches of various Russian rockets.
Spain; a singlePegasus-XL was launched fromOrbital Sciences'Stargazer aircraft flying fromGran Canaria Airport in April 1997.
Marshall Islands with a successful launch of aPegasus-H rocket fromOrbital Sciences'Stargazer aircraft flying fromKwajalein Atoll in October 2000. Five ground-based launches were made bySpaceX usingFalcon 1 rockets between 2006 and 2009, with the first success on 28 September 2008.[13] Three further Pegasus launches occurred between 2008 and 2012, using the Pegasus-XL configuration. Currently there are no plans announced for a Marshall Islands satellite.
United StatesOrbital Sciences Corporation (USA) became the first company to launch a privately developed rocket into orbit, thePegasus on April 5, 1990.[14] Orbital subsequently developed theMinotaur rocket family. Orbital joinedSpaceX as one of only two private entities to supply theInternational Space Station with its launch of theCygnus Orb-D1 mission on itsAntares rocket on September 28, 2013.[15] United StatesSpaceX (USA) became the second company to launch a rocket into orbit using a rocket developed with private funds.[16] Its first successful launch was performed on September 28, 2008, byFalcon 1 from theOmelek Island,Marshall Islands and its first launch from a US spaceport wasFalcon 9 Flight 1 on June 4, 2010, fromCape Canaveral. ItsDragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on October 11, 2012, to deliver supplies. Witha launch of Dragon 2 on May 30, 2020 SpaceX became the first company to launch humans to orbit. United States/ New Zealand New Zealand-American private companyRocket Lab successfully launched itsElectron rocket fromMahia Launch Center inNew Zealand on January 21, 2018, carrying three cubesats into low Earth orbit. This was the first time that a rocket entered orbit after launching from a privately owned and operated spaceport.
China Chinese private companyi-Space successfully launched itsHyperbola-1 rocket fromJiuquan Satellite Launch Center and sent several small payloads, including the CAS-7B amateur radio satellite into Earth orbit on July 25, 2019.[17] ChinaGalactic Energy successfully launched itsCeres-1 solid rocket fromJiuquan Satellite Launch Center intoSun-synchronous orbit on November 7, 2020, becoming the second Chinese private company capable of launching satellites into orbit.[18] United StatesVirgin Orbit successfully achieved orbit on January 17, 2021, using theirLauncherOne vehicle to deploy 10CubeSats intoLow Earth orbit forNASA.[19] But the company filed for bankruptcy after a launch failure in 2023.[20] United StatesAstra Rocket 3.3 vehicle successfully reached orbit on November 20, 2021, after launching fromPacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) carrying the demonstration payload STP-27AD2 for theUnited States Space Force.[21] United StatesFirefly Aerospace launchedFirefly Alpha rocket, which successfully reached an orbit lower than the expected one, on October 1, 2022.[22] ChinaSpace Pioneer successfully launched its first rocketTianlong-2 into orbit on April 2, 2023. It was the first Chinese company that achieved the goal with the liquid rocket.[23][24] ChinaLandSpace became a private company with orbital launch capability by successfully launchedZhuque-2, world's first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit, on July 12, 2023.[25] ChinaOrienspace was the fifth private company in China to reach orbit after the successful maiden launch ofGravity-1 on January 11, 2024.[26]
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Germany was developing larger designs in theAggregat series as early as 1940. A combination of A9 to A12 components could have produced orbital capability as early as 1947 if work had continued. Further preliminary development of numerous rocket space launchers and re-usable launch systems (Sänger II, etc.) took place after WWII, although these were never realized as national or European projects. Also, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the private German companyOTRAG tried to develop low-cost commercial space launchers. Only the sub-orbital tests of the first prototypes of the rockets were carried out.[citation needed]
United Kingdom did not proceed with a 1946 proposal to develop GermanV-2 technology into the "Megaroc" system to be launched in 1949. The UK also developed theBlack Arrow rocket system and successfully launched a satellite in 1971, shortly after the program had been cancelled.
