Scientific/research/technology satellites

Below are checklists of Scientific/research/technology satellites, including launch dates and images of the satellites. This is a work in progress, and completeness is our goal. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.

More-specific scientific/research/technology disciplines/categories are covered elsewhere on this Website.

Satellite series covered:

US Explorer-series satellites:

Notes on the Explorer series: The numbering of the Explorer-series satellites is consistent among sources only through Explorer-55. Beyond that number there is controversy over what constitutes an Explorer satellite. Of the numbered Explorer satellites, only Explorer-2 and Explorer-5 failed but were numbered in sequence. This occurred before it was common practice to delay final numbering until a launch was successful.

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Explorer-1	1958-01-31	Explorer-1 Explorer-1 Explorer-1	Explorer-1	Explorer-1
Explorer-2 [failed]	1958-03-05		Explorer (except Explorer-1)	Explorer (except Explorer-1)
Explorer-3	1958-03-26
Explorer-4	1958-07-26	Explorer-4
Explorer-5 [failed]	1958-08-24
Explorer-S1 / Explorer-7X [failed]	1959-07-16
Explorer-6 (S2) (like Pioneer-5)1	1959-08-07	Explorer-6 Explorer-6 Explorer-6 Explorer-6
Explorer-7 (S1A)	1959-10-13	Explorer-7 Explorer-7 Explorer-7
Explorer-S46 [failed]	1960-03-23	Explorer-S46
Explorer-8 (S30)	1960-11-03	Explorer-8 Explorer-8
Explorer-S56 [failed]	1960-12-04
Explorer-9 (S56A) (identical to Explorer-19)	1961-02-16
Explorer-S45 [failed]	1961-02-24	Explorer-S45 Explorer-S45 Explorer-S45
Explorer-10 (P14)	1961-03-25	Explorer-10 Explorer-10
Explorer-11 (S15)	1961-04-27	Explorer-11 Explorer-11
Explorer-S45A [failed]	1961-05-24
Explorer-S55 [failed]	1961-06-30
Explorer-12 (EPE-A, S3)	1961-08-16	Explorer-12
Explorer-13 (S55A)	1961-08-25	Explorer-13 Explorer-13
Explorer-14 (EPE-B, S3A)	1962-10-02
Explorer-15 (EPE-C, S3B)	1962-10-29
Explorer-16 (S55B)	1962-12-16
Explorer-17 (AE-A, S6)	1963-04-03	Explorer-17
Explorer-18 / IMP-1 (IMP-A)	1963-11-27	Explorer-18 Explorer-18/21 type
Explorer-19 (ADE-A, S56B) (identical to Explorer-9)	1963-12-19
Explorer-S66 (BE-A) [failed]	1964-03-19
Explorer-20 (IE-A, S48, Topsi)	1964-08-25	Explorer-20
Explorer-21 / IMP-2 (IMP-B)	1964-10-04	Explorer-18/21 type Explorer-21
Explorer-22 (S66a, BE-B)	1964-10-09	Explorer-22
Explorer-23 (S55C)	1964-11-06
Explorer-24 (ADE-B, S56C)	1964-11-21	Explorer-24 Explorer-24+25
Explorer-25 (IE-B) / Injun-4	1964-11-21	Explorer-25 Explorer-25 Explorer-24+25
Explorer-26 (EPE-D)	1964-12-21
Explorer-27 (BE-C)	1965-04-29	Explorer-27
Explorer-28 / IMP-3 (IMP-C)	1965-05-29
Explorer-29 / GEOS-1 (GEOS-A)	1965-11-06	Explorer-29 Explorer-29
Explorer-30 (SE-A) / SolRad-8	1965-11-19	Explorer-30
Explorer-31 (DME-A) / ISIS-X	1965-11-28	Explorer-31
Explorer-32 (AE-B)	1966-05-25	Explorer-32
Explorer-33 / AIMP-1 (IMP-D)	1966-07-01	Explorer-33 Explorer-33/35 type
Explorer-34 / IMP-4 (IMP-F)	1967-05-24	Explorer-34
Explorer-35 / AIMP-2 (IMP-E)	1967-07-19	Explorer-35 Explorer-33/35 type
Explorer-36 / GEOS-2 (GEOS-B)	1968-01-11
Explorer-37 (SE-B) / SolRad-9	1968-03-05	Explorer-37
Explorer-38 / RAE-1 (RAE-A)	1968-07-04	Explorer-38 Explorer-38/49 type Explorer-38/49 type
Explorer-39 (ADE-C)	1968-08-08
Explorer-40 (IE-C) / Injun-5	1968-08-08	Explorer-40 Explorer-40
Explorer-41 / IMP-5 (IMP-G)	1969-06-21	Explorer-41
Explorer-42 (SAS-A) / Uhuru	1970-12-12	Explorer-42 (Uhuru) Explorer-42
Explorer-43 / IMP-6 (IMP-H)	1971-03-13	Explorer-43
Explorer-44 (SE-C) / SolRad-10	1971-07-09	Explorer-44
Explorer-45 (SSS-A / S-Cubed-A)	1971-11-15	Explorer-45
Explorer-46 / MTS	1972-08-13	Explorer-46
Explorer-47 / IMP-7 (IMP-I)	1972-09-22
Explorer-48 (SAS-B)	1972-11-15	Explorer-48 Explorer-48
Explorer-49 / RAE-2 (RAE-B)	1973-06-10	Explorer-38/49 type Explorer-38/49 type Explorer-49 Explorer-49
Explorer-50 / IMP-8 (IMP-J)	1973-10-26	Explorer-50 Explorer-50
Explorer-51 (AE-C)	1973-12-16	Explorer-51
Explorer-52 (IE-D) / Hawkeye / Injun-6	1974-06-03	Explorer-52
Explorer-53 (SAS-C)	1975-05-07	Explorer-53
Explorer-54 (AE-D)	1975-10-06	Explorer-54
Explorer-55 (AE-E)	1975-11-20
Explorer: DAD-A (DADE-A), DAD-B (DADE-B) [failed]	1975-12-05	DAD-A
Explorer-56 / ISEE-1 (ISEE-A)	1977-10-22	ISEE-1 ISEE-1 ISEE-1/2
Explorer-57 (SAS-D) / IUE	1978-01-26	Explorer-57 (IUE) Explorer-57 (IUE)
Explorer-58 / HCMM / AEM-1 (AEM-A)	1978-04-26	Explorer-58 Explorer-58/60 type
Explorer-59 / ISEE-3 (ISEE-C) / ICE2	1978-08-14	ISEE-3 ISEE-3 ISEE-3
Explorer-60 / SAGE / AEM-2 (AEM-B)	1979-02-18	Explorer-60 Explorer-58/60 type
Explorer-61 / MagSat	1979-10-30	Explorer-61 Explorer-61
Explorer-62 (DE-1)	1981-08-03	Explorer-62/63 type Explorer-62/63 type
Explorer-63 (DE-2)	1981-08-03
Explorer-64 / SME	1981-10-06	Explorer-64 (SME) Explorer-64 (SME)
Explorer-65 / AMPTE (CCE, IRM, and UKS)	1984-08-16	Explorer-65 (AMPTE) UKS
Explorer-66 / COBE	1989-11-18	COBE (patch, early-design)3 Explorer-66 (COBE, early-design)3 Explorer-66 (COBE, final-design)3 Explorer-66 (COBE, final-design)3
Explorer-67 / EUVE	1992-06-07	Explorer-67 (EUVE) Explorer-67 (EUVE)
Explorer-68 / SMEX-1 / SAMPEX	1992-07-03	Explorer-68 (SAMPEX) Explorer-68 (SAMPEX) SAMPEX (patch)
Explorer-69 / XTE / RXTE / MIDEX-(-2)	1995-12-30	Explorer-69 (XTE) Explorer-69 (XTE)
Explorer-70 / SMEX-2 / FAST	1996-08-21	Explorer-70 (FAST) Explorer-70 (FAST) FAST (patch)
Explorer-71 / ACE / MIDEX-(-1)	1997-08-25	Explorer-71 (ACE) Explorer-71 (ACE) Explorer-71 (ACE) ACE (patch)
Explorer-72 / STEDI-1 / SNOE	1998-02-26	Explorer-72 (SNOE)
Explorer-73 / SMEX-4 / TRACE	1998-04-02	Explorer-73 (TRACE) TRACE (patch)
Explorer-74 / SMEX-3 / SWAS	1998-12-06	Explorer-74 (SWAS) Explorer-74 (SWAS) SWAS (patch)
Explorer-75 / SMEX-5 / WIRE [failed]	1999-03-05	Explorer-75 (WIRE)
Explorer-76 / STEDI-2 / TERRIERS [failed]	1999-05-18	Explorer-76 (TERRIERS)
Explorer-77 / MIDEX-0 / FUSE	1999-06-23	Explorer-77 (FUSE) Explorer-77 (FUSE) FUSE (patch)
Explorer-78 / MIDEX-1 / IMAGE	2000-03-25	Explorer-78 (IMAGE)
Explorer-79 / HETE-2	2000-10-09	Explorer-79 (HETE-2)
Explorer-80 / MIDEX-2 / MAP / WMAP	2001-06-30	Explorer-80 (WMAP)
Explorer-81 / SMEX-6 / HESSI / RHESSI	2002-02-05	Explorer-81 (HESSI) Explorer-81 (HESSI)
Explorer-82 / UNEX-1 / CHIPS	2003-01-12	Explorer-82 (CHIPS)
Explorer-83 / SMEX-7 / GALEX	2003-04-28	Explorer-83 (GALEX)
Explorer-84 / MIDEX-3 / Swift	2004-11-20	Explorer-84 (Swift)
Explorer-85/89 / MIDEX-5A/5E / THEMIS-A/E / ARTEMIS-P1/P2	2007-02-17	Explorer-85/89 type (THEMIS)
Explorer-90 / SMEX-9 / AIM	2007-04-25	Explorer-90 (AIM)
Explorer-91 / SMEX-10 / IBEX	2008-10-19	Explorer-91 (IBEX)
Explorer-92 / MIDEX-6 / WISE / NGSS / NEOWISE	2009-12-14	Explorer-92 (WISE)
Explorer-93 / SMEX-11 / NuSTAR	2012-06-13	Explorer-93 (NuSTAR) Explorer-93 (NuSTAR patch)
Explorer-94 / SMEX-12 / IRIS	2013-06-28	Explorer-94 (IRIS) Explorer-94 (IRIS patch)
Explorer-95 / MIDEX-7 / TESS	2018-04-18	Explorer-95 (TESS)
Explorer-96 / MIDEX-8 / ICON	2019-10-11	Explorer-96 (ICON) Explorer-96 (ICON)

