2003 - The Space ShuttleColumbia launches on mission STS-107. Debris falling from the external tank during launch damaged the orbiter's heat shield, causing it to break up during re-entry on 1 February, with the loss of all seven crew.
1969 - 3 cosmonauts return to Earth aboard Soyuz 4, two of whom were launched aboard Soyuz 5, moving to Soyuz 4 as part of the first crew transfer between two spacecraft in orbit.
1959 - A Thor-Agena is damaged after the upper stage ignition sequence is accidentally initiated during a ground test, whilst attached to the first stage.
1984 - A Long March 3 launches a prototype DFH-2communication satellite. The rocket's third stage failed to ignite, leaving the payload stranded in low Earth orbit, but all tests were completed successfully.
2013 - South Korea, with Russian assistance, successfully made its first orbital launch when the last Naro-1 rocket launches the STSAT-2C satellite into orbit.
2013 - The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, is launched on a Long March 2F rocket on the second manned mission to the Tiangong 1 space station.
2007 - An Atlas V fails during the launch of a pair of NOSS satellites. The spacecraft were placed in an incorrect orbit, but were able to correct it by means of their own thrusters.
2012 - The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, is launched on a Long March 2F rocket on the first manned mission to the Tiangong 1 space station.
2001 - An Ariane 5 places the Artemis and BSAT-2b satellites in an incorrect orbit after a launch failure. Artemis later becomes the first satellite to correct for this using an ion engine. BSAT was unrecoverable.
1995 - A Delta II launches the Koreasat-1 satellite. Due to a booster separation problem, the satellite was placed in a lower orbit than intended, but was able to correct for this using onboard propulsion.
1998 - The Delta III fails to launch the Galaxy 10 satellite during its maiden flight. Due to a hydraulics issue, the rocket was destroyed by range safety 75 seconds after launch.
1998 - North Korea claims to have launched Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 using a Paektusan rocket. Subsequent independent analysis proved that it did not reach orbit. It is unclear whether it failed, or was intentionally a sub-orbital flight.
1983 - A Soyuz-U fails to launch a manned mission which would have been Soyuz T-10 if it had reached orbit. The rocket exploded after a fire on the launch pad, the three cosmonauts aboard survived through use of the launch escape system.
2008 - SpaceX conducts the first successful launch of a Falcon 1 rocket, at the fourth attempt, making it the first privately funded liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit.
1985 - Space ShuttleChallenger launches on its final successful flight, STS-61-A, a Spacelab mission with eight astronauts aboard - a record for the largest crew aboard a single spacecraft from launch to landing, which still stands.
2011 - A Zenit-2M launches Russia's Fobos-Grunt Mars orbiter and Phobos sample return mission. The spacecraft lost control shortly after entering Earth orbit and later re-entered on 15 January 2012.
2013 - A Dnepr-1 launches 32 satellites including DubaiSat 2 and STSAT-3, breaking the record for the most number of satellites launched on a single rocket.
2013 - China's Chang'e 3 lunar lander and the Yutu rover successfully lands at Mare Imbrium on the Moon, becoming the first operational lunar lander since 1976.