Launches
ON RECORD15MISSIONS
12 of them reached orbit. The earliest was 1963, the most recent 2024.
ARCHIVE // DAY OF YEAR
April 5 in spaceflight
15 orbital launches flew on April 5, the earliest of them in 1963, and 12 reached orbit. Wikipedia records 5 spaceflight and astronomy events on April 5. Below are the pictures NASA published on April 5 in 6 different years — each one taken or released on this exact date.
Recorded events
IN THE RECORD5ENTRIES
Spaceflight and astronomy entries from Wikipedia's record of this date, oldest first — from 1991 onward.
Pictures from this date
PUBLISHED6IMAGES
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 5, one per year. Some are public domain and some belong to the photographer — each says which.
Published on April 5
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, for this calendar date in each of the last several years.
2026
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
NASA · public domain
2025
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
© Bertrand Kulik — used with the credit NASA publishes
2024
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
© Barden Ridge Observatory — used with the credit NASA publishes
2023
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
NASA · public domain
2022
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
NASA · public domain
2021
NASA Science
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
NASA · public domain
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 ↗
Every launch on April 5
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
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General-audience astronomy and spaceflight — none of it a textbook.
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LISTING
Cosmos — Carl Sagan
Still the best single argument for why any of this matters, and it leaves the arithmetic in. For a reader who wants the science, not just the awe.
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LISTING
Pale Blue Dot — Carl Sagan
The case for leaving Earth, written by someone unsentimental about how hard that is. Suits readers who want the argument rather than the poster.
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LISTING
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir
Hard-SF problem solving in The Martian's key — for anyone who liked the engineering more than the peril. The only novel on this list.
BROWSE opens an Amazon search, not a specific recommendation.
LINKS AMAZON.COM
Sources and licences
Event text and thumbnails come from Wikipedia and are used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Images are drawn only from Wikimedia Commons, which does not accept non-free content — each thumbnail links to its file page, where its licence and author are recorded.
Launch records are from The Space Devs’ Launch Library 2. Pictures are NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day; NASA imagery is generally not subject to copyright, but individual APOD entries are frequently the property of the photographer, and each caption says which applies.