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:

USA 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-7 Explorer-7 Explorer-7 Explorer-7 (folder, page1) Explorer-7 (folder, page2) Explorer-7 (folder, page3) Explorer-7 (folder, page4)
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-18/21/28 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-18/21/28 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-18/21/28 type
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-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-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-39/40 (in cutaway on Scout-D rocket)
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-47
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-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 (solar-observing mission)	1992-07-03	Explorer-68 (SAMPEX) Explorer-68 (SAMPEX) SAMPEX (patch)
Explorer-69 / XTE / RXTE / MIDEX-(-2) (astronomy/telescope mission)	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 (solar-observing mission)	1998-04-02	Explorer-73 (TRACE) TRACE (patch)
Explorer-74 / SMEX-3 / SWAS (astronomy/telescope mission)	1998-12-06	Explorer-74 (SWAS) Explorer-74 (SWAS) SWAS (patch)
Explorer-75 / SMEX-5 / WIRE (astronomy/telescope mission) [failed]	1999-03-05	Explorer-75 (WIRE)
Explorer-76 / STEDI-2 / TERRIERS (solar-observing mission) [failed]	1999-05-18	Explorer-76 (TERRIERS)
Explorer-77 / MIDEX-0 / FUSE (astronomy/telescope mission)	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 (astronomy/telescope mission)	2001-06-30	Explorer-80 (WMAP)
Explorer-81 / SMEX-6 / HESSI / RHESSI (solar-observing mission)	2002-02-05	Explorer-81 (HESSI) Explorer-81 (HESSI)
Explorer-82 / UNEX-1 / CHIPSat (astronomy/telescope mission)	2003-01-12	Explorer-82 (CHIPSat)
Explorer-83 / SMEX-7 / GALEX (astronomy/telescope mission)	2003-04-28	Explorer-83 (GALEX)
Explorer-84 / MIDEX-3 / Swift (astronomy/telescope mission)	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 (solar-observing mission)	2008-10-19	Explorer-91 (IBEX)
Explorer-92 / MIDEX-6 / WISE / NGSS / NEOWISE (astronomy/telescope mission)	2009-12-14	Explorer-92 (WISE)
Explorer-93 / SMEX-11 / NuSTAR (astronomy/telescope mission)	2012-06-13	Explorer-93 (NuSTAR) Explorer-93 (NuSTAR patch)
Explorer-94 / SMEX-12 / IRIS (solar-observing mission)	2013-06-28	Explorer-94 (IRIS) Explorer-94 (IRIS patch)
Explorer-95 / MIDEX-7 / TESS (astronomy/telescope mission)	2018-04-18	Explorer-95 (TESS)
Explorer-96 / MIDEX-8 / ICON	2019-10-11	Explorer-96 (ICON) Explorer-96 (ICON)
Explorer-97 / SMEX-14 / IXPE	2021-12-09	Explorer-97 (IXPE)

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.

USA Injun-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Injun-1	1961-06-29	Injun-1 Injun-1 (+SolRad-3) Injun-1 (+Transit-4A+SolRad-3) Injun-1 (+Transit-4A+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-4
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 Explorer-52

USA 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

USA 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.

USA 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-1 (cutaway)
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 (cutaway) Vanguard-2 (cutaway)
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 Vanguard-3 (cutaway)

(Earlier) USA 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-5 (mockup)
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.

USA 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"

USA 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

USA 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

USA 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

USA Owl-series satellites:

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

USA 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

USA [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
P&FS [Apollo-16 deployed]	1972-04-16 (launched with Apollo-16) 1972-04-24 (deployed from Apollo-16)

USA [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	[Mercury and Gemini-deployed] Sub-satellites	[Mercury and Gemini-deployed] 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

USA-Italy 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)

Italian LAser RElativity Satellite (LARES) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
LARES-1	2012-02-13	LARES	LARES	LARES
LARES-2	2022-07-13	LARES-2

USA Gravity Probe (GP) series satellites:

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

USA 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

USA 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)

USA 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 (Goldcraft Cachets, but Mercury boilerplate capsule depicted)

USA 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)

USA 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)

