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2004 in spaceflight

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2004 in spaceflight
SpaceShipOne landing after Flight 15P, the first privately funded crewed spaceflight
Orbital launches
First11 January
Last26 December
Total54
Successes50
Failures1
Partial failures3
Catalogued53
Rockets
Maiden flightsAriane 5G+
Delta IV Heavy
Soyuz-2.1a (suborbital)
RetirementsAriane 5G+
Atlas IIAS
Atlas IIIA
Atlas V 521
Crewed flights
Orbital2
Suborbital3
Total travellers8

This article outlines notable events occurring in 2004 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs.

First privately funded human spaceflight

Flight 15P of SpaceShipOne (X0) was the first privately funded human spaceflight. It took place on June 21, 2004. It was the fourth powered test flight of the Tier One program, with the previous three test flights reaching much lower altitudes. The flight carried only its pilot, Mike Melvill, who thus became the first non-governmental astronaut.

First Delta IV Heavy

The first launch of the Delta IV Heavy on 21 December 2004 carried a boilerplate payload and was a partial failure. Cavitation in the liquid-oxygen propellant lines caused shutdown of both boosters eight seconds early, and the core engine nine seconds early; this resulted in a lower staging velocity for which the second stage was unable to compensate. The payload was left in a lower than intended orbit.[1]

Launches

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

January

11 January
04:13
UkraineZenit-3SL NorwayOcean Odyssey United NationsSea Launch
Estrela do Sul 1 (Telstar 14) Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Partial spacecraft failure
One of the payload's solar panels did not deploy, and several transponders were disabled. Its replacement, Telstar 14R, launched in 2011, suffered a similar issue.
29 January
11:58
RussiaSoyuz-U KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskosmos
RussiaProgress M1-11 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 3 June Successful
ISS flight 13P

February

5 February
23:46
United StatesAtlas IIAS United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-36A RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United StatesAMC-10 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
14 February
18:50
United StatesTitan IVB (402)/IUS United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-40 United StatesLockheed Martin
United StatesDSP-22 US Air Force Geosynchronous Missile warning In orbit Operational
18 February
07:05
RussiaMolniya-M RussiaPlesetsk Site 16/2 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2405 Molniya Missile warning In orbit Operational

March

2 March
07:17
European UnionAriane 5G+ FranceKourou ELA-3 FranceArianespace
European UnionRosetta ESA Heliocentric Comet probe 30 September 2016 Successful
European UnionPhilae ESA Heliocentric Comet lander 9 July 2015 Successful
Maiden flight of Ariane 5G+
Studied the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and asteroids 2867 Šteins and 21 Lutetia
13 March
05:40
United StatesAtlas IIIA United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-36B RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
MBSat MBSAT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIIA
15 March
23:06
RussiaProton-M/Briz-M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 81/24 RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
FranceEutelsat W3A Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
20 March
17:53
United StatesDelta II 7925 United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-17B United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesGPS IIR-11 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
27 March
03:30
RussiaProton-K/DM-2 KazakhstanBaikonur Site 81/23 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2406 (Raduga-1) Russian military Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational

April

16 April
00:45
United StatesAtlas IIAS United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-36A RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
JapanSuperbird 6 SCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
18 April
15:59
ChinaLong March 2C ChinaJiuquan China
ChinaTansuo 1 (Shiyan 1) University of Harbin Low Earth Land resource mapping In orbit Operational
ChinaNaxing 1 Tsinghua University Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
19 April
03:19
RussiaSoyuz-FG KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskosmos
RussiaSoyuz TMA-4 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 9 24 October Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
20 April
16:57
United StatesDelta II 7920 United StatesVandenberg SLC-2W United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesGravity Probe B NASA Low Earth Test Einstein's Theory of relativity In orbit Successful
26 April
20:37
RussiaProton-K/DM-2M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39
RussiaEkspress AM11 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Decommissioned[2]