¹Explorer-6 and Pioneer-5 were similar "paddlewheel" satellites. It is believed that Explorer-6 contained two short antennas on its "top", whereas Pioneer-5 contained only a single short antenna. When there are no antennas on top, the distinction is unclear, but of the two, Pioneer-5 is assumed.
²Explorer-59 / ISEE-3 was renamed ICE in 1983.
³COBE (early-design) was intended for Space Shuttle launch; COBE (final-design) was intended for rocket launch.

US Injun-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Injun-1	1961-06-29	Injun Injun-1+SolRad-3 Transit-4A+Injun-1+SolRad-3 Transit-4A+Injun-1+SolRad-3	Injun	Injun
Injun-2	1962-01-24	Injun-2
Injun-3	1962-12-13	Injun-3
Injun-4 / Explorer-25 (IE-B)	1964-11-21	Explorer-25 Explorer-25 Explorer-24+25
Injun-5 (Injun-C) / Explorer-40 (IE-C)	1968-08-08	Explorer-40 Explorer-40
Injun-6 (Injun-F) / Explorer-52 (IE-D) / Hawkeye	1974-06-03	Explorer-52

US Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (GEOS-1/2), PAssive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (PAGEOS), and Geodynamics Experimental Ocean Satellite (GEOS-3) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
GEOS-1 (GEOS-A) / Explorer-29	1965-11-06	Explorer-29 Explorer-29	GEOS	GEOS
PAGEOS	1966-06-23	PAGEOS
GEOS-2 (GEOS-B) / Explorer-36	1968-01-11
GEOS-3 (GEOS-C)	1975-04-09	GEOS-3

US International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ISEE-1 (ISEE-A) / Explorer-56	1977-10-22	ISEE-1 ISEE-1 ISEE-1/2	ISEE	ISEE
ISEE-2 (ISEE-B)	1977-10-22	ISEE-2 ISEE-1/2
ISEE-3 (ISEE-C) / Explorer-59 / ICE1	1978-08-14	ISEE-3 ISEE-3 ISEE-3

¹ISEE-3 / Explorer-59 was renamed ICE in 1983.

US Vanguard-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Vanguard-TV0 [sub-orbital]	1956-12-08		Vanguard	Vanguard
Vanguard-TV1 [sub-orbital]	1957-05-01
Vanguard-TV2 [sub-orbital]	1957-10-23
Vanguard-TV3 [failed]	1957-12-06	Vanguard-TV3 Vanguard-1 Vanguard-1 Vanguard-1 Vanguard-1
Vanguard-TV3 (backup) [failed]	1958-02-05
Vanguard-1 (TV4)	1958-03-17
Vanguard-TV5 [failed]	1958-04-28	Vanguard-TV5
Vanguard-SLV1 [failed]	1958-05-27	Vanguard-SLV2
Vanguard-SLV2 [failed]	1958-06-26
Vanguard-SLV3 [failed]	1958-09-26	Vanguard-2 Vanguard-2 Vanguard-2 Vanguard-2
Vanguard-2 (SLV4)	1959-02-17
Vanguard-SLV5 [failed]	1959-04-13	Vanguard-SLV5
Vanguard-SLV6 [failed]	1959-06-22	Vanguard-SLV6
Vanguard-3 (SLV7)	1959-09-18	Vanguard-3 Vanguard-3 Vanguard-3

(Earlier) US Pioneer-series (non-planetary) satellites:

Of the numbered Pioneer satellites, only Pioneer-2 failed but was numbered in sequence. This occurred before it was common practice to delay final numbering until a launch was successful.

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Pioneer-0 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1958-08-17	Pioneer-0/1/2 type Pioneer-1 Pioneer-1	Pioneer (non-planetary)	Pioneer (non-planetary)
Pioneer-1 (lunar orbit attempt)	1958-10-11
Pioneer-2 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1958-11-08
Pioneer-3 (lunar flyby attempt)	1958-12-06	Pioneer-3 Pioneer-3/4 type Pioneer-4 Pioneer-4
Pioneer-4 (solar orbit)	1959-03-03
Pioneer-P1 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1959-09-24	Pioneer-P3
Pioneer-P3 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1959-11-26
Pioneer-5 (P2) (like Explorer-6)1 (interplanetary)	1960-03-11	Pioneer-5 Pioneer-5 Pioneer-5 Pioneer-5
Pioneer-P30 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1960-09-25	Pioneer-P3
Pioneer-P31 (lunar orbit attempt) [failed]	1960-12-15
Pioneer-6 (Pioneer-A) (solar orbit)	1965-12-16	Pioneer-6 Pioneer-6 Pioneer-6 Pioneer-6
Pioneer-7 (Pioneer-B) (solar orbit)	1966-08-17	Pioneer-7
Pioneer-8 (Pioneer-C) (solar orbit)	1967-12-13	Pioneer-6/7/8/9 type Pioneer-6/7/8/9 type
Pioneer-9 (Pioneer-D) (solar orbit)	1968-11-08
Pioneer-E (solar orbit) [failed]	1969-08-27	Pioneer-E
(Later) Pioneer-series satellites (planetary: Pioneer-10 — Pioneer-13)		reference	Pioneer (planetary)	Pioneer (planetary)

¹Pioneer-5 and Explorer-6 were similar "paddlewheel" satellites. It is believed that Explorer-6 contained two short antennas on its "top", whereas Pioneer-5 contained only a single short antenna. When there are no antennas on top, the distinction is unclear, but of the two, Pioneer-5 is assumed.

US Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) / Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (POGO) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
OGO-1 (OGO-A)	1964-09-05	OGO OGO-1	OGO	OGO
OGO-2 (OGO-C) / POGO-1	1965-10-14	OGO-2
OGO-3 (OGO-B)	1966-06-07	"OGO-3"
OGO-4 (OGO-D) / POGO-2	1967-07-28
OGO-5 (OGO-E)	1968-03-04
OGO-6 (OGO-F) / POGO-3	1969-06-05	"OGO-6"

US SURveillance CALibration (SurCal) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SurCal-1 [failed]	1962-01-24	SurCal-1	SurCal-1 (with Injun-2 and SolRad-4A and SECOR-(1))
SurCal-2 [partial failure]	1962-12-13	SurCal-5	SurCal-2 (with Injun-3)
SurCal-3 [partial failure]	1963-06-15		SurCal-3 (with SolRad-6)
SurCal-4	1965-03-09		SurCal-4 (with SolRad-7B and OSCAR-3 and SECOR-3)
SurCal-5	1965-08-13

US CalSphere (CALibration SPHERE) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
CalSphere-1	1962-12-13	CalSphere	CalSphere-1 (with Injun-3)
CalSphere-2	1966-08-13
CalSphere-3, CalSphere-4	1967-05-31

US DODECAhedron (Dodecapole) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Dodecapole-1 / Porcupine-1	1965-03-09	Dodecapole-1 Dodecapole-1	Dodecapole-1 (with SolRad-7B and OSCAR-3 and SECOR-3)
Dodecapole-2 / Porcupine-2	1965-08-13

US Owl-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Owl-1	Never launched	Owl Owl-1
Owl-2	Never launched

US Pegasus-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Pegasus-1	1965-02-16	Pegasus Pegasus	Pegasus	Pegasus
Pegasus-2	1965-05-25
Pegasus-3	1965-07-30

US [Apollo-deployed] Particles and Fields Sub-satellite (P&FS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
P&FS [Apollo-15 deployed]	1971-07-26 (launched with Apollo-15) 1971-08-04 (deployed from Apollo-15)	P&FS P&FS P&FS (with Apollo)	P&FS	P&FS
P&FS [Apollo-16 deployed]	1972-04-16 (launched with Apollo-16) 1972-04-24 (deployed from Apollo-16)

US [Mercury and Gemini-deployed] Sub-satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Mercury Balloon-1 [Mercury-MA-7 deployed]	1962-05-24 (launched with Mercury-MA-7) [Carpenter] 1962-05-25 (deployed from Mercury-MA-7)	Mercury Balloon-2	Sub-satellites	Sub-satellites
Mercury Balloon-2, Flashing Light Unit [Mercury-MA-9 deployed]	1963-05-15 (launched with Mercury-MA-9) [Cooper] 1963-05-15 (deployed from Mercury-MA-9)	Mercury Balloon-2 Flashing Light Unit
REP [Gemini-5 deployed]	1965-08-21 (launched with Gemini-5) [Cooper and Conrad] 1965-08-21 (deployed from Gemini-5)	REP REP

US LAser GEOdynamics Satellite (LAGEOS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
LAGEOS-1 (LAGEOS-A)	1976-05-04	LAGEOS LAGEOS	LAGEOS	LAGEOS
LAGEOS-2 (LAGEOS-B) [STS-52/Columbia-deployed]	1992-10-22	LAGEOS-2 LAGEOS-2 (patch) LAGEOS-2 (patch, with STS-52/Columbia) LAGEOS-2 (patch, with STS-52/Columbia, back)

US Gravity Probe (GP) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
GP-A [sub-orbital]	1976-06-18		GP	GP
GP-B	2004-04-20	GP-B GP-B GP-B (prototype)

US Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SERT-1	1964-07-20	SERT-1	SERT	SERT
SERT-2	1970-02-03	SERT-2 SERT-2

US TEst and TRaining (TETR) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
TETR-1 (TETR-A)	1967-12-13	TETR	TETR-1 (with Pioneer-8)
TETR-2 (TETR-B)	1968-11-08		TETR-2 (with Pioneer-9)
TETR-3 (TETR-C) [failed]	1969-08-27		TETR-3 (with Pioneer-E)
TETR-4 (TETR-D)	1971-09-29		TETR-4 (with OSO-7)

US Beacon-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Beacon-1 [failed]	1958-10-23
Beacon-2 [failed]	1959-08-14		Beacon-2

US Plasma Interaction eXperiment (PIX) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
PIX-1	1978-03-05	PIX	PIX-1 (with Landsat-3 and OSCAR-8)
PIX-2	1983-01-26		PIX-2 (with IRAS)

US Wake Shield Facility (WSF) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
WSF-1 [STS-60/Discovery-deployed, failed]	1994-02-03		WSF-1
WSF-2 [STS-69/Endeavour-deployed]	1995-09-07	WSF-2	WSF-2 (with SPARTAN-201-F3)
WSF-3 [STS-80/Columbia-deployed]	1996-11-19	WSF-3 (patch, with STS-80/Columbia) WSF-3 (patch, with STS-80/Columbia, back)	WSF-3 (with ORFEUS-SPAS-2)

US Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Equipment (STARSHINE) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
STARSHINE-1 [STS-96/Discovery-deployed]	1999-05-27	STARSHINE-1	STARSHINE-1
STARSHINE-3 / OSCAR-43	2001-09-30	STARSHINE-3 / OSCAR-43	STARSHINE-3 / OSCAR-43
STARSHINE-2 [STS-108/Endeavour-deployed]	2001-12-05	STARSHINE-2	STARSHINE-2

US Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Sphere (ODERACS) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ODERACS [STS-53/Discovery-carried, but not deployed?]	1992-12-02	ODERACS-1	ODERACS (with SDS-2-3)
ODERACS-1 [STS-60/Discovery-deployed]	1994-02-03		ODERACS-1
ODERACS-2 [STS-63/Discovery-deployed]	1995-02-03		ODERACS-2 (with SPARTAN-204)

US Mercury and Gemini-series [un-manned] satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Mercury-MA-4	1961-09-13	Mercury	Mercury and Gemini (un-manned only)	Mercury and Gemini (un-manned only)
Mercury-MA-5 (chimp "Enos")	1961-11-29
Mercury-MS-1 [failed]	1961-11-01	Mercury-MS-1
Gemini-GT-1	1964-04-08	Gemini-1
Gemini-GT-2 [sub-orbital]	1965-01-19
GATV-6 [failed]	1965-10-25
GATV-8	1966-03-16	GATV-8
GATV-9 [failed]	1966-05-17
Atlas-ATDA	1966-06-01	Atlas-ATDA
GATV-10	1966-07-18
GATV-11	1966-09-12
GATV-12	1966-11-11

US Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn [un-manned] series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Saturn-SA-5	1964-01-29	Saturn-SA-5	Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn (un-manned only)	Saturn-Apollo and Apollo-Saturn (un-manned only)
Saturn-SA-6	1964-05-28	Saturn-SA-6
Saturn-SA-7	1964-09-18
Apollo-Saturn AS-201 [sub-orbital]	1966-02-26
Apollo-Saturn AS-203	1966-07-05	Apollo-Saturn-AS-203
Apollo-Saturn AS-202 [sub-orbital]	1966-08-25
Apollo-Saturn AS-501 (Apollo-4)	1967-11-09
Apollo-Saturn AS-204 (Apollo-5)	1968-01-22
Apollo-Saturn AS-502 (Apollo-6)	1968-04-04

US Transtage-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Transtage-1 [failed]	1964-09-01	Transtage-1/2/5 type Transtage (artist's concept) Transtage (artist's concept info)	Transtage	Transtage
Transtage-2	1964-12-10
Transtage-5	1965-06-18

US Micro Electro-mechanical systems-based PicoSat Inspector (MEPSI) [tethered] series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
MEPSI-1 [STS-113/Endeavour-deployed]	2002-11-23	MEPSI-1A/B+PLA	MEPSI-1
MEPSI-2 [STS-116/Discovery-deployed]	2006-12-10		MEPSI-2 (with OSCAR-60/61/62)

US PicoSatellite Solar Cell Testbed (PSSCT) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
PSSCT-1 [STS-126/Endeavour-deployed]	2008-11-14	PSSCT-1	PSSCT-1
PSSCT-2 [STS-135/Atlantis-deployed]	2011-07-08	PSSCT-2	PSSCT-2

US Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite [Shuttle-deployed and recovered]:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
LDEF [STS-41C/Challenger-deployed]	1984-04-06	LDEF LDEF (patch, with STS-41C/Challenger)	LDEF (deployed)	LDEF
LDEF [STS-32R/Columbia-recovered]	1990-01-09		LDEF (recovered)

(Selected) US Space Technology (ST) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ST-3 / DS-3 / Starlight / NMP	Canceled		Deep Space	Deep Space
ST-4 / DS-4 / Champollion / NMP	Canceled	Deep Space-4 (single-spacecraft concept) Deep Space-4 (original concept)
ST-5a, b, c / NCT-1, 2, 3 / NMP	2006-03-22	ST-5a,b,c	ST-5a,b,c
ST-6 / NMP	Unknown
ST-7 / LISA-Pathfinder / NMP	2015-12-03	LISA-Pathfinder LISA-Pathfinder (patch)		LISA-Pathfinder "LISA-Pathfinder" "LISA-Pathfinder" LISA-Pathfinder
ST-8 / NMP	Canceled	ST-8

US Space Technology Research Vehicle (STRV) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
STRV-1A, STRV-1B	1994-06-17	STRV-1A	STRV-1A/1B (with Intelsat-702)
STRV-1C, STRV-1D	2000-11-16		STRV-1C/1D (with Panamsat-1R and OSCAR-40)

US Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment - Follow-On (FO):

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
GRACE-1 and 2 / ESSP-2A and 2B / Tom and Jerry	2002-03-17	GRACE GRACE	GRACE and GRACE-FO	GRACE and GRACE-FO
GRACE-FO-1 and 2	2018-05-22	GRACE-FO

USAF Academy FALCON SATellite (FalconSat):

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
FalconSat-1	2000-01-27	FalconSat-1
FalconSat-2 [failed]	2006-03-24	FalconSat-2	FalconSat-2 FalconSat-2 (back) FalconSat-2 FalconSat-2 (back)
FalconSat-3	2007-03-09	FalconSat-3
FalconSat-4	canceled
FalconSat-5	2010-11-20	FalconSat-5
FalconSat-6	2018-12-03	FalconSat-6
FalconSat-7	2019-06-25	FalconSat-7
FalconSat-8 / USSF-7	2020-05-17

Canadian Alouette-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Alouette-1 (Alouette-A)	1962-09-28	Alouette-1 Alouette-1 Alouette-1	Alouette	Alouette
Alouette-2 (Alouette-B)	1965-11-28

Canadian International Satellite for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ISIS-X / Explorer-31 (DME-A)	1965-11-28	Explorer-31	ISIS	ISIS
ISIS-1 (ISIS-A)	1969-01-29	ISIS-1 ISIS-1
ISIS-2 (ISIS-B)	1971-03-31	ISIS-2
ISIS-C	Canceled

United Kingdom (UK) / Ariel-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Ariel-1 / UK-1 (S-51)	1962-04-26	Ariel-1 Ariel-1	Ariel / UK	Ariel / UK
Ariel-2 / UK-2 (UK-C, S-52)	1964-03-27	Ariel-2
Ariel-3 / UK-3 (UK-E)	1967-05-05	Ariel-3 Ariel-3 Ariel-3 Ariel-3 Ariel-3/4 type Ariel-3/4 type Ariel-4 Ariel-4
Ariel-4 / UK-4	1971-12-11
Ariel-5 / UK-5	1974-10-15	Ariel-5
Ariel-6 / UK-6	1979-06-02	Ariel-6 Ariel-6

Italian San Marco-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
San Marco-1 [sub-orbital] test rocket (Shotput-6)	1963-04-22	Shotput	San Marco	San Marco
San Marco-2 [sub-orbital] test rocket (Shotput-7)	1963-08-02
San Marco-1 (San Marco-A)	1964-12-15	San Marco-1 San Marco-1
San Marco-2 (San Marco-B)	1967-04-26	San Marco-2
San Marco-3 (San Marco-C)	1971-04-24	San Marco-4
San Marco-4 (San Marco-C2)	1974-02-18
San Marco-5 (San Marco-D/L)	1988-03-25	San Marco-5 San Marco-5 San Marco-5
San Marco-D/M	Canceled

German Aeros-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Aeros-1 (Aeros-A)	1972-12-16		Aeros	Aeros
Aeros-2 (Aeros-B)	1974-07-16	Aeros-2

French A-1, FR-1, and D-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
A-1 / Astérix	1965-11-26	A-1 A-1	A-1 / Astérix	A-1 / Astérix
FR-1 / France-1	1965-12-06	FR-1	FR-1 / France-1	FR-1 / France-1
D-1A / Diapason	1966-02-18	D-1 D-1 D-1A D-1A	D-series	D-series
D-1B	Canceled
D-1C / Diademe-1	1967-02-08	D-1C/1D type
D-1D / Diademe-2	1967-02-15
D-2A / Tournesol	1971-04-15	D-2A D-2A
D-2A / Polaire [failed]	1971-12-06
D-2B / Aura	1975-09-27	D-2B
D-3	Changed to FR-2 or CAS-B and canceled
D-4	Unknown/canceled
D-5A / Pollux, D-5B / Castor [failed]	1973-05-21	D-5A D-5B
D-5A / Pollux, D-5B / Castor	1975-05-17
SIGNE-31 (D-2B type)	1977-06-17	D-2B

¹SIGNE-1 and SIGNE-2 were payloads on Prognoz-2 and (possibly) Prognoz-6 spacecraft, respectively.

