2003 in spaceflight

Summary

This article outlines notable events occurring in 2003 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs.

2003 in spaceflight
Launch of Shenzhou 5, the first Chinese human spaceflight mission, this mission has made China the 3rd country to have independent human spaceflight capability after the USSR and the US.
Orbital launches
First11 January
Last29 December
Total63
Successes60
Failures3
Partial failures0
Catalogued61
National firsts
Satellite Greece
 Nigeria
Space travellerChina China
 Israel
Rockets
Maiden flightsAtlas V 521
Delta II Heavy
Delta IV Medium
Strela
RetirementsAriane 4 44L
Ariane 5G
Space Shuttle Columbia
Titan 23G
Crewed flights
Orbital4
Total travellers13

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster edit

On Saturday, February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. It was the second Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986.

First human spaceflight mission from China edit

Shenzhou 5 (Chinese: 神舟五号; pinyin: Shénzhōu Wǔ Hào, see § Etymology) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of uncrewed Shenzhou missions since 1999. China became the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight capability after the Soviet Union (later, Russia) and the United States.

Launches edit

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)
Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January edit

6 January
14:19
 Titan 23G  Vandenberg SLC-4W  Lockheed Martin
 Coriolis US Air Force Low Earth Technology development In orbit Operational
9 January
03:17
 Agni-I  Balasore IC-4  IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 9 January Successful
13 January
00:45
 Delta II 7320-10C  Vandenberg SLC-2W  Boeing IDS
 ICESat NASA Low Earth Oceanography 30 August 2010
09:00[2]
Partial spacecraft failure
 CHIPSat NASA Low Earth Astrophysics In orbit Operational
Laser reliability issues limited ICESat operations. ICESat deactivated in February 2010 following failure of last laser in October 2009.
16 January
20:39
 Space Shuttle Columbia  Kennedy Space Center LC-39A  United Space Alliance
 STS-107 NASA Low Earth Research 1 February
13:59
Failure
 Spacehab-RDM NASA Low Earth (Columbia) Microgravity and Earth science research
 EDO Pallet NASA Low Earth (Columbia) Cryogenic mission duration extension pallet
Crewed orbital flight with 7 astronauts, including the first Israeli space traveler
Final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, disintegrated during re-entry resulting in loss of crew and vehicle.
25 January
20:13
 Pegasus-XL  Stargazer, Cape Canaveral  Orbital Sciences
 SORCE NASA Low Earth investigate total solar irradiance In orbit Operational
29 January
18:06
 Delta II 7925-9.5  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-8 (USA-166) US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
 XSS-10 US Air Force Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
XSS-10 deactivated 30 January 2003

February edit

2 February
12:59
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M-47 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 27 August Successful
ISS flight 10P
15 February
07:00
 Ariane 4 44L  Kourou ELA-2  Arianespace
 Intelsat 907 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Final flight of Ariane 4 44L

March edit

11 March
00:59
 Delta IV Medium  Cape Canaveral SLC-37B  Boeing IDS
 DSCS III A-3 (USA-167) US Air Force Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Maiden flight of Delta IV Medium
26 March
06:00
 Privthvi-2  Balasore  IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 26 March Successful
28 March
01:27
 H-IIA 2024  Tanegashima LA-Y1  
 IGS-1A Japanese Government Low Earth Reconnaissance 18 July 2014 Successful
 IGS-1B Japanese Government Low Earth Reconnaissance 26 July 2012 Partial spacecraft failure
IGS-1B lost power in 2007, and concluded operations after just over half of its design life[3]
31 March
22:09
 Delta II 7925-9.5  Cape Canaveral SLC-17A  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-9 (USA-168) US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational

April edit

2 April
01:53
 Molniya-M  Plesetsk Site 16/2  VKS
 Molniya 1-92 VKS Molniya Communications In orbit Operational
8 April
14:43
 Titan IVB (401)/Centaur  Cape Canaveral SLC-40  Lockheed Martin
 Milstar 6 (USA-169) US Air Force Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
9 April
22:52
 Ariane 5G  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 INSAT 3A ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
 Galaxy 12 PanAmSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
12 April
00:47
 Atlas IIIB  Cape Canaveral SLC-36B   International Launch Services
 AsiaSat 4 AsiaSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
26 April
03:53
 Soyuz-FG  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Soyuz TMA-2 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 7 28 October Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 2 cosmonauts
24 April
04:23
 Proton-K/DM-2  Baikonur Site 81/24  VKS
 Kosmos 2397 VKS Geosynchronous Missile warning In orbit Operational
28 April
12:00
 Pegasus-XL  Stargazer, Cape Canaveral  Orbital Sciences
 GALEX NASA Low Earth Ultraviolet astronomy In orbit Operational
29 April
05:50
 Prithvi-2  Balasore  IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 29 April Successful