USA 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 (patch)	STARSHINE	STARSHINE
STARSHINE-2 [STS-108/Endeavour-deployed]	2001-12-05	STARSHINE-2 STARSHINE-2 (patch)
STARSHINE-3 / OSCAR-43	2001-09-30	STARSHINE-3 STARSHINE-3 (patch)
STARSHINE-4 [failed]	2020-05-25	STARSHINE-4/5 (patch) STARSHINE-5
STARSHINE-5	canceled

USA 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)

USA 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

USA 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)

USA 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

USA 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) USA 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 (NASA-ESA) / NMP	2015-12-03	LISA-Pathfinder LISA-Pathfinder (patch)	LISA-Pathfinder	LISA-Pathfinder
ST-8 / NMP	Canceled	ST-8

USA 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	2000-11-15		STRV-1C/1D (with Panamsat-1R and OSCAR-40)

USA 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 GRACE-FO-1/2 (+ Iridium-NEXT-110/147/152/161/162)

USA Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV):

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
MEV-1	2019-10-09	MEV-1	MEV	MEV
MEV-2	2020-08-15

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-1 (sketch)	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-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 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
MS-T5 / Sakigake

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)

Japanese Horyu series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Horyu-1	canceled	Horyu-1
Horyu-2	2012-05-17	Horyu-2	Horyu-2 (with Kompsat-3 and GCOM-W)
Horyu-3	canceled	Horyu-3
Horyu-4 / AEGIS	2016-02-17	Horyu-4	Horyu-4 (with Astro-H)

Japanese/JAXA Small Demonstration Satellite (SDS) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Japan-SDS-1	2009-01-23	Japan-SDS-1
Japan-SDS-2	Unknown
Japan-SDS-3	Unknown
Japan-SDS-4	2012-05-17	Japan-SDS-4	Japan-SDS-4 (with Kompsat-3 and GCOM-W)

(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	OICETS / Kirari (and INDEX / Reimei)	OICETS / Kirari (and INDEX / Reimei)
OICETS / Kirari	2005-08-23	OICETS
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
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 / SEO	Bhaskara / SEO
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

Pakistan 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

China/PRC 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	SJ
SJ-2	1981-09-19	SJ-2
SJ-2A / PRC-11 / China-11	1981-09-19	SJ-2A
SJ-2B / PRC-9 / China-9	1981-09-19	SJ-2B
SJ-2C / PRC-10 / China-10	1981-09-19
SJ-3	canceled
SJ-4	1994-02-08	SJ-4
SJ-5	1995-05-10	SJ-5
SJ-6A, SJ-6B	2004-09-08	SJ-6A/6B
SJ-6C, SJ-6D	2006-10-23
SJ-7	2005-07-05	SJ-7
SJ-8	2006-09-09	SJ-8
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-11-02	2011-07-29
SJ-11-05	2013-07-15
SJ-12	2010-06-15
SJ-13	2017-04-12	SJ-13
SJ-15	2013-07-19
SJ-16-01	2013-10-25	SJ-16
SJ-16-02	2016-06-29
SJ-17	2016-11-03	SJ-17
SJ-18 [failed]	2017-07-02	SJ-18
SJ-19	202x
SJ-20	2019-12-27	SJ-20
SJ-21, SJ-21 sub-satellite	2021-10-24
SJ-23	2023-01-08

China/PRC 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-USA 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-1A1 [STS-41B/Challenger]	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)

¹No free flight was scheduled for SPAS-1A during the STS-41B mission; rather, the plan was to manipulate it with the RMS (Remote Manipulator System, or Canadarm) to gain experience in handling such an object with the RMS. It turned out that that was not possible due to an electrical problem with the RMS, so SPAS-1A remained stowed in the payload bay.