French Eole / Cooperative Applications Satellite (CAS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Peole (Preliminary Eole)	1970-12-12	Peole	Eole	Eole
Eole / FR-2 / CAS-A	1971-08-16	Eole Eole

French-Russian Satellite de Recherches et d'Études Technologiques (SRET) / Maliy Avtonomiy Sputnik (MAS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SRET-1 / MAS-1	1972-04-04	SRET-1	SRET / MAS	SRET / MAS
SRET-2 / MAS-2	1975-06-05	SRET-2

European Scientific Research Organization (ESRO) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ESRO-2A / IRIS-1 [failed]	1967-05-29	ESRO-2 ESRO-2A	ESRO	ESRO
ESRO-2B / IRIS-2	1968-05-16	ESRO-2B ESRO-2B
ESRO-1A / Aurorae	1968-10-03	ESRO-1 ESRO-1 ESRO-1A
ESRO-1B / Boreas	1969-10-01
ESRO-TD1A	1972-03-11	ESRO-TD1A ESRO-TD1A
ESRO-4	1972-11-21	ESRO-4 ESRO-4

European (ESRO) Highly Eccentric Orbit Satellite (HEOS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
HEOS-1 (HEOS-A1)	1968-12-05	HEOS-1 HEOS-1 HEOS-1	HEOS	HEOS
HEOS-2 (HEOS-A2)	1972-01-31

European Space Agency (ESA) Geostationary Earth Orbit Satellite (GEOS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ESA-GEOS-1	1977-04-20	ESA-GEOS ESA-GEOS ESA-GEOS ESA-GEOS-1	ESA-GEOS	ESA-GEOS
ESA-GEOS-2	1978-07-14

Japanese Ionospheric Sounding Satellite (ISS) / Ume series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ISS-1 (ISS-A) / Ume-1	1976-02-29	ISS-1	ISS / Ume	ISS / Ume
ISS-2 (ISS-B) / Ume-2	1978-02-16

Japanese EXOspheric Satellite (EXOS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
EXOS-A / Kyokko	1978-02-04	EXOS-A	EXOS	EXOS
EXOS-B / Jikiken	1978-09-16	EXOS-B
EXOS-C / Ohzora	1984-02-14	EXOS-C
EXOS-D / Akebono	1989-02-21	EXOS-D EXOS-D

Japanese Engineering Test Satellite (ETS) / Kiku series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
ETS-1 / Kiku-1	1975-09-09	ETS-1 ETS-1	ETS / Kiku	ETS / Kiku
ETS-2 / Kiku-2	1977-02-23	ETS-2
ETS-4 / Kiku-3	1981-02-11	ETS-3
ETS-3 / Kiku-4	1982-09-03	ETS-4
ETS-5 / Kiku-5	1987-08-27	ETS-5
ETS-6 / Kiku-6 [failed]	1994-08-28	ETS-6 ETS-6 ETS-6 ETS-6
ETS-7 / Kiku-7 (Orihime, Hikoboshi)	1997-11-27	ETS-7 ETS-7
ETS-8 / Kiku-8	2006-12-18	ETS-8

Japanese Tansei-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Tansei-1 / MS-T1	1971-02-16	Tansei-1	Tansei	Tansei
Tansei-2 / MS-T2	1974-02-16	Tansei-2
Tansei-3 / MS-T3	1977-02-19	Tansei-3
Tansei-4 / MS-T4	1980-02-17	Tansei-4

Japanese Ohsumi-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Ohsumi (#1) [failed]	1966-09-26	Ohsumi	Ohsumi	Ohsumi
Ohsumi (#2) [failed]	1966-12-20
Ohsumi (#3) [failed]	1967-04-13
Ohsumi (#4) [failed]	1969-09-22
Ohsumi (#5)	1970-02-11

Japanese COsmic Radiation SAtellite (CORSA) / Hakucho series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
CORSA-A [failed]	1976-02-04		CORSA / Hakucho	CORSA / Hakucho
CORSA-B / Hakucho	1979-02-21	CORSA-B CORSA-B

Japanese Solarsail Subpayload SATellite (SSSat) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SSSat-1	2006-02-21	SSSat	SSSat-1 (with Astro-F and OSCAR-56)
SSSat-2	2006-09-22	SSSat	SSSat-2 (with Solar-B and OSCAR-59)

(Other) Japanese scientific/research/technology satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Shinsei / SS-1	1971-09-28	Shinsei	Shinsei	Shinsei
REXS / Denpa	1972-08-19	REXS	REXS
SRATS / Taiyo	1975-02-24	SRATS
MABES / Jindai	1986-08-12	MABES	MABES
EGP / EGS / Ajisai	1986-08-12	EGS	EGS (with OSCAR-12)
DEBUT / Orizuru	1990-02-07	DEBUT	DEBUT (with MOS-1b and OSCAR-20)
COMETS / Kakehashi	1998-02-21	COMETS	COMETS / Kakehashi	COMETS / Kakehashi
MDS-1 / Tsubasa	2002-02-04	MDS-1	MDS-1
SERVIS-1	2003-10-30	SERVIS-1
INDEX / Reimei	2005-08-23	INDEX	INDEX (with OICETS)	INDEX (launch)
OICETS / Kirari	2005-08-23	OICETS	OICETS / Kirari	OICETS / Kirari
IKAROS	2010-05-20	IKAROS	IKAROS	IKAROS
UNITEC-1 / Shin'en	2010-05-20	UNITEC-1		"UNITEC-1"
KSAT / Hayato	2010-05-20	KSAT		"KSAT"
NegaiStar	2010-05-20	NegaiStar		"Negai"Star
WasedaSAT-2	2010-05-20	WasedaSAT-2		"WasedaSAT-2"
SERVIS-2	2010-06-02	SERVIS-1	SERVIS-2
Horyu-4 / AEGIS	2016-02-17	Horyu-4	Horyu (with Astro-H)
ChubuSat-2 / Kinshachi-2, ChubuSat-3 / Kinshachi-3	2016-02-17	ChubuSat-2	ChubuSat-2 and 3 (with Astro-H)

(Selected) Indian scientific/research/technology satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Aryabhata (Ariabata)	1975-04-20	Aryabhata	Aryabhata	Aryabhata
Bhaskara-1 / SEO-1	1979-06-07	Bhaskara	Bhaskara	Bhaskara
Bhaskara-2 / SEO-2	1981-11-20	Bhaskara-2+Rohini-1B
Rohini-1A [failed]	1979-08-10	Rohini-1	Rohini	Rohini
Rohini-1 (Rohini-1B)	1980-07-18	Rohini-1B Bhaskara-2+Rohini-1B
Rohini-2	1981-05-31
Rohini-3	1983-04-17
SROSS-1 (SROSS-A) [failed]	1987-03-24	SROSS-1
SROSS-2 (SROSS-B) / SRS-2 [failed]	1988-07-13
SROSS-3 (SROSS-C)	1992-05-20
SROSS-C2	1994-05-04

Pakistani Badr-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Badr-1 (Badr-A)	1990-07-16	Badr-1 Badr-1	Badr	Badr
Badr-2 (Badr-B)	2001-12-10	Badr-2

(South) Korean Science and Technology SATellite (STSAT) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
STSAT-1 (KAISTSat)	2003-09-27	STSAT-1
STSAT-2a [failed]	2009-08-25	STSAT-2		STSAT-2
STSAT-2b [failed]	2010-06-10
STSAT-2c	2013-02-30	STSAT-2c		"STSAT-2c"
STSAT-3	2013-11-21	STSAT-3