May edit

8 May
11:28
 GSLV  Satish Dhawan FLP  ISRO
 GSAT-2 ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
9 May
04:29
 M-V  Uchinoura  
 Hayabusa (MUSES-C) ISAS Heliocentric Asteroid sample-return probe 13 June 2010 Partial spacecraft failure
 MINERVA ISAS Heliocentric Asteroid lander In orbit Spacecraft failure
Explored asteroid 1998 SF36
13 May
22:10
 Atlas V 401  Cape Canaveral SLC-41   International Launch Services
 HellasSat 2 Hellas-Sat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
First Greek satellite
24 May
16:34
 Long March 3A  Xichang  
 Beidou 2A Geosynchronous Navigation In orbit Operational

June edit

2 June
17:45
 Soyuz-FG/Fregat  Baikonur Site 31/6   Starsem
 Mars Express ESA Areocentric Mars probe In orbit Operational
  Beagle 2 ESA Heliocentric Mars lander 25 December 2003 Spacecraft failure
Maiden flight of Soyuz-FG/Fregat
Beagle 2 failed to contact Earth after landing on Mars
4 June
19:23
 Kosmos-3M  Plesetsk Site 132/1  VKS
 Kosmos 2398 MO RF Low Earth In orbit Operational
6 June
22:15
 Proton-K/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 200/39   International Launch Services
 AMC-9 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
8 June
10:34
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M1-10 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics
Earth observation
3 October Successful
ISS flight 11P
10 June
13:55
 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea Launch
 Thuraya 2 Thuraya Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
10 June
17:58
 Delta II 7925  Cape Canaveral SLC-17A  Boeing IDS
 Spirit (MER-A/MER-2) NASA Heliocentric Mars rover 4 January 2004 Operational
 Spirit lander NASA Heliocentric Mars lander 4 January 2004 Successful
11 June
22:38
 Ariane 5G  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 Optus C1 Optus/Australian Government Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
 BSAT-2C BSAT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
19 June
20:00
 Molniya-M  Plesetsk Site 43/3  VKS
 Molniya 3-53 VKS Molniya Communications In orbit Operational
26 June
18:55
 Pegasus-XL  Stargazer, Vandenberg  Orbital Sciences
 Orbview 3 Orbview Low Earth Imaging 3 March 2011 Satellite failure
Ceased operations on 4 March 2007 after camera malfunction
30 June
14:15
 Rokot/Briz-KM  Plesetsk   Eurockot
 MIMOSA Low Earth 18 December 2011 Successful
DTUSat Low Earth In orbit Operational
 MOST Low Earth Space telescope In orbit Operational
Cute-I Low Earth In orbit Operational
 QuakeSat Stanford University Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational
AAU-Cubesat Low Earth In orbit Operational
Can X-1 Low Earth In orbit Operational
Cubesat XI Low Earth In orbit Operational
Cubesat XII Low Earth In orbit Operational
Cubesat XIII Low Earth In orbit Operational
Cubesat XIV Low Earth In orbit Operational
 Monitor-E Low Earth In orbit Operational

July edit

8 July
04:18
 Delta II 7925H  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 Opportunity (MER-B/MER-1) NASA Heliocentric Mars rover In orbit Operational
 Opportunity lander NASA Heliocentric Mars lander In orbit Successful
Maiden flight of Delta II Heavy
17 July
23:45
 Atlas V 521  Cape Canaveral SLC-41   International Launch Services
 Rainbow-1 Cablevision Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Maiden flight of Atlas V 521

August edit

8 August
03:31
 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea Launch
 Echostar 9 (Telstar 13) EchoStar Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
12 August
14:20
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  VKS
 Kosmos 2399 Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 December Failure
Film capsule failed to deorbit
13 August
02:09
 Pegasus-XL  Stargazer, Vandenberg  Orbital Sciences
 SCISAT-1 CSA Low Earth Atmospheric research In orbit Operational
19 August
10:50
 Kosmos-3M  Plesetsk Site 132/1  VKS
 Kosmos 2400 (Strela 3) Low Earth In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2401 (Strela 3) Low Earth In orbit Operational
22 August
16:30
 VLS-1  Alcântara  
SATEC INPE Intended: Low Earth Never left ground Launch failure
UNOSAT INPE Intended: Low Earth Never left ground
Rocket had an SRB ignition and was destroyed on the launch pad 3 days before T-0. It never had a new attempt and it's development was extinguished in 2016.
25 August
05:35
 Delta II 7920H  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 Spitzer Space Telescope (SIRTF) NASA Heliocentric Infrared astronomy In orbit Operational
29 August
01:47
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M-48 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 28 January 2004 Successful
ISS flight 12P
29 August
23:13
 Delta IV Medium  Cape Canaveral SLC-37B  Boeing IDS
 DSCS III B-6 (USA-170) US Air Force Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational

September edit

9 September
04:29
 Titan IVB (401)/Centaur  Cape Canaveral SLC-40  Lockheed Martin
 USA-171 / Orion 5 NRO Geosynchronous ELINT In orbit Operational
NROL-26 mission.
16 September  Kaituozhe-1  Taiyuan  
 PS-2 Intended: Low Earth Microsat 16 September Launch failure
Fourth stage failed to ignite
27 September
06:11
 Kosmos-3M  Plesetsk Site 132/1  VKS
 Mozhaets-4 Low Earth In orbit Operational
 NigeriaSat-1 Low Earth In orbit Operational
 UK-DMC Low Earth In orbit Operational
 BILSAT-1 Low Earth In orbit Operational
Larets Low Earth In orbit Operational
 STSat-1 Low Earth In orbit Operational
Rubin-4-DSI Low Earth In orbit Operational
NigeriaSat-1 is the first Nigerian satellite
27 September
23:14
 Ariane 5G  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 Eurobird 3 Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
 INSAT 3E ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful[4]
 SMART-1 ESA Selenocentric Lunar probe 27 September 2006
05:42:22
Successful
Final flight of Ariane 5G

October edit

1 October
04:02
 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea Launch
  Galaxy 13 (Horizons 1) PanAmSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit operational
15 October
01:00
 Long March 2F  Jiuquan  
 Shenzhou 5 CMSA Low Earth 15 October
22:53
Successful
 Shenzhou spacecraft orbital module CMSA Low Earth Reconnaissance 30 May 2004 Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Yang Liwei), first Chinese space traveller and indigenous crewed spaceflight
17 October
04:54
 PSLV  Satish Dhawan FLP  ISRO
 RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) ISRO Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational
18 October
05:38
 Soyuz-FG  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Soyuz TMA-3 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 8 30 April 2004 Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
18 October
16:17
 Titan 23G/Star 37  Vandenberg SLC-4W  Lockheed Martin
 DMSP 5D-2 (USA-172) US Air Force Low Earth Weather satellite In orbit Operational
Final flight of Titan 23G
21 October
03:16
 Long March 4B  Taiyuan  
 Zi Yuan 1-2 (CBERS-2) CAAC/INPE Low Earth Earth resources In orbit Operational
 Chuangxin-1 CAS Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
30 October
13:43
 Rockot/Briz-KM  Plesetsk Site 133   Eurockot
 SERVIS-1 Low Earth In orbit Operational

November edit

3 November
07:20
 Long March 2D  Jiuquan  
 FSW-18 (FSW-3) SAST Low Earth Imaging 18 December Successful
14 November
16:34
 Long March 3A  Xichang  
 Zhongxing 20 Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
24 November
06:22
 Proton-K/DM-2M  Baikonur Site 81/23  VKS
 Yamal-201 Gazprom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
 Yamal 202 Gazprom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
29 November
04:33
 H-IIA 2024  Tanegashima LA-Y1  
 IGS-2A Japanese Government Low Earth Reconnaissance T+60 seconds Launch failure
 IGS-2B Low Earth Reconnaissance
SRB failed to separate. Destroyed by RSO.

December edit

2 December
10:04
 Atlas IIAS  Vandenberg SLC-3E  
 NOSS-3 (USA-173) NRO Low Earth Naval SIGINT In orbit Operational
 NOSS-3 (USA-173) NRO Low Earth Naval SIGINT In orbit Operational
NRO launch 18
5 December
06:00
 Strela  Baikonur Site 175  VKS
 Gruzomaket Low Earth In orbit Successful
Maiden flight of Strela rocket
10 December
17:42
 Proton-K/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 81/24  VKS
 Kosmos 2402 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2403 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2404 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
18 December
02:30
 Atlas IIIB  Cape Canaveral SLC-36B   International Launch Services
 UHF F/O F11 (USA-174) US Navy Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
21 December
08:05
 Delta II 7925-9.5  Cape Canaveral SLC-17A  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-10 (USA-175) US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
24 December  Sounding Rocket III  Jiu Peng Air Base  NSPO
NSPO Suborbital Ionospheric research 24 December Successful
Apogee: ~280 km (174 mi)
27 December
21:30
 Soyuz-FG/Fregat  Baikonur Site 31/6   Starsem
 AMOS-2 Spacecom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
28 December
20:37
 Proton-K/DM-2M  Baikonur Site 200/39  VKS
 Ekspress AM22 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
29 December
19:06
 Long March 2C  Xichang  
  Tan Ce 1 (Double Star 1) CNSA/ESA High Earth (High-eccentricity) Magnetosphere research 14 October 2007 Successful

