2003 in spaceflight

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 traveller 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
2003 in spaceflight

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

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

This paragraph is an excerpt from Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[edit]
On Saturday, February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. It was the second and last Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986.
Final Columbia mission

First human spaceflight mission from China

This paragraph is an excerpt from Shenzhou 5.[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. As of July 2025, this mission marks the last time an astronaut was launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission.

Orbital launches

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

January

6 January
14:19 		Titan 23G Vandenberg SLC-4W Lockheed Martin
Coriolis US Air Force Low Earth Technology development In orbit Operational
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

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

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
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

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

May

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

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

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

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 V03 Alcântara Brazilian Space Agency
SATEC INPE Intended: Low Earth Launch vehicle evaluation Never left ground Precluded
UNOSAT INPE Intended: Low Earth Never left ground
Solid rocket booster ignition 3 days before the launch resulted in the catastrophic explosion, destroying the launch pad and killing 21 people. VLS-1 never had a new attempt and its 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

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

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

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

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 Boilerplate 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
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

Suborbital launches

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

January

9 January
03:17 		Agni-I Balasore IC-4 IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 9 January Successful

March

26 March
06:00 		Prithvi-2 Balasore IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 26 March Successful

April

29 April
05:50 		Prithvi-2 Balasore IDRDL
IDRDL Suborbital Missile test 29 April Successful

December

24 December Taiwan Sounding Rocket Sounding Rocket III Jiu Peng Air Base NSPO
TMA release experiment NSPO Suborbital Ionospheric research 24 December
T+508 seconds		 Successful
Apogee: 265 km (165 mi)[5]

Deep Space Rendezvous

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

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.[6]
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.[6]

Orbital launch statistics

By country

For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport.

Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
 Brazil 1 0 1 0
 China 7 6 1 0
 France 4 4 0 0
 India 2 2 0 0
 Japan 3 2 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

By family

By type

By configuration

By spaceport

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

  •   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

  • Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
  • Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
  • Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
  • 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.
  • "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
  • "Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.
  • "Space Launch Plans". Novosti Kosmonavtiki.
Generic references:
Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

  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. ^ Chern, Jeng-Shing; Wu, Bill; Chen, Yen-Sen; Wu, An-Ming (2012). "Suborbital and low-thermospheric experiments using sounding rockets in Taiwan". Acta Astronautica. 70: 159–164. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.07.030. ISSN 0094-5765.
  6. ^ a b NASA (2003). "Expedition Six Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.


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