(Selected) Chinese Shi Jian (SJ) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SJ-1 / PRC-2 / China-2	1971-03-03	SJ-1	SJ-1	"Chinese satellite for scientific studies" (SJ-1)
SJ-2	1981-09-19	SJ-2
SJ-2A / PRC-11 / China-11	1981-09-19	SJ-2A		SJ-2
SJ-2B / PRC-9 / China-9	1981-09-19	SJ-2B
SJ-2C / PRC-10 / China-10	1981-09-19
SJ-4 / Practice-4	1994-02-08	SJ-4	SJ-4 SJ-4 (back) SJ-4 SJ-4 SJ-4	SJ-4
SJ-5 / Practice-5	1995-05-10	SJ-5	SJ-5 (with FY-1C)	FY-1C+SJ-5
SJ-6A, SJ-6B	2004-09-08	SJ-6A/6B	SJ-6A+6B SJ-6A+6B (back)	SJ-6 (in upper-left margin) SJ-6 (margin detail)
SJ-6C, SJ-6D	2006-10-23		SJ-6C+6D SJ-6C+6D (back)
SJ-7	2005-07-05	SJ-7
SJ-8	2006-09-09	SJ-8	SJ-8 SJ-8 (back)
SJ-9A	2012-10-14	SJ-9A
SJ-9B	2012-10-14	SJ-9B
SJ-10	2016-04-05	SJ-10
SJ-11-01	2009-11-12	SJ-11	SJ-11-01 SJ-11-01 (back)
SJ-11-02	2011-07-29		SJ-11-02
SJ-11-05	2013-07-15		SJ-11-05
SJ-12	2010-06-15
SJ-13	2017-04-12	SJ-13
SJ-15	2013-07-19			"SJ-15"
SJ-16-01	2013-10-25	SJ-16
SJ-16-02	2016-06-29
SJ-17	2016-11-03	SJ-17	SJ-17
SJ-18 [failed]	2017-07-02	SJ-18

Chinese Chuang Xin (CX) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
CX-1-01	2003-10-21	CX-1	CX-1-01 (with ZY-1-02)
CX-1-02	2008-11-05
CX-1-03	2011-11-20
CX-1-04	2014-09-04

Korea (North) Kwangmyongsong (KMS) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Kwangmyongsong-1 / KMS-1 [failed]	1998-08-30	KMS-1	Kwangmyongsong	Kwangmyongsong
Kwangmyongsong-2 / KMS-2 [failed]	2009-04-05	KMS-2 KMS-2
Kwangmyongsong-3 / KMS-3 [failed]	2012-04-12	KMS-3 KMS-3
Kwangmyongsong-3-2 / KMS-3-2	2012-12-12
Kwangmyongsong-4 / KMS-4 [partial failure]	2016-02-07	KMS-4

Swedish scientific/research/technology satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Viking	1986-02-22	Viking Viking Viking	Viking	Viking
Freja	1992-10-06	Freja Freja	Freja	Freja
Astrid-1	1995-01-24	Astrid-1 Astrid-1	Astrid	Astrid
Astrid-2	1998-12-10	Astrid-2
Munin	2000-11-21	Munin	Munin	Munin
Odin	2001-02-20	Odin	Odin	Odin
PRISMA	2010-06-15	PRISMA	PRISMA	PRISMA

German / US Shuttle PAllet Satellite (SPAS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
SPAS-1 [STS-7/Challenger-deployed-and-recovered]	1983-06-22	SPAS-1	SPAS	SPAS
SPAS-1A [STS-41B/Challenger-deployed-and-recovered]	1984-02-03
IBSS-SPAS (SPAS-2) [STS-39/Discovery-deployed-and-recovered]	1991-04-28	SPAS-2
ORFEUS-SPAS-1 [STS-51/Discovery-deployed-and-recovered]	1993-09-12	ORFEUS-SPAS
CRISTA-SPAS-1 [STS-66/Atlantis-deployed-and-recovered]	1994-11-03	CRISTA-SPAS CRISTA-SPAS CRISTA-SPAS-1 (patch, with STS-66/Atlantis) CRISTA-SPAS-1 (patch, with STS-66/Atlantis, back)
ORFEUS-SPAS-2 [STS-80/Columbia-deployed-and-recovered]	1996-11-19	ORFEUS-SPAS ORFEUS-SPAS-2 (patch, with STS-80/Columbia) ORFEUS-SPAS-2 (patch, with STS-80/Columbia, back)
CRISTA-SPAS-2 [STS-85/Discovery-deployed-and-recovered]	1997-08-07	CRISTA-SPAS CRISTA-SPAS CRISTA-SPAS-2 (patch, with STS-85/Discovery) CRISTA-SPAS-2 (patch, with STS-85/Discovery, back)

Italian Tethered Satellite System (TSS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
TSS [STS-46/Atlantis-deployed-and-recovered]	1992-07-31	TSS-1 TSS-1 TSS-1 (patch)	TSS	TSS
TSS-1R [STS-75/Columbia-deployed-and-recovered]	1996-02-22

EUropean Space Agency (ESA) REtrievable CArrier (EURECA) satellite [Shuttle-deployed and recovered]:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
EURECA-1 [STS-46/Atlantis-deployed]	1992-07-31	EURECA EURECA-1 (deployment) EURECA-1 (deployment) EURECA-1 (deployment) EURECA-1 (deployment) EURECA-1 (retrieval) EURECA-1 (retrieval) EURECA-1 (retrieval)	EURECA	EURECA
EURECA-1 [STS-57/Endeavour-recovered]	1993-06-21

European Space Agency (ESA) Capsule Ariane Technologique (CAT) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
CAT-1	1979-12-24	CAT-1	CAT	CAT
CAT-2 [failed]	1980-05-23
CAT-3	1981-06-19
CAT-4	1981-12-20

European Space Agency (ESA) PRoject for On-Board Autonomy (PROBA) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
PROBA-1	2001-10-22	PROBA-1		"MOS"+"PROBA"+"Uribyol" "PROBA" (mission)
PROBA-2	2009-11-02	PROBA-2	PROBA-2 (with SMOS)	"PROBA-2"
PROBA-3	2022-?	PROBA-3
PROBA-V	2013-05-07	PROBA-V		"PROBA-V" "PROBA-V" "PROBA-V"

European (ELDO) Satellite Test Vehicle (STV) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
STV-1 [failed]	1968-11-29	STV-1
STV-2 [failed]	1989-07-02
STV-3 [failed]	1970-06-12	STV-1	STV-3
STV-4 [failed]	1971-11-05	STV-4	STV-4 STV-4

UK X-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
X-1	Unknown		X-series	X-series
X-2 / Orba [failed]	1970-09-02	Orba
X-3 / Prospero	1971-10-28	Prospero Prospero
X-4 / Miranda	1974-03-08	Miranda

China/PRC DoubleStar / Tan Ce (TC) satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
DoubleStar-1 / TC-1	2003-12-30	TC-1 TC (patch)	TC-1 TC-1 TC-1 TC-1 TC-1 TC-1	TC TC (fdc) TC TC (fdc)
DoubleStar-2 / TC-2	2004-07-26		TC-2 TC-2 TC-2 TC-2 (back)

(Selected) China/PRC Fanhui Shi Weixing (FSW) / Jian Bing (JB) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
FSW-1-4 / JB-1A-4	1992-10-06	FSW-1	FSW-1-4 (with Freja)	FSW (recovery) FSW FSW
FSW-2-2 / JB-1B-2	1994-07-03	FSW-2	FSW-2-2 (recovery) FSW-2-2 (recovery, back) FSW-2-2 (recovery) FSW-2-2 (recovery)
FSW-1-5 / JB-1A-5	1994-10-08	FSW-1	FSW-1-5 FSW-1-5
FSW-4-1 / JB-4-1	2004-08-29	FSW-3	FSW-4-1 FSW-4-1 (back)
FSW-3-2 / JB-2-2	2004-09-27	FSW-3	FSW-3-2 FSW-3-2 (back)

European (ESA) Cluster-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Cluster-1 (FM1, FM2, FM3, FM4) [failed]	1996-06-04	Cluster Cluster-2 (patch)	Cluster	Cluster
Cluster-2 (FM6/Salsa, FM7/Samba)	2000-07-16
Cluster-2 (FM5/Rumba, FM8/Tango)	2000-08-09