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 (early-design) EURECA-1 EURECA-1 (deployment) 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 / Thesee	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	PROBA	PROBA
PROBA-2	2009-11-02	PROBA-2
PROBA-3	2024-?	PROBA-3
PROBA-V	2013-05-07	PROBA-V

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

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
STV-1 [Europa-1 F7 rocket failed]	1968-11-29	STV-1	(sub-orbital) Atmospheric and Other Scientific Research Rockets
STV-2 [Europa-1 F8 rocket failed]	1969-07-02
STV-3 [Europa-1 F9 rocket failed]	1970-06-12
STV-4 [Europa-2 F10 rocket failed]	1971-11-05	STV-4

UK X-series satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
X-0 [sub-orbital] [failed]	1969-06-28		X-series	X-series
X-1 / Puck [sub-orbital]	1970-03-04
X-2 / Orba [failed]	1970-09-02	Orba
X-3 / Prospero	1971-10-28	Prospero Prospero Prospero Prospero
X-4 / Miranda	1974-03-08	Miranda

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

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

(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	FSW
FSW-1-5 / JB-1A-5	1993-10-08
FSW-2-2 / JB-1B-2	1994-07-03	FSW-2
FSW-4-1 / JB-4-1	2004-08-29
FSW-3-2 / JB-2-2	2004-09-27	FSW-3

European Space Agency (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 Space Agency (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	CanX
CanX-2	2008-04-28	CanX-2
CanX-3A — 3F satellites; see BRITE series satellites
CanX-4	2014-06-30	CanX-4	CanX	CanX
CanX-5	2014-06-30
CanX-6	2008-04-28	CanX-6
CanX-7	2016-09-26	CanX-7

(Selected) USA (Planet Labs) Flock / Dove constellation satellites:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
Dove-1 [Cygnus-MS-A1 launched]	2013-04-21 (launched to ISS) 2014-? (deployed from ISS)	Dove-1	Flock	Flock
Dove-2	2013-04-19	Dove-2
Dove-3, Dove-4	2013-11-21	Dove-3
Flock-1-1/28 [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-11 — 2014-02-15 (deployed from ISS)	Flock-1 Flock-1 Flock-1
Flock-1c-1/11	2014-06-19
Flock-1b-1/28 [Cygnus-CRS-2 launched]	2014-07-13 (launched to ISS) 2014-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-1d-1/26 [Cygnus-CRS-3 failed]	2014-10-28 (launched to ISS) 2014-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-1d'-1/14 [Dragon-CRS-5 launched]	2015-01-10 (launched to ISS) 2015-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-1e-1/14 [Dragon-CRS-6 launched]	2015-04-14 (launched to ISS) 2015-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-1f-1/8 [Dragon-CRS-7 failed]	2015-06-28
Flock-2b-1/14 [HTV-5 launched]	2015-08-18 (launched to ISS) 2015-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-2e1-1/12 [Cygnus-CRS-4 launched]	2015-12-06 (launched to ISS) 2016-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-2e'-1/12 [Cygnus-CRS-6 launched]	2016-03-23 (launched to ISS) 2016-? (deployed from ISS)
Flock-3p-1/88	2017-02-15
Flock-3m-1/4	2017-10-31
Flock-3p'-1/4	2018-01-12
Dove Pioneer (Flock-type)	2018-01-21
Flock-3s-1/3	2018-12-03
Flock-4v-1/26	2020-09-03
Flock-4e-1/9	2020-10-28
Flock-4x-1/44	2022-01-13

NASA Ames Research Center TECHnology EDucation SATellite (TechEdSat) series:

Satellite	Launch Date	Images
		reference	launch covers	other postal items
TechEdSat-1 [HTV-3 launched]	2012-07-21 (launhed to ISS) 2012-? (deployed from ISS)		TechEdSat	TechEdSat
TechEdSat-2 / PhoneSat-1.0 / Bell	2013-04-21	PhoneSat-1.0/Bell
TechEdSat-3 [HTV-4 launched]	2013-08-03 (launched to ISS) 2013-11-20 (deployed from ISS)	TechEdSat-3
TechEdSat-4 [Cygnus-CRS-2 launched]	2014-07-13 (launched to ISS) 2014-? (deployed from ISS)
TechEdSat-5 [HTV-6 launched]	2016-12-09 (launched to ISS) 2017-01-16 (deployed from ISS)	TechEdSat-5
TechEdSat-6 [Cygnus-CRS-8 launched]	2017-11-12 (launched to ISS) 2017-? (deployed from ISS)	TechEdSat-6
TechEdSat-7	2021-01-17
TechEdSat-8 [Dragon-CRS-16 launched]	2018-12-05 (launched to ISS) 2018-? (deployed from ISS)
TechEdSat-9	202x
TechEdSat-10 [Cygnus-CRS-13 launched]	2020-02-15 (launched to ISS) 2020-07-13 (deployed from ISS)	TechEdSat-10
TechEdSat-11	2023-?	TechEdSat-11
TechEdSat-12	202x
TechEdSat-13	2022-01-13	TechEdSat-13
TechEdSat-15 [partial failure]	2022-10-01	TechEdSat-15

