Wikipedia

2004 in spaceflight

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

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

First privately funded human spaceflight edit

This paragraph is an excerpt from SpaceShipOne flight 15P.[edit]
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 edit

This paragraph is an excerpt from Delta IV Heavy § History.[edit]
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 edit

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

January edit

11 January
04:13 		 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea 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 		 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M1-11 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 3 June Successful
ISS flight 13P

February edit

5 February
23:46 		 Atlas IIAS  Cape Canaveral SLC-36A   International Launch Services
 AMC-10 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
14 February
18:50 		 Titan IVB (402)/IUS  Cape Canaveral SLC-40  Lockheed Martin
 DSP-22 US Air Force Geosynchronous Missile warning In orbit Operational
18 February
07:05 		 Molniya-M  Plesetsk Site 16/2  VKS
 Kosmos 2405 Molniya Missile warning In orbit Operational

March edit

2 March
07:17 		 Ariane 5G+  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 Rosetta ESA Heliocentric Comet probe 30 September 2016 Successful
 Philae 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 		 Atlas IIIA  Cape Canaveral SLC-36B   International Launch Services
MBSat MBSAT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIIA
15 March
23:06 		 Proton-M/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 81/24   International Launch Services
 Eutelsat W3A Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
20 March
17:53 		 Delta II 7925  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-11 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
27 March
03:30 		 Proton-K/DM-2  Baikonur Site 81/23  VKS
 Kosmos 2406 (Raduga-1) Russian military Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational

April edit

16 April
00:45 		 Atlas IIAS  Cape Canaveral SLC-36A   International Launch Services
 Superbird 6 SCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
18 April
15:59 		 Long March 2C  Jiuquan  
 Tansuo 1 (Shiyan 1) University of Harbin Low Earth Land resource mapping In orbit Operational
 Naxing 1 Tsinghua University Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
19 April
03:19 		 Soyuz-FG  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Soyuz TMA-4 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 9 24 October Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
20 April
16:57 		 Delta II 7920  Vandenberg SLC-2W  Boeing IDS
 Gravity Probe B NASA Low Earth Test Einstein's Theory of relativity In orbit Successful
26 April
20:37 		 Proton-K/DM-2M  Baikonur Site 200/39
 Ekspress AM11 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Decommissioned[2]

May edit

4 May
12:42 		 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea Launch
 DirecTV-7S DirecTV Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
17 May
11:12 		 GoFast  Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA  CSXT
  CSXT Suborbital Test spacecraft 17 May Successful
First amateur space launch (apogee: 116 km)[3]
19 May
22:22 		 Atlas IIAS  Cape Canaveral SLC-36B   International Launch Services
 AMC-11 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
20 May
17:47 		 Taurus 3120  Vandenberg LC-576E  Orbital Sciences
 FORMOSAT-2 (ROCSAT-2) NSPO Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
25 May
12:34 		 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M-49 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 30 July Successful
ISS flight 14P
28 May
06:00 		 Tsyklon-2  Baikonur Site 90/20  VKS
 Kosmos 2405 VMF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Operational

June edit

10 June
01:28 		 Zenit-2  Baikonur Site 45/1  VKS
 Kosmos 2406 VKS Low Earth Signals intelligence In orbit Operational
16 June
22:27 		 Proton-M/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 200/39   International Launch Services
 Intelsat 10-02 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
21 June
14:47 		 SpaceShipOne  White Knight, Mojave Spaceport  Scaled Composites
 Flight 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 		 Delta II 7925  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-12 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
29 June
03:59 		 Zenit-3SL  Ocean Odyssey  Sea 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 		 Dnepr  Baikonur Site 109/95  ISC Kosmotras
LatinSat D (AprizeSat 2) Aprize Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
 Demeter CNES Low Earth Seismology In orbit Operational
 SaudiComsat 1 RSRI Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
 SaudiComsat 2 RSRI Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
 SaudiSat 2 RSRI Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
LatinSat C (AprizeSat 1) Aprize Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
 Unisat 3 Sapienza University of Rome Low Earth Technology development In orbit Operational
 Amsat Echo AMSAT Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational

July edit

15 July
10:02 		 Delta II 7920-10L  Vandenberg SLC-2W  Boeing IDS
 Aura NASA Sun-synchronous (A-train) Atmospheric research In orbit Operational
18 July
00:44 		 Ariane 5G+  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 Anik F2 Telesat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
22 July
17:46 		 Kosmos-3M  Plesetsk Site 132/1  VKS
 Kosmos 2409 (Parus) Low Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
25 July
07:05 		 Long March 2C  Taiyuan  
  Tan Ce 2 CASC/ESA High Earth (High-eccentricity) Magnetosphere research In orbit Operational

August edit

3 August
07:18 		 Delta II 7925H  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 MESSENGER NASA Mercurian Mercury probe 30 April 2015 Successful
Became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury on 4 April 2011
4 August
22:32 		 Proton-M/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 200/39   International Launch Services
 Amazonas Hispasat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
11 August
05:03 		 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Progress M-50 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 22 December Successful
ISS flight 15P
29 August
07:50 		 Long March 2C  Jiuquan  
 FSW-19 (FSW-2) Geosynchronous Earth imaging 7 November
23:55		 Successful
31 August
23:17 		 Atlas IIAS  Cape Canaveral SLC-36A   International Launch Services
 SDS-3-4 (USA-179) NRO Geosynchronous Classified In orbit Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIAS

September edit

6 September
10:35 		 Shavit-1  Palmachim  
 Ofeq-6 Intended: Low Earth (retrograde) Reconnaissance T+270 Launch failure
Loss of control during third stage burn
8 September
23:14 		  Long March 4B   Taiyuan  
  Shijian 6-01A CASC Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
  Shijian 6-01B CASC Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
20 September
10:31 		 GSLV  Satish Dhawan FLP  ISRO
 EDUSAT (GSAT-3) ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
23 September
15:07 		 Kosmos-3M  Plesetsk Site 132/1  VKS
 Kosmos 2408 Russian military Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2409 Russian military Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
24 September
16:50 		 Soyuz-U  Plestsk Site 16/2  VKS
 Kosmos 2410 Russian military Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 January 2005 Failure
Re-entry capsule could not be located
27 September
08:00 		 Long March 2D  Jiuquan  
 FSW-20 (FSW-3) Low Earth Earth imaging In orbit Operational
29 September
15:12 		 SpaceShipOne  White Knight, Mojave Spaceport  Scaled Composites
 Flight 16P Scaled Composites Suborbital Ansari X Prize qualification 29 September Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill)

October edit

4 October
14:49 		 SpaceShipOne  White Knight, Mojave Spaceport  Scaled Composites
 Flight 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 		 Soyuz-FG  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskosmos
 Soyuz TMA-5 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 10 24 April 2005 Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
14 October
21:23 		 Proton-M/Briz-M  Baikonur Site 200/39   International Launch Services
 AMC-15 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
19 October
01:20 		 Long March 3A  Xichang  
 Feng Yun 2C Geosynchronous Weather satellite In orbit Operational
29 October
22:11 		 Proton-K/DM-2M  Baikonur Site 200/39  
 Ekspress AM-1 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational

November edit

6 November
03:10 		 Long March 4B  Taiyuan  
 Zi Yuan 2C Geosynchronous Earth imaging In orbit Operational
6 November
05:39 		 Delta II 7925  Cape Canaveral SLC-17B  Boeing IDS
 GPS IIR-13 US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
8 November
18:30 		 Soyuz-2.1a  Plesetsk Site 43/4  
 Zenit-8 (Obilik) Suborbital Test carrier rocket 8 November Successful
Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1a
18 November
10:45 		 Long March 2C  Xichang  
 Shiyan 2 Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational
20 November
17:16 		 Delta II 7320  Cape Canaveral SLC-17A  Boeing IDS
 Swift NASA Low Earth Gamma-ray research In orbit Operational

December edit

14 December  Sounding Rocket IV  Jiu Peng Air Base  NSPO
NSPO Suborbital Ionospheric research 14 December Successful
Apogee: ~280 km (174 mi)
17 December
12:07 		 Atlas V 521  Cape Canaveral SLC-41   International Launch Services
 AMC-16 SES Americom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational
18 December
16:26 		 Ariane 5G+  Kourou ELA-3  Arianespace
 Helios 2A DGA Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Operational
 Nanosat 01 INTA Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational
 Essaim 1 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
 Essaim 2 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
 Essaim 3 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
 Essaim 4 DGA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational
 Parasol CNES Sun-synchronous (A-train) Aeronomy In orbit Operational
Final flight of Ariane 5G+
21 December
21:50 		 Delta IV Heavy 9250H  Cape Canaveral SLC-37B  Boeing IDS
 DemoSat (USA-181) US Air Force Intended: Subsynchronous
Actual: Medium Earth 		Test launch vehicle In orbit Partial launch failure
 Sparkie (3CSat1) US Air Force Low Earth Cloud imaging 22 December Satellite failure
 Ralphie (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  R-36  Dombarovskiy  RVSN
 Dummy warhead RVSN Suborbital Missile test 22 December Successful
23 December
22:19 		 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  Roskomsos
 Progress M-51 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics 9 March 2005 Successful
ISS flight 16P
24 December
11:20 		 Tsyklon-3  Plesetsk Site 32/2  VKS
 Sich-1M NKAU Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Partial launch failure
 MK-1TS NKAU Low Earth Earth observation  
Both satellites placed into incorrect orbits due to premature third stage cutoff
26 December
13:53 		 Proton-K/DM-2  Baikonur Site 200/39  VKS
 Kosmos 2411 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2412 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational
 Kosmos 2413 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational

Deep Space Rendezvous edit

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 edit

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 		 / Michael Foale
 Alexander 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 		 Gennady Padalka
 Michael 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 		 Gennady Padalka
 Michael 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 		 Gennady Padalka
 Michael 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 		 Gennady Padalka
 Michael 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 edit

By country edit

 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 edit

By family edit

By type edit

By configuration edit

By spaceport edit

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   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 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 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 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. ^ "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.


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