European (ESA) MAQuette SATellite (MaqSat) satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
MaqSat-B, MaqSat-H, TEAMSAT [partial failure]	1997-10-30	MaqSat-B MaqSat-H+TEAMSAT	MaqSat	MaqSat
MaqSat-3	1998-10-21	MaqSat-3
MaqSat-B2	2005-02-12	MaqSat-B2

Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiments (CanX) series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
CanX-1	2003-06-30	CanX-1
CanX-2	2008-04-28	CanX-2
CanX-3A — 3F satellites; see BRITE satellites
CanX-4	2014-06-30	CanX-4	CanX-4 and CanX-5 (with SPOT-7)
CanX-5	2014-06-30
CanX-6	2008-04-28	CanX-6
CanX-7	2016-09-26	CanX-7

Other (selected) US scientific/research/technology satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
TAVE	1962-09-29	TAVE	TAVE (with Alouette-1)
SEV	1965-08-10	SEV (+SECOR-5)	SEV (with SECOR-5)
Aurora	1967-06-29	Aurora	Aurora (with SECOR-9)
PAC-1 (PAC-A)	1969-08-09		PAC-1 (with OSO-6)
RM-1 / RMS	1970-11-09	RM-1	RM-1	RM-1
CEP-1	1970-12-11		CEP-1 (with NOAA-1)
Radcat-2, Radsat (Pi-in-the-Sky)	1972-10-02	Radsat and Radcat	Radcat-2 and Radsat	Radcat and Radsat
SPHINX [failed]	1974-02-11	SPHINX	SPHINX (with Viking-DS)
RM-20 / P72-2 [failed]	1975-04-12	RM-20	RM-20
CAMEO	1978-10-24		CAMEO (with Nimbus-7)
SCATHA / P78-2	1979-01-30	SCATHA	SCATHA	SCATHA
HILAT / P83-1 / Transit-O-16	1983-06-27	HILAT
NUSAT [amateur-built, STS-51B/Challenger-deployed]	1985-04-29	NUSAT NUSAT (patch, with STS-51B/Challenger)	NUSAT
PDP [STS-51F/Challenger-deployed]	1985-07-29	PDP	PDP
OEX-Target [STS-61B/Atlantis-deployed]	1985-11-26	OEX-Target	OEX-Target (with Aussat-2 and Morelos-2 and Satcom-Ku2)
PegSat	1990-04-05		PegSat
StackSat-1/2/3 (POGS & SSR / TEX / SCE) / USA-56/57/58	1990-04-11	Stacksat-1/2/3	Stacksat-1/2/3(+PDD)
PDD	1990-04-11	PDD	PDD(+Stacksat-1/2/3)
CRRES	1990-07-25	CRRES	CRRES	CRRES
REX-1 / P89-1A / ISES	1991-06-29	REX-2	REX-1
Geotail / GTL	1992-07-24	Geotail Geotail (patch)	Geotail
METEOR [formerly COMET] [NASA, failed]	1995-10-23	METEOR	METEOR (payload included materials, biological, and GPS/radar correlation tracking experiments)
REX-2 / P94-2	1996-03-09	REX-2
MSX	1996-04-24	MSX
PAMS-STU [STS-77/Endeavour-deployed]	1996-05-19	PAMS-STU (STS-77/Endeavour-deployment)	PAMS-STU (with SPARTAN-207)
AERCam-Sprint [STS-87/Columbia-deployed]	1997-11-18	AERCam-Sprint	AERCam-Sprint (with SPARTAN-201-F4)
Celestis-3 (space burial)	1998-02-10	Celestis-4	"Celestis-3 (not "Celestis-2", with GFO)
ACRIMSAT	1999-12-20	ACRIMSAT ACRIMSAT (animation) ACRIMSAT ACRIMSAT (and Kompsat) (patch)	ACRIMSAT	ACRIMSAT
STEP	Proposed	STEP		STEP
SimpleSat [STS-105/Discovery-deployed]	2001-08-10	SimpleSat	SimpleSat
PICOSat	2001-08-31	PICOSat	PICOSat (with OSCAR-43/44/45)
TIMED	2001-12-07	TIMED TIMED (patch) TIMED (patch)	TIMED	TIMED
UNOSAT [failed]	2003-08-22	UNOSAT
CX-1 (USA)	Never launched	CX-1 (USA)
IMEX / UNEX-2	Canceled	IMEX
CATSAT / STEDI-3	Canceled	CATSAT
Bevo-1 / PARADIGM / DRAGONSAT-1 [STS-127/Endeavour-deployed]	2009-07-15	Bevo-1	Bevo-1
AggieSat-2 / DRAGONSAT-2 [STS-127/Endeavour-deployed]	2009-07-15	AggieSat-2	AggieSat-2
ANDE-2-AA (Active, Castor), ANDE-2-PA (Passive, Pollux) [STS-127/Endeavour-deployed]	2009-07-15	ANDE-2-AA+PA	ANDE-2
FASTSat	2010-11-20	FASTSat	FASTSat
NanoSail-D	2010-11-20	NanoSail-D		NanoSail-D
KySat-1 [failed]	2011-03-04	KySat-1	KySat-1 (with Glory)
E1P / HRBE [failed]	2011-03-04	E1P	E1P (with Glory)
RBSP-A/B	2012-08-30	RBSP	RBSP	RBSP
PhoneSat-1 / Graham / Bell	2013-04-21	PhoneSat-1.0_Graham PhoneSat-1.0_Bell		"PhoneSat-1.0"
ArduSat-1 [HTV-4 launched]	2013-08-03 (launched to ISS) 2013-11-19 (deployed from ISS)	ArduSat-1		ISS-related satellites
TechEdSat-3 [HTV-4 launched]	2013-08-03 (launched to ISS) 2013-11-20 (deployed from ISS)	TechEdSat-3
PicoDragon [HTV-4 launched]	2013-08-03 (launched to ISS) 2013-11-19 (deployed from ISS)	PicoDragon
ELaNA, CalPoly, STP, ORS, and others	2013-11-19		ELaNa-4+CalPoly+STP+ORS+others
SkyCube [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-28 (deployed from ISS)	SkyCube
ArduSat-2 [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-28 (deployed from ISS)	ArduSat-2
Flock-1 [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-11 — 2014-02-15 (deployed from ISS)	Flock-1
MMS	2015-03-13	MMS	MMS MMS
ROSA [Dragon-CRS-11 launched]	2017-06-03 (launched to ISS) 2017-06-26 (deployed from ISS)	ROSA ROSA	ROSA
ISARA (with imaging payload)	2017-11-12	ISARA
Dove Pioneer (Flock-type)	2018-01-21	Flock-1	Dove Pioneer Dove Pioneer
Lemur-2-72, Lemur-2-73	2018-01-21	Lemur-2	Lemur-2-72, Lemur-2-73 Lemur-2-72, Lemur-2-73
TDO-1	2019-08-08
TDO-2	2020-03-26	TDO-2
Sunjammer	20??-?	Sunjammer Sunjammer

Other (selected) non-US scientific/research/technology satellites:

