National Center of Space Research

Flight record

Counts are launches filed under CNES’s own name in The Space Devs’ Launch Library register. They are not a count of missions or payloads: a spacecraft that flew on a contracted vehicle is credited to the operator that flew it.

Who flies for them, and who they fly for

An operator owns the rocket and runs the count, and it is the operator’s name the launch schedule filters by. A customer funds the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. Plenty of organisations are both. CNES is counted below in whichever role the current manifest actually gives it.

No scheduled flight in the current window names CNES while being operated by somebody else.

How this is counted: a scheduled launch is treated as a customer flight when this organisation’s name or abbreviation appears in the launch name, mission name or programme and somebody else is flying it. Mission descriptions are not searched, and the window is one batch of the next launches worldwide, reaching to 2026-12-31 00:00:00Z — so both counts are a floor, not a complete manifest.

About CNES

The National Center of Space Research, or CNES, is a French National Agency in charge of France's space program. In partnership with the US and Russia, they have put 10 people in space. CNES works in tandem with the larger ESA to develop the Ariane 5 and work on other probes and satellites. They are working with Germany to develop a cheaper and more efficient reusable rocket, which hopefully will be ready to fly by 2026.

Upcoming launches

“T-0 known to” is the register’s own precision on the launch time — a date good only to the month is shown as such rather than counted down as if it were exact. A go-probability appears only where the operator published one for that flight; Delta-V does not calculate it and it is not a forecast made here.

Common questions

How many launches has National Center of Space Research flown?

National Center of Space Research has 14 launches on record under its own name, of which 12 succeeded and 2 failed. The register counts launches flown under an operator's own name, not missions or payloads it contributed to.

What is National Center of Space Research's success rate?

National Center of Space Research has a lifetime launch success rate of 85.7%, calculated as 12 successful flights out of 14 attempts. Its current run is 3 consecutive successes.

When is National Center of Space Research's next launch?

National Center of Space Research is not flying anything inside Delta-V's current manifest window, which reaches to 2026-12-31 00:00:00Z. The register lists 1 scheduled launch under its own name, with dates further out or not yet filed.

Does National Center of Space Research fly its own rockets, or buy launches from another operator?

National Center of Space Research has 14 launches flown under its own name in the launch register. It is not the operator on any flight in the current manifest window. An operator owns the rocket and runs the count; a customer funds the mission, supplies the payload and buys the ride. The operator filter on the launch schedule lists only the former, which is why a well-known agency can be central to a flight and still not appear on it.

Where is National Center of Space Research based?

National Center of Space Research is based in France and the register classifies it as a government operator. It was founded in 1961.