May

4 May
12:42
UkraineZenit-3SL NorwayOcean Odyssey United NationsSea Launch
United StatesDirecTV-7S DirecTV Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
17 May
11:12
United StatesGoFast United StatesBlack Rock Desert, Nevada, USA United StatesCSXT
United States CSXT Suborbital Test spacecraft 17 May Successful
First amateur space launch (apogee: 116 km)[3]
19 May
22:22
United StatesAtlas IIAS United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-36B RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United StatesAMC-11 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
20 May
17:47
United StatesTaurus 3120 United StatesVandenberg LC-576E United StatesOrbital Sciences
TaiwanFORMOSAT-2 (ROCSAT-2) NSPO Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
25 May
12:34
RussiaSoyuz-U KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskosmos
RussiaProgress M-49 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 30 July Successful
ISS flight 14P
28 May
06:00
UkraineTsyklon-2 KazakhstanBaikonur Site 90/20 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2405 VMF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Operational

June

10 June
01:28
UkraineZenit-2 KazakhstanBaikonur Site 45/1 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2406 VKS Low Earth Signals intelligence In orbit Operational
16 June
22:27
RussiaProton-M/Briz-M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39 RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United NationsIntelsat 10-02 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
21 June
14:47
United StatesSpaceShipOne United StatesWhite Knight, Mojave Spaceport United StatesScaled Composites
United StatesFlight 15P Scaled Composites Suborbital Test spacecraft 21 June Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill)
First privately funded crewed spaceflight
Maiden flight of SpaceShipOne as a spacecraft
23 June
22:54
United StatesDelta II 7925 United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-17B United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesGPS IIR-12 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
29 June
03:59
UkraineZenit-3SL NorwayOcean Odyssey United NationsSea Launch
Telstar 18 Loral/Apstar Intended: Geosynchronous
Achieved: Medium Earth
Communications In orbit Partial launch failure
Premature cutout left payload in useless orbit
29 June
06:30
UkraineDnepr KazakhstanBaikonur Site 109/95 RussiaISC Kosmotras
LatinSat D (AprizeSat 2) Aprize Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
FranceDemeter CNES Low Earth Seismology In orbit Operational
Saudi ArabiaSaudiComsat 1 RSRI Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
Saudi ArabiaSaudiComsat 2 RSRI Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
Saudi ArabiaSaudiSat 2 RSRI Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
LatinSat C (AprizeSat 1) Aprize Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
ItalyUnisat 3 Sapienza University of Rome Low Earth Technology development In orbit Operational
United StatesAmsat Echo AMSAT Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational

July

15 July
10:02
United StatesDelta II 7920-10L United StatesVandenberg SLC-2W United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesAura NASA Sun-synchronous (A-train) Atmospheric research In orbit Operational
18 July
00:44
European UnionAriane 5G+ FranceKourou ELA-3 FranceArianespace
CanadaAnik F2 Telesat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
22 July
17:46
RussiaKosmos-3M RussiaPlesetsk Site 132/1 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2409 (Parus) Low Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
25 July
07:05
ChinaLong March 2C ChinaTaiyuan China
ChinaEuropean UnionTan Ce 2 CASC/ESA High Earth (High-eccentricity) Magnetosphere research In orbit Operational

August

3 August
07:18
United StatesDelta II 7925H United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-17B United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesMESSENGER NASA Mercurian Mercury probe 30 April 2015 Successful
Became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury on 4 April 2011
4 August
22:32
RussiaProton-M/Briz-M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39 RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
SpainAmazonas Hispasat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
11 August
05:03
RussiaSoyuz-U KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskosmos
RussiaProgress M-50 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 22 December Successful
ISS flight 15P
29 August
07:50
ChinaLong March 2C ChinaJiuquan China
ChinaFSW-19 (FSW-2) Geosynchronous Earth imaging 7 November
23:55
Successful
31 August
23:17
United StatesAtlas IIAS United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-36A RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United StatesSDS-3-4 (USA-179) NRO Geosynchronous Classified In orbit Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIAS

September

6 September
10:35
IsraelShavit-1 IsraelPalmachim Israel
IsraelOfeq-6 Intended: Low Earth (retrograde) Reconnaissance T+270 Launch failure
Loss of control during third stage burn
8 September
23:14
China Long March 4B China Taiyuan China
China Shijian 6-01A CASC Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
China Shijian 6-01B CASC Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
20 September
10:31
IndiaGSLV IndiaSatish Dhawan FLP IndiaISRO
IndiaEDUSAT (GSAT-3) ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
23 September
15:07
RussiaKosmos-3M RussiaPlesetsk Site 132/1 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2408 Russian military Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
RussiaKosmos 2409 Russian military Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
24 September
16:50
RussiaSoyuz-U RussiaPlestsk Site 16/2 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2410 Russian military Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 January 2005 Failure
Re-entry capsule could not be located
27 September
08:00
ChinaLong March 2D ChinaJiuquan China
ChinaFSW-20 (FSW-3) Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
29 September
15:12
United StatesSpaceShipOne United StatesWhite Knight, Mojave Spaceport United StatesScaled Composites
United StatesFlight 16P Scaled Composites Suborbital Ansari X Prize qualification 29 September Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill)

