1968 in spaceflight

|22 January, 22:48 GMT
|Saturn IB (C-1B)
|LC-37B, Cape Canaveral
|NASA
|Apollo 5
|NASA
|LEO
|Test Lunar Module
|12 February 1968, 09:58 GMT
|Successful
|Minor malfunction of LM descent stage engine, otherwise successful
-
|4 April, 12:00:01 GMT
|Saturn V (C-5)
|LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
|NASA
|Apollo 6
|NASA
|LEO
|Test CSM heat shield at Lunar return speeds. Test S-IVB re-ignition in LEO.
|4 April, 1968 21:57:21 GMT
|Partial failure
|Experienced Pogo oscillation during S-IC first stage assent. S-IVB failed restart test.
-
|11 October, 15:02 GMT
|Saturn IB (C-1B)
|LC-34, Cape Canaveral
|NASA
|Apollo 7
|NASA
|LEO
|Manned orbital flight
|22 October 1968, 11:11:48 GMT
|Successful
|First manned Apollo flight
-
|25 October
09:00 GMT
|Soyuz (R-7/A-2)
|LC-1/5, Baikonur
|RVSN
|Soyuz 2
|RVSN
|LEO
|Docking target for Soyuz 3
|28 October 1968, 07:21 GMT
|Successful
|Soyuz 3 failed to dock
-
|26 October, 08:34 GMT
|Soyuz (R-7/A-2)
|LC-31/6 Baikonur
|RVSN
|Soyuz 3
|RVSN
|LEO
|Manned orbital flight
|30 October 1968, 07:25:03 GMT
|Partial Failure
|Failed to dock with Soyuz 2
-
|21 December, 12:51 GMT
|Saturn V (C-5)
|LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
|NASA
|Apollo 8
|NASA
|Selenocentric
|Manned lunar orbiter
|27 December 1968, 15:51:42 GMT
|Successful
|First manned mission to the Moon
-

Deep Space Rendez-vous in 1968

*10 January — Surveyor 7 lands in the debris from "Tycho Crater"
*31 January — Lunar Orbiter 5 deliberately impacted the Moon
*10 April — Luna 14 enters selenocentric orbit
*18 September — Zond 5 flyby of the Moon (1,950 km)
*14 November — Zond 6 flyby of the Moon (2,420 km)
*24 December — Apollo 8 enters selenocentric orbit
*25 December — Apollo 8 leaves selenocentric orbit after completing 10 orbits

References

Footnotes