Launches
ON RECORD15MISSIONS
12 of them succeeded. The earliest was in 1963 and the latest in 2024.
ARCHIVE // DAY OF YEAR
April 5 in spaceflight
15 launches flew on April 5, the earliest of them in 1963, and 12 of them succeeded. Wikipedia lists 5 spaceflight and astronomy events on April 5. Pick another date to see what happened on it.
Recorded events
IN THE RECORD5ENTRIES
Spaceflight and astronomy entries from Wikipedia for this date, oldest first, starting in 1991.
Pictures from this date
NONE0IMAGES
There's no Astronomy Picture of the Day we can show for this date.
What happened on April 5
1991
An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard, including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines ↗1991
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-37 to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Space Shuttle Atlantis ↗2009
The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking concerns it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 ↗2009
North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of six-party talks.
North Korea ↗2010
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-131 to resupply the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle Discovery ↗
Launches on April 5Archive read 2026-11-05. Anything after that isn't listed here.
15 launches
ONLINE
- 2024Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-47SpXSUCCESS
- 2018Ariane 5 ECA | DSN 1 & HYLAS 4ASASUCCESS
- 2018SpaceShipTwo | VSS Unity PF01VGSUCCESS
- 2016Long March 2D | Shijian 10CASCSUCCESS
- 2010Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-131USASUCCESS
- 2009Unha | Kwangmyongsong-2KCSTFAILURE
- 1995Shavit-2 | Ofeq-3ISASUCCESS
- 1991Space Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104 | STS-37LSOCSUCCESS
- 1990Pegasus | Pegsat, NavySatOSCSUCCESS
- 1988Kosmos-3M | Strela-2M 44CCCPSUCCESS
- 1977Kosmos 11K63 | DS-P1-I 19CCCPSUCCESS
- 1977Vostok 8A92M | Meteor-1 27 (39L)CCCPSUCCESS
- 1975Soyuz | Soyuz 7K-T No.39 (Soyuz 18a / Soyuz 18-1)CCCPFAILURE
- 1973Molniya-M | Molniya-2 5CCCPSUCCESS
- 1963Scout X-3 | Transit-5A 2USAFFAILURE
FIELD KIT / LIBRARY
SPONSORED
Astronomy and spaceflight books for a general reader. No textbooks.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Buying through these links doesn't cost you anything extra.
- VIEW
LISTING
Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
Sagan's tour of the universe and how we came to understand it. It keeps the science in.
- VIEW
LISTING
Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan
Sagan's case for people leaving Earth one day, and an honest look at how hard that would be.
- VIEW
LISTING
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
A science-fiction novel from the author of The Martian, built around solving one engineering problem after another.
BROWSE opens an Amazon search. It isn't a pick of one product.
LINKS AMAZON.COM
Sources and licences
Event text and thumbnails come from Wikipedia and are used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Images come only from Wikimedia Commons, which doesn't accept non-free content. Each thumbnail links to its file page, which lists its licence and author.
Launch records are from The Space Devs’ Launch Library 2. Pictures are NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. Many of them belong to the photographer or a partner agency, so we only show the ones credited to NASA alone.