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
First	11 January
Last	29 December
Total	63
Successes	60
Failures	3
Partial failures	0
Catalogued	61
National firsts
Satellite	Greece ; Nigeria
Space traveller	China ; Israel
Rockets
Maiden flights	Atlas V 521; Delta II Heavy; Delta IV Medium; Strela
Retirements	Ariane 4 44L; Ariane 5G ; Space Shuttle Columbia ; Titan 23G
Crewed flights
Orbital	4
Total travellers	13
	v ; t ; e ;

Last updated February 07, 2025

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

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

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 Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986.

Final Columbia mission

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on its last mission, STS-107.
Columbia at approximately 13:57 UTC^[1] on 1 February. Debris is starting to come off from the left wing.

First human spaceflight mission from China

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 February 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	Precluded
		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	T+60 seconds	Launch failure
		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 summary

By country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures
	China	7	6	1
	France	4	4	0
	India	2	2	0
	Japan	3	2	1
	Brazil	1	0	1
	Russia	21	21	0
	Ukraine	3	3	0
	United States	23	22	1
World		64	60	4

By rocket

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Ariane

Atlas

Delta

H-II

Long March

Pegasus

R-7

R-14

Titan

Universal Rocket

Zenit

Others

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Remarks
Ariane	France	4	4	0
Atlas	United States	5	5	0
Delta	United States	9	9	0
GSLV	India	1	1	0
H-II	Japan	2	1	1
Kaituozhe	China	1	0	1
Long March	China	6	6	0
Mu	Japan	1	1	0
Pegasus	United States	4	4	0
PSLV	India	1	1	0
R-7	Russia	10	10	0
R-14	Russia	3	3	0
Space Shuttle	United States	1	0	1	Columbia disintegrated on reentry
Titan	United States	4	4	0
Universal Rocket	Russia	8	8	0
Zenit	Ukraine	3	3	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Remarks
Ariane 4	France	Ariane	1	1	0	Final flight
Ariane 5	France	Ariane	3	3	0
Atlas II	United States	Atlas	1	1	0
Atlas III	United States	Atlas	2	2	0
Atlas V	United States	Atlas	2	2	0
Delta II	United States	Delta	7	7	0
Delta IV	United States	Delta	2	2	0
GSLV	India	GSLV	1	1	0
H-IIA	Japan	H-II	2	1	1
Kaituozhe-1	China	Kaituozhe	1	0	1
Kosmos	Russia	R-12/R-14	3	3	0
Long March 2	China	Long March	3	3	0
Long March 3	China	Long March	2	2	0
Long March 4	China	Long March	1	1	0
Molniya	Russia	R-7	2	2	0
M-V	Japan	Mu	1	1	0
Pegasus	United States	Pegasus	4	4	0
PSLV	India	PSLV	1	1	0
Proton	Russia	Universal Rocket	5	5	0
Soyuz	Russia	R-7	8	8	0
Space Shuttle	United States	Space Shuttle	1	0	1
Titan II	United States	Titan	2	2	0	Final flight
Titan IV	United States	Titan	2	2	0
UR-100	Russia	Universal Rocket	3	3	0
Zenit	Ukraine	Zenit	3	3	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Remarks
Ariane 4 44L	France	Ariane 4	1	1	0	Final flight
Ariane 5G	France	Ariane 5	3	3	0	Final flight
Atlas IIAS	United States	Atlas II	1	1	0
Atlas IIIB	United States	Atlas III	2	2	0
Atlas V 401	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0
Atlas V 521	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	Maiden flight
Delta II 7320-10C	United States	Delta II	1	1	0
Delta II 7920H	United States	Delta II	1	1	0
Delta II 7925H	United States	Delta II	2	2	0
Delta II 7925–9.5	United States	Delta II	3	3	0
Delta IV Medium	United States	Delta IV	2	2	0	Maiden flight
GSLV Mk I	India	GSLV	1	1	0
H-IIA 2024	Japan	H-IIA	2	1	1
Kaituozhe-1	China	Kaituozhe-1	1	0	1
Kosmos-3M	Russia	Kosmos	3	3	0
Long March 2C	China	Long March 2	1	1	0
Long March 2D	China	Long March 2	1	1	0
Long March 2F	China	Long March 2	1	1	0
Long March 3A	China	Long March 3	2	2	0
Long March 4B	China	Long March 4	1	1	0
Molniya-M	Russia	Molniya	2	2	0
M-V	Japan	M-V	1	1	0
Pegasus-XL	United States	Pegasus	4	4	0
PSLV-G	India	PSLV	1	1	0
Proton-K / DM-2	Russia	Proton	3	3	0
Proton-K / Briz-M	Russia	Proton	2	2	0
Rokot / Briz-KM	Russia	UR-100	2	2	0
Soyuz-U	Russia	Soyuz	4	4	0
Soyuz-FG	Russia	Soyuz	2	2	0
Soyuz-FG / Fregat	Russia	Soyuz	2	2	0
Space Shuttle	United States	Space Shuttle	1	0	1
Strela	Russia	UR-100	1	1	0	Maiden flight
Titan 23G	United States	Titan II	1	1	0	Final flight
Titan 23G / Star 37	United States	Titan II	1	1	0	Final flight
Titan IV-B (401B) / Centaur	United States	Titan IV	2	2	0	Final flight
Zenit-3SL	Ukraine	Zenit	3	3	0