Satellite	Country	Launch Date	Images
			reference	launch covers	other postal items
WRESAT	Australia	1967-11-29	WRESAT	WRESAT	WRESAT
Azur / GRS	West Germany	1969-11-07	Azur	Azur / GRS	Azur / GRS
Dial-Wika	France-West Germany	1970-03-10	Dial-Wika	Dial-Wika	Dial-Wika
Dial-Mika	France-West Germany	1970-03-10	Dial-Mika
Intasat	Spain	1974-11-15	Intasat	Intasat	Intasat
STARLET (STARLETTE)	France	1975-02-06	Stella (nearly identical)	STARLET	STARLET
Firewheel [failed]	West Germany-USA	1980-05-23	Firewheel	Firewheel (with Amsat-P3A and CAT-2)	"Firewheel" (in cachet text only)
TUBsat-A	Germany	1991-07-17	TUBsat-A	TUBsat-A (with ERS-1 and OSCAR-22)
Cariane	France (CNES)	Canceled			Cariane
Stella	France	1993-09-26	Stella	Stella	Stella
BremSat [STS-60/Discovery-deployed]	Germany	1994-02-03	BremSat	BremSat
OREX / Ryusei	Japan (NASDA)	1994-02-03	OREX	OREX OREX (insert)
EXPRESS [partial failure]	Germany-Japan	1995-01-15	EXPRESS	EXPRESS-1	"EXPRESS"
CERISE	France	1995-07-07	CERISE	CERISE (with Helios-1A)
UPM-LBSat	Spain	1995-07-07	UPM-LBSat	UPM-LBSat (with Helios-1A)
FASat-Alpha [failed]	Chile-UK	1995-08-31
YES [partial failure]	Europe (ESA)	1997-10-30	YES	YES (with MaqSat-B)
Equator-S	Germany	1997-12-02	Equator-S	Equator-S	Equator-S
FASat-Bravo	Chile-UK	1998-07-10	FASat-Bravo
ARD	Europe (ESA)	1998-10-21	ARD	ARD (with MaqSat-3)	ARD (with MaqSat-3)
Oersted	Denmark-USA	1999-02-23	Oersted	Oersted	Oersted
MegSat-0	Italy	1999-04-28	Megsat-1	MegSat(+ABRIXAS)
Clementine (cubesat)	France	1999-12-03	Clementine	Clementine (with Helios-1B)	"Clementine"
SNAP-1	UK	2000-06-28	SNAP-1
CHAMP	Germany	2000-07-15	CHAMP	CHAMP+MITA+Bird-Rubin
MITA	Italy	2000-07-15	MITA
Bird-Rubin	Germany	2000-07-15	Bird-Rubin
MegSat-1	Italy	2000-09-26	Megsat-1
LDREX-1	Japan (NASDA)	2000-12-20	LDREX	LDREX-1 (with Astra-2D and GE-8/AMC-8)
BIRD-1	Germany	2001-10-22	BIRD-1
Rubin-3-DSI	Germany	2002-11-28	Rubin-3-DSI	Rubin-3-DSI (with AlSat-1 and RS-20)
DEMETER	France (CNES)	2004-06-29	DEMETER		"DEMETER" "DEMETER" "DEMETER"
Nanosat-01	Spain	2004-12-18	Nanosat-01	Nanosat-01 (with Helios-2A)
Sloshsat-FLEVO	Netherlands	2005-02-12	Sloshsat-FLEVO	Sloshsat-FLEVO (with MaqSat-B2)	SloshSat-FLEVO (at right in fdc cachet)
Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule	Turkmenistan	2005-08-23	Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule	Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule (with OICETS)	Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule (launch)
LDREX-2	Japan (NASDA)	2006-10-13	LDREX	LDREX-2 (with Optus-D1 and DirecTV-9S)
Libertad-1 [amateur-built]	Colombia	2007-04-17	Libertad-1		"Libertad-1"
YES-2	Europe (ESA)	2007-09-14	YES-2		"YES-2" "YES-2" (fdc) "YES-2"
Omid	Iran	2009-02-02	Omid		"Omid" "Omid" "Omid" (fdc) "Omid" (back) "Omid" (front) Omid-2+Mesbah-2
GOCE / Earth Explorer-1	Europe (ESA)	2009-03-17	GOCE	GOCE	GOCE
BeeSat-1	Germany	2009-09-23	BeeSat-1
SwissCube-1	Switzerland	2009-09-23	SwissCube		"SwissCube" "SwissCube"
ALMASat-1	Italy	2012-02-13	ALMASat-1		"ALMASat-1" "ALMASat-1"
LARES	Italy	2012-02-13	LARES	LARES (with OSCAR-72)	LARES LARES LARES (and others launch) LARES (and others launch) LARES (and others launch)
PROITERES	Japan (Osaka Institute of Technology)	2012-09-09	PROITERES	PROITERES (with SPOT-6)
mRESINS	Japan (ISRO)	2012-09-09		mRESINS (with SPOT-6)
AAUSat-3	Denmark	2013-02-25	AAU-Cubesat		"AAUSat-3"
STRaND-1	United Kingdom	2013-02-25	STRaND-1		"STRaND-1"
OSSI	Korea (South)	2013-04-19	OSSI-1		"OSSI-1"
BeeSat-2, BeeSat-3	Germany	2013-04-19	BeeSat-1		BeeSat-2 (not "BeeSat-1")
SOMP	Germany	2013-04-19	SOMP		"SOMP"
CubeBug-1	Argentina	2013-04-26	CubeBug-1		"CubeBug-1"
NEE-01_Pegaso	Ecuador	2013-04-26	NEE-01_Pegaso		"NEE-01_Pegaso" "NEE-01_Pegaso"
ESTCube-1	Estonia	2013-05-07	ESTCube-1		"ESTCube-1" "ESTCube-1" (fdc) "ESTCube-1" "ESTCube-1"
CASSIOPE	Canada	2013-09-29	CASSIOPE-1
CubeBug-2	Argentina	2013-11-21	CubeBug-1
Swarm-A/B/C / Earth Explorer-5A/5B/5C	Europe (ESA)	2013-11-22	Swarm		"Swarm" "Swarm"
UAPSat-1 [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	Peru	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-28 (deployed from ISS)	UAPSat-1		ISS-related satellites
Chasqui-1 [Progress-M-22M launched]	Peru-Russia	2014-02-05 (launched to ISS) 2014-08-18 (deployed from ISS)	Chasqui-1
CBNT-1	UK	2015-07-10	CBNT-1
DeorbitSail	UK	2015-07-10	DeorbitSail
Antelsat	Uruguay	2014-06-19	Antelsat		"Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat"
XY-2 / Kaituo-1A	China/PRC	2015-09-19	XY-2	XY-2+19-others
SamSat-218D	Russia	2016-02-28	SamSat-218D SamSat-218D		"SamSat"
MICROSCOPE	France	2016-04-25	MICROSCOPE	MICROSCOPE (with Sentinel-1B)
M3MSat	Canada	2016-06-22	M3MSat
DFFC	China/PRC	2016-06-25	DFFC	DFFC (recovery) DFFC (recovery)
QSS (QUESS, Mozi)	China/PRC	2016-08-15	QSS		QSS QSS (fdc)
TK	China/PRC	2017-03-02	TK-1	TK-1
Venta-1	Latvia	2017-06-23	Venta-1		Venta-1
Pegasus (cubesat)	Austria	2017-06-23	Pegasus (cubesat)		Pegasus (cubesat)
Humanity Star	New Zealand	2018-01-21	Humanity Star	Humanity Star Humanity Star	Humanity Star Humanity Star
S-Net-A	Germany	2018-02-01	S-Net	S-Net-A
TARANIS [failed]	France	2020-11-17	TARANIS
Mesbah-1, Mesbah-2	Iran	20??	Mesbah-1 Mesbah-2		Mesbah-2+Omid "Mesbah-2"

Links to scientific/research/technology satellite information:

(The links below lead to information sources that are maintained by others. They are not part of this Website.)

• NSSDCA: NASA's Explorer Program Satellites
• NASA Headquarters History Office: Explorer Series of Spacecraft
• Gunter's Space Page: Explorer Program

Back to Un-Manned Satellite Philately.