 The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced for the last time during the STS-125 mission | |
| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 18 January |
| Last | 29 December |
| Total | 78 |
| Successes | 73 |
| Failures | 4 |
| Partial failures | 1 |
| Catalogued | 75 |
| National firsts | |
| Spaceflight |  New Zealand |
| Satellite |  Switzerland[1] |
| Orbital launch |  Iran[2] |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | Delta IV-M+ (5,4) H-IIB Naro-1 Taurus-XL 3110 Unha-2 |
| Retirements | Ariane 5GS Falcon 1 Tsyklon-3 |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 9 |
| Total travellers | 46 |
Several significant events in spaceflight occurred in 2009, including Iran conducting its first indigenous orbital launch, the first Swiss satellite being launched and New Zealand launching its first sounding rocket. The H-IIB and Naro-1 rockets conducted maiden flights, whilst the Tsyklon-3, Falcon 1 and Ariane 5GS were retired from service.[3][4] The permanent crew of the International Space Station increased from three to six in May, and in the last few months of the year, Japan's first resupply mission to the outpost, HTV-1, was conducted successfully.
- ^ "It's a First! Swiss Satellite in Space – This Cube Isn't Cheese". A celebration at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Satnews Daily. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
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