3,578 launch attempts, 1957–1990 — most flew from sites whose GCAT record has since closed
The question: every orbital launch from 1957 to today — year, launch site, operating bloc, and whether the site is still active. This report covers 3,578 orbital and deep-space launch attempts (successes and failures) from 1957 through 1990, in launch attempts per calendar year, from Jonathan McDowell's GCAT launch log.
Coverage caveat. The requested period runs to today, but the source fetch of GCAT's 4.5 MiB launch log truncated at 1990: 1990 has 115 rows and the dataset then stops. Nothing here should be read as complete through 2026. Continue from the live file at planet4589.org. Also note: "site still active" is provisional and keyed to the exact GCAT site code — a renamed or reorganized complex (e.g. NIIP-5 → GIK-5 at Baykonur) can make an enduring physical spaceport look inactive under its older code.
Launch attempts per year, split by whether the recorded site code is still active
from a site code active todayfrom a site code now inactive
The complete chronology — every launch attempt, searchable
Date (UTC)
Launch site
Operating bloc
Site active
Site stop
Vehicle
Agency
Code / ID
What the chronology shows
The Soviet Union operated 2,382 of the 3,578 attempts (67%); the United States 1,041; nine other blocs share the remaining 155 — planet4589.org
Only 259 attempts (7%) left from a site code GCAT still marks active; 3,319 flew from codes with a recorded stop date — largely a renaming artifact, not physical closure — planet4589.org
1967 was the busiest year of the covered span: 139 attempts from 11 distinct sites — planet4589.org
Two complexes dominate: Plesetsk (NIIP-53) with 1,340 attempts and Baykonur (NIIP-5) with 888; Cape Canaveral follows with 417 — planet4589.org
Data: GCAT (J. McDowell) derived launch log, fetched 2026-08-29 and truncated at 1990 by the source fetch; 3,578 rows, one per GCAT Launch_Tag with Launch_Code starting O (orbital) or D (deep space), excluding E (pad explosion). Successful, partial, failed and unknown attempts are all counted; unit is launch attempts per calendar year. Operating bloc is GCAT LVState (the launch agency's state, not payload ownership or site geography). "Site active" is provisional: Yes where the site code's stop marker is * or the code launched in 2025–2026; No where that exact record has a past stop year. Coordinates and 1991–2026 launches were cut for space; see the live launch log for the full period.