Canada had developed the gun-based space launchers Martlet and GLO as the joint Canadian-AmericanProject HARP in the 1960s. The rockets were never tested. In fact, in different periods, they worked in cooperation withAustralia,Brazil,South Korea and theUnited Kingdom.[citation needed]
South Africa developed the space launcherRSA-3 in the late 1980s in collaboration withIsrael, years after Brazil andArgentina launched their first satellites. The rocket was tested three times without a satellite payload in 1989 and 1990. The program was postponed and later canceled in 1994.[citation needed]
Iraq built and tested theAl-Abid, a three-stage space launch vehicle without a payload or its upper two stages on 5 December 1989. The rocket's design had a clustered first stage composed of five modifiedscud rockets strapped together and a single scud rocket as the second stage in addition to aSA-2 liquid-fueled rocket engine as the third stage. The video tape of a partial launch attempt which was retrieved byUN weapons inspectors, later surfaced showing that the rocket prematurely exploded 45 seconds after its launch.[27][28][29]
Argentina previous attempts at developing space launcher based on theirCondor missile were scrapped in 1993.[30][31] Brazil TheVLS-1 was cancelled after decades of development and high expenditures with poor results and a failed association withUkraine that slowed the program for years.[32]
Egypt tried to develop space launcher as part of its variousballistic missile programs in the second half of the 20th century. In different periods, they worked either independently or in cooperation withAlgeria, Argentina,Canada,Iraq andNorth Korea.[33] Spain developed the space launcherCapricornio (Capricorn) in the 1990s. The rocket was related to theCondor missile from Argentina and its test, scheduled for 1999/2000, was not conducted. As a result, in different periods, they worked in cooperation withJapan and theUnited States.[34]
SwitzerlandSwiss Space Systems company planned to develop the micro satellite launcher-spaceplaneSOAR by 2018 but went bankrupt. Thus, in different periods, they worked in cooperation withChile,Poland andUkraine Argentina developed an orbital rocket calledTronador II, whose maiden flight is expected to take place in the next four years as of late 2020.[35] Australia's ATSpace developed an orbital launch vehicle called Kestrel, tentatively being launched in 2022 from Whalers Way.[36] Australia'sGilmour Space Technologies developed an orbital launch vehicle calledEris, scheduled to be launched in 2023. Brazil announced that it would launch itsVLM rocket from theAlcântara Launch Center in 2025.[37]
Romania planned to launch military and security satellites. The first phase began in 2022.[38] Algeria planned to launch military and security satellites. The first phase began in 2024.
Chile announced that it would launch some satellites in 2024 or any later year. United KingdomOrbex developed its Prime launch vehicle, whose first launch was planned in 2023 fromSutherland spaceport. United StatesBlue Origin developed itsNew Glenn launch vehicle, whose first launch was completed on January 16th 2025. Spain The private companyPLD Space developed theMiura 1 andMiura 5 suborbital and orbital launch vehicles, whose firsts launches were respectively planned for 2024 and 2026.
PhilippinesOrbitX, a private company of the Philippines, planned to develop Haribon, a biofuel-powered launch vehicle.[39][40]
Malaysia The private company of MalaysiaIndependence-X Aerospace developed an orbital launch vehicle called DNLV, being launched in 2023.[41]
Thailand Thai Space Consortium developed a satellite called TSC-Pathfinder, being launched in 2023.
Poland's Institute Of Aviation developed a rocket named ILR-33 BURSZTYN (ILR-33 AMBER).
Mexico announced that it would launch some satellites some time in 2024.
Japan planned to launch several rockets starting in 2023.
South Korea launched a rocket in early 2023 from the space center in Brazil.
Turkey planned to launch some satellites beginning in 2024.Manyother countries, such asMexico,Poland,Chile,Japan andIndia (the latter two would develop orbital launchers soon after), launched their own satellites on one of the foreign launchers listed above , the first being British owned and operated; American-built satelliteAriel 1, which 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.
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