October

4 October
14:49
United StatesSpaceShipOne United StatesWhite Knight, Mojave Spaceport United StatesScaled Composites
United StatesFlight 17P Scaled Composites Suborbital Ansari X Prize qualification 4 October Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Brian Binnie)
Final flight of SpaceShipOne
14 October
03:06
RussiaSoyuz-FG KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskosmos
RussiaSoyuz TMA-5 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 10 24 April 2005 Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
14 October
21:23
RussiaProton-M/Briz-M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39 RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United StatesAMC-15 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
19 October
01:20
ChinaLong March 3A ChinaXichang China
ChinaFeng Yun 2C Geosynchronous Weather satellite In orbit Operational
29 October
22:11
RussiaProton-K/DM-2M KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39 Russia
RussiaEkspress AM-1 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational

November

6 November
03:10
ChinaLong March 4B ChinaTaiyuan China
ChinaZi Yuan 2C Geosynchronous Earth imaging In orbit Operational
6 November
05:39
United StatesDelta II 7925 United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-17B United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesGPS IIR-13 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
8 November
18:30
RussiaSoyuz-2.1a RussiaPlesetsk Site 43/4 Russia
RussiaZenit-8 (Obilik) Suborbital Test carrier rocket 8 November Successful
Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1a
18 November
10:45
ChinaLong March 2C ChinaXichang China
ChinaShiyan 2 Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational
20 November
17:16
United StatesDelta II 7320 United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-17A United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesSwift NASA Low Earth Gamma-ray research In orbit Operational

December

14 December TaiwanSounding Rocket IV TaiwanJiu Peng Air Base TaiwanNSPO
NSPO Suborbital Ionospheric research 14 December Successful
Apogee: ~280 km (174 mi)
17 December
12:07
United StatesAtlas V 521 United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-41 RussiaUnited StatesInternational Launch Services
United StatesAMC-16 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
18 December
16:26
European UnionAriane 5G+ FranceKourou ELA-3 FranceArianespace
FranceHelios 2A DGA Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Operational
SpainNanosat 01 INTA Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
FranceEssaim 1 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
FranceEssaim 2 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
FranceEssaim 3 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
FranceEssaim 4 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
FranceParasol CNES Sun-synchronous (A-train) Aeronomy In orbit Operational
Final flight of Ariane 5G+
21 December
21:50
United StatesDelta IV Heavy 9250H United StatesCape Canaveral SLC-37B United StatesBoeing IDS
United StatesDemoSat (USA-181) US Air Force Intended: Subsynchronous
Actual: Medium Earth
Test launch vehicle In orbit Partial launch failure
United StatesSparkie (3CSat1) US Air Force Low Earth Cloud imaging 22 December Satellite failure
United StatesRalphie (3CSat2) US Air Force Low Earth Cloud imaging 22 December Satellite failure
Maiden flight of Delta IV Heavy
Premature cut-off of second stage (burn one) left all payloads in wrong orbits.
Both nanosats failed to contact ground after separation
22 December RussiaR-36 RussiaDombarovskiy RussiaRVSN
RussiaDummy warhead RVSN Suborbital Missile test 22 December Successful
23 December
22:19
RussiaSoyuz-U KazakhstanBaikonur Site 1/5 RussiaRoskomsos
RussiaProgress M-51 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 9 March 2005 Successful
ISS flight 16P
24 December
11:20
UkraineTsyklon-3 RussiaPlesetsk Site 32/2 RussiaVKS
UkraineSich-1M NKAU Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Partial launch failure
UkraineMK-1TS NKAU Low Earth Earth observation  
Both satellites placed into incorrect orbits due to premature third stage cutoff
26 December
13:53
RussiaProton-K/DM-2 KazakhstanBaikonur Site 200/39 RussiaVKS
RussiaKosmos 2411 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
RussiaKosmos 2412 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
RussiaKosmos 2413 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational

Deep Space Rendezvous

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
2 January Stardust Flyby of 81P/Wild (Wild 2) Dust collection (samples returned to Earth in 2006)
3 January Spirit Landing on Mars Gusev Crater
24 January Opportunity Landing on Mars Meridiani Planum
4 February Ulysses 2nd flyby of Jupiter
19 May Hayabusa Flyby of the Earth
11 June Cassini Flyby of Phoebe Closest approach: 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi)
1 July Cassini First orbiter of Saturn Saturnian orbit injection
8 September Genesis Capsule crash-landing on Earth 0.4 milligrams (0.0062 gr) of solar sample aboard
26 October Cassini Flyby of Titan Closest approach: 1,200 kilometres (750 mi)
15 November SMART-1 Selenocentric orbit injection First European Lunar mission
13 December Cassini Flyby of Titan Closest approach: 2,336 kilometres (1,452 mi)

EVAs

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Function Remarks
26 February
21:17
3 hours
55 minutes
27 February
01:12
Expedition 8
ISS Pirs
United Kingdom/United StatesMichael Foale
RussiaAlexander Kaleri
Replaced microgravity experiment cassette containers, attached the Russian experiment Matryoshka to Zvezda, and removed a JAXA micro-meteor impact experiment.[4] Reduced duration due a cooling system malfunction in Kaleri's spacesuit.
24 June
21:56
14 minutes 22:10 Expedition 9
ISS Pirs
RussiaGennady Padalka
United StatesMichael Fincke
Spacewalk cut short due to a pressure problem in Fincke's prime oxygen tank in his spacesuit.[5][6] Rescheduled for 30 June.
30 June
21:19
5 hours
40 minutes
1 July
02:59
Expedition 9
ISS Pirs
RussiaGennady Padalka
United StatesMichael Fincke
Replaced a Remote Power Controller (RPC) that failed in late April, causing a loss of power in Control Moment Gyroscope No. 2 (CMG 2).[5][7]
3 August
06:58
4 hours
30 minutes
11:28 Expedition 9
ISS Pirs
RussiaGennady Padalka
United StatesMichael Fincke
Removed laser retro reflectors from the Zvezda assembly compartment, and installed three updated laser retro reflectors and one internal videometer target in preparation for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). Installed two antennas, and removed and replaced Kromka experiment packages.[5][8]
3 September
16:43
5 hours
20 minutes
22:04 Expedition 9
ISS Pirs
RussiaGennady Padalka
United StatesMichael Fincke
Replaced the Zarya Control Module flow control panel, installed four safety tether fairleads on Zarya's handrails, installed three communications antennas, and removed covers from the antennas.[5][9]

Orbital launch summary

By country

China: 8Europe: 3India: 1Israel: 1Russia: 18Ukraine: 7USA: 16
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
Remarks
 China 8 8 0 0
 Europe 3 3 0 0
 India 1 1 0 0
 Israel 1 0 1 0
 Russia 18 18 0 0
 Ukraine 7 5 0 2
 United States 16 15 0 1
World 54 50 1 3

By rocket

By family

By type

By configuration

By spaceport

5
10
15
20
China
France
India
International waters
Israel
Kazakhstan
Russia
United States
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Baikonur  Kazakhstan 17 17 0 0
Cape Canaveral  United States 13 12 0 1
Jiuquan  China 3 3 0 0
Kourou  France 3 3 0 0
Ocean Odyssey United Nations International 3 2 0 1
Palmachim  Israel 1 0 1 0
Plesetsk  Russia 5 4 0 1
Satish Dhawan  India 1 1 0 0
Taiyuan  China 3 3 0 0
Vandenberg  United States 3 3 0 0
Xichang  China 2 2 0 0
Total 54 50 1 3

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 23 22 1 0 6 to ISS
Medium Earth / Molniya 5 5 0 2
Geosynchronous / GTO 23 21 2 0
High Earth / Lunar transfer 1 1 0 0
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer 2 2 0 0
Total 54 51 3 2

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).
Generic references:
Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Delta 4-Heavy investigation identifies rocket's problem". Spaceflight Now. 16 March 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. ^ National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center for Satellite Information (1 April 2006). "SPACEWARN Bulletin #629". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ "GoFast". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ^ NASA (2004). "Expedition 8 Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d NASA (2004). "Expedition 9 Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  6. ^ NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-32". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  7. ^ NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-36". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  8. ^ NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-43". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  9. ^ NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-50". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.