Deep Space Rendezvous edit

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
19 June Nozomi 3rd flyby of the Earth
21 September Galileo Deorbited into the Jovian atmosphere
9 December Nozomi Flyby of Mars Damaged by solar flares
24 December Beagle 2 Crashed at Isidis Planitia, Mars
24 December Mars Express Areocentric orbit injection

EVAs edit

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Function Remarks
15 January
12:50
6 hours
51 minutes
19:41 Expedition 6
ISS Quest
 Kenneth Bowersox
 Donald Pettit
Released the remaining launch locks on the P1 radiator assembly, removed debris on a sealing ring of Unity's docking port, and tested an ammonia reservoir on the station's P6 truss.[5]
8 April
12:40
6 hours
26 minutes
19:06 Expedition 6
ISS Quest
 Kenneth Bowersox
 Donald Pettit
Reconfigured cables on the S0 (S-Zero), S1 and P1 trusses, replaced a Power Control Module on the Mobile Transporter, installed Spool Positioning Devices on Destiny, and reinstalled a thermal cover on an S1 Radiator Beam Valve Module.[5]

Orbital launch summary edit

By country edit

 China: 7Europe: 4India: 2Brazil: 1Russia: 21Ukraine: 3USA: 23Japan: 3
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
Remarks
  China 7 6 1 0
  Europe 4 4 0 0
  India 2 2 0 0
  Japan 3 2 1 0
  Brazil 1 0 1 0
  Russia 21 21 0 0
  Ukraine 3 3 0 0
  United States 23 22 1 0
World 64 60 4 0

By rocket edit

By family edit

By type edit

By configuration edit

By spaceport edit

5
10
15
20
25
30
Brazil
China
France
India
International waters
Japan
Kazakhstan
Russia
United States
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Alcântara   Brazil 1 0 1 0
Baikonur   Kazakhstan 14 14 0 0
Cape Canaveral   United States 16 16 0 0 Two launches used Stargazer aircraft
Jiuquan   China 2 2 0 0
Kennedy   United States 1 0 1 0
Kourou   France 4 4 0 0
Ocean Odyssey   International waters 3 3 0 0
Plesetsk   Russia 7 7 0 0
Satish Dhawan   India 2 2 0 0
Taiyuan   China 2 1 1 0
Tanegashima   Japan 2 1 1 0
Uchinoura   Japan 1 1 0 0
Vandenberg   United States 6 6 0 0 Two launches used Stargazer aircraft
Xichang   China 3 3 0 0
Total 64 60 4 0

By orbit edit

  •   Transatmospheric
  •   Low Earth
  •   Low Earth (ISS)
  •   Low Earth (SSO)
  •   Low Earth (retrograde)
  •   Medium Earth
  •   Geosychronous
    (transfer)
  •   Inclined GSO
  •   High Earth
  •   Heliocentric
Orbital regime Launches Successes Failures Accidentally
achieved
Remarks
Transatmospheric 0 0 0 0
Low Earth 29 26 3 0 5 to ISS
Medium Earth / Molniya 6 6 0 0
Geosynchronous / GTO 23 23 0 0
High Earth / Lunar transfer 1 1 0 0
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer 5 5 0 0
Total 64 61 3 0

References edit

  • Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
  • Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
  • Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.[dead link]
  • Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
  • Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  • McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
  • Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
  • Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
  • Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
  • Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
  • "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
  • "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
  • "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[dead link]
  • "Space Information Center". JAXA.[dead link]
  • "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
Generic references:
  Spaceflight portal

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (January 2009). "Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas. p. 91. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Icesat Satellite". Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. The Aerospace Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.
  3. ^ Blau, Patrick (31 July 2012). "IGS 1B Re-Entry". Spaceflight 101. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  4. ^ S, Madhumathi D. (2 April 2014). "After 10 years in orbit, INSAT-3E expires". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b NASA (2003). "Expedition Six Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.