Other (selected) USA 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)
CAMEO	1978-10-24		CAMEO (with Nimbus-7)
SCATHA / P78-2	1979-01-30	SCATHA	SCATHA	SCATHA
NUSat [amateur-built, STS-51B/Challenger-deployed]	1985-04-29	NUSat NUSat NUSat-1 (mockup) NUSat (patch, with STS-51B/Challenger)	NUSat	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	PegSat (+ SECS) PegSat (+ SECS)
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 / P86-1	1990-07-25	CRRES	CRRES	CRRES
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)
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
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 sub-satellites
PicoDragon [HTV-4 launched]	2013-08-03 (launched to ISS) 2013-11-19 (deployed from ISS)	PicoDragon
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
MMS	2015-03-13	MMS	MMS MMS
ISARA (with imaging payload)	2017-11-12	ISARA
PODSat	2018-03-06	PODSat-1	PODSat-1 (with Hispasat-30W-6)
LightSail-2	2019-06-25	LightSail-1 LightSail-1 (deployed)	LightSail-2 (deployment)
TDO-1	2019-08-08		TDO-1 (with AEHF-5)
TDO-2	2020-03-26	TDO-2	TDO-2 (with AEHF-6)
First Light	2020-08-31	First Light	First Light (+ Capella-2) First Light (+ Capella-2) First Light (+ Capella-2)
Astro Digital Demo-8 / Tenzing / RAFTI, Astro Digital Demo-9 / Shasta	2021-06-30	Astro Digital Demo-8 Astro Digital Demo-9	RAFTI (pre-launch) RAFTI (pre-launch)
Serenity (and others) [failed]	2021-09-03	Serenity	Serenity (+ others)
LDPE-1 / ROOSTER-1	2021-12-07	LDPE-1	LDPE-1 (with STPSat-6 and Ascent)
Recurve (and others)	2022-07-02	Recurve	Recurve (+ others) (Ranski) Recurve (+ others) (Ranski, back)
LOFTID	2022-11-10	LOFTID	LOFTID (with JPSS-2 / NOAA-21)
LDPE-3A	2023-01-15	LDPE-1	LDPE-3A (with CBAS-2)
PUNCH (SMEX-15)	2025-?	PUNCH-WFI PUNCH-NFI
TRACERS (SMEX-16)	2024-?	TRACERS
Sunjammer	20xx	Sunjammer Sunjammer