By spaceport

5

10

15

20

25

30

Brazil

China

France

India

International waters

Japan

Kazakhstan

Russia

United States

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

By orbit

5

10

15

20

25

30

Transatmospheric

Low Earth

Medium Earth

Geosynchronous / transfer

High Earth

Heliocentric

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	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0
Low Earth	29	26	3	5 to ISS
Medium Earth / Molniya	6	6	0
Geosynchronous / GTO	23	23	0
High Earth / Lunar transfer	1	1	0
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer	5	5	0
Total	64	61	3

References

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).
"Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.

Generic references:

Spaceflightportal

Footnotes

↑ 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.
↑ "Icesat Satellite". Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. The Aerospace Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.
↑ Blau, Patrick (31 July 2012). "IGS 1B Re-Entry". Spaceflight 101. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
1 2 NASA (2003). "Expedition Six Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.

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[survivalreport-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.

[cords-icesat-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.

[AA-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.

[six1-6] 1 2 NASA (2003). "Expedition Six Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.

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v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 (H1, H2) 2022 (H1, H2) 2023 (H1, H2) 2024 (H1, H2) 2025 (H1, H2) 2026 2027 2028 2029
Future

v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 (H1, H2) 2022 (H1, H2) 2023 (H1, H2) 2024 (H1, H2) 2025 (H1, H2) 2026 2027 2028 2029
Future

v t e ← 2002 Orbital launches in 2003 2004 →
January	Coriolis ICESat, CHIPSat STS-107 (SpaceHab RDM, EDO) SORCE USA-166, XSS-10
February	Progress M-47 Intelsat 907
March	USA-167 IGS-1A, IGS-1B USA-168
April	Molniya-1 No.92 USA-169 INSAT-3A, Galaxy 12 AsiaSat-4 Kosmos 2397 Soyuz TMA-2 GALEX
May	GSAT-2 Hayabusa (Minerva) Hellas Sat 2 Beidou 1C
June	Mars Express (Beagle 2) Kosmos 2398 AMC-9 Progress M1-10 Thuraya 2 Spirit Optus and Defence C1, BSAT-2c Molniya-3 No.53 Orbview-3 Monitor-E GVM, MIMOSA, DTUSat, MOST, Cute-I, QuakeSat, AAU-Cubesat, CanX-1, Cubesat XI-IV
July	Opportunity Rainbow 1
August	EchoStar IX Kosmos 2399 SCISAT-1 Kosmos 2400, Kosmos 2401 Spitzer Progress M-48 USA-170
September	USA-171 / Orion 5 UK-DMC, BILSAT-1, STSat-1 e-Bird, INSAT-3E, SMART-1
October	Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 Shenzhou 5 Resourcesat-1 Soyuz TMA-3 USA-172 CBERS-2, Chuang Xin 1 SERVIS-1
November	FSW-3 1 Shen Tong 1 Yamal-201, Yamal-202 IGS-2A, IGS-2B
December	USA-173 Gruzomaket Kosmos 2402, Kosmos 2403, Kosmos 2404 USA-174 USA-175 Amos-2 Ekspress AM22 Tan Ce 1
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

2003 in spaceflight

Contents

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

First human spaceflight mission from China

Orbital launches

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December