Other (selected) non-USA 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, Firewheel Subsats-1/2/3/4 [failed]	West Germany-USA	1980-05-23	Firewheel Firewheel Subsat	Firewheel	Firewheel
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)
SNAP-1	UK	2000-06-28	SNAP-1
CHAMP	Germany	2000-07-15	CHAMP	CHAMP+MITA+Bird-Rubin
MITA	Italy (ASI)	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 (with OSCAR-51)	"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 (with EgyptSat-1)	"Libertad-1"
YES-2	Europe (ESA)	2007-09-14	YES-2		"YES-2" [known illegal issue] "YES-2" (fdc) [known illegal issue] "YES-2" [known illegal issue]
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" [known illegal issue] "SwissCube" [known illegal issue]
ALMASat-1	Italy	2012-02-13	ALMASat-1	ALMASat-1 (with LARES-1 and OSCAR-72)	"ALMASat-1" [known illegal issue] "ALMASat-1" [known illegal issue]
PROITERES	Japan (Osaka Institute of Technology)	2012-09-09	PROITERES	PROITERES (with SPOT-6)
mRESINS	India (ISRO)	2012-09-09		mRESINS (with SPOT-6)
AAUSat-3	Denmark	2013-02-25	AAU-Cubesat	AAUSAT-3 (with SARAL)	"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		"NEE-01 / Pegaso" "NEE-01" / "Pegaso"
ESTCube-1	Estonia	2013-05-07	ESTCube-1		"ESTCube-1" "ESTCube-1" (fdc) "ESTCube-1" (but GOSAT-1 depicted) "ESTCube-1"
CASSIOPE	Canada	2013-09-29	CASSIOPE-1
NEE-02 / Krysaor	Ecuador	2013-11-21	NEE-02
CubeBug-2	Argentina	2013-11-21	CubeBug-1
Swarm-A/B/C / Earth Explorer-5A/5B/5C	Europe (ESA)	2013-11-22	Swarm-A/B/C Swarm-A/B/C	Swarm-A/B/C	Swarm-A/B/C
UAPSat-1 [Cygnus-CRS-1 launched]	Peru	2014-01-09 (launched to ISS) 2014-02-28 (deployed from ISS)	UAPSat-1		ISS-related sub-satellites
Chasqui-1 [Progress-M-22M launched]	Peru-Russia	2014-02-05 (launched to ISS) 2014-08-18 (deployed from ISS)	Chasqui-1
Antelsat	Uruguay	2014-06-19	Antelsat		"Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat" "Antelsat"
CBNT-1 / Carbonite-1	UK	2015-07-10	CBNT-1
DeorbitSail	UK	2015-07-10	DeorbitSail
XY-2 / Kaituo-1A	China/PRC	2015-09-19	XY-2	XY-2+19-others
LISA-Pathfinder / ST-7 / NMP	ESA-NASA	2015-12-03	LISA-Pathfinder LISA-Pathfinder (patch)	LISA-Pathfinder	LISA-Pathfinder
MICROSCOPE	France	2016-04-25	MICROSCOPE MICROSCOPE	MICROSCOPE (with Sentinel-1B)
OUFTI-1	Belgium	2016-04-25	OUFTI-1	OUFTI-1 (with Sentinel-1B)	"OUFTI-1" (in text, but AAUSAT-4 depicted) "OUFTI-1" (in text, but AAUSAT-4 depicted)
AAUSAT-4	Denmark	2016-04-25	AAUSAT-5	AAUSAT-4 (with Sentinel-1B)	AAUSAT-4 (depicted, but "OUFTI-1" in text) AAUSAT-4 (depicted, but "OUFTI-1" in text)
M3MSat	Canada	2016-06-22	M3MSat
DFFC	China/PRC	2016-06-25	DFFC	DFFC (recovery) DFFC (recovery)
QSS (QUESS, Mozi, Micius)	China/PRC	2016-08-15	QSS	QSS	QSS
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 (with Dove Pioneer)	Humanity Star Humanity Star
S-Net-A	Germany	2018-02-01	S-Net	S-Net-A (+ others)
Reaktor Hello World	Finland	2018-11-29	Reaktor Hello World Reaktor Hello World		Reaktor Hello World Reaktor Hello World
OPS-SAT	Europe (ESA)	2019-12-18	OPS-SAT	OPS-SAT (with CSG-1 and CHEOPS)	"OPS-SAT" "OPS-SAT" "OPS-SAT" "OPS-SAT"
TARANIS [failed]	France	2020-11-17	TARANIS
ELSA-d target, ELSA-d chaser	Japan	2021-03-22	ELSA-d Target ELSA-d Chaser
RadCube	Hungary	2021-08-17	RadCube	RadCube (with Pleiades-Neo4)
INSPIREsat 1, RISAT-1A, INS-2TD	India (ISRO)-USA	2022-02-14	INSPIREsat-1 RISat-1 INS-2TD	INSPIREsat-1+INS-2TD+RISat-1A (launch, Red Eagle)
BDSat	Czech Republic	2022-04-01	BDSat BDSat (artist drawing)	BDSat (with ÑuSat-23/27 and others)
Mesbah-1, Mesbah-2	Iran	20xx	Mesbah-1 Mesbah-2		Mesbah-2 (+Omid-2) "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.