2004 in spaceflight

This article outlines notable events occurring in 2004 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. 2004 saw the flight of the first privately funded crewed spaceflight.

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
Crewed flights
Orbital2
Suborbital3
Total travellers8

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
Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch
Estrela do Sul 1 (Telstar 14) Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
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) Logistics3 JuneSuccessful
ISS flight 13P

February

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

March

2 March
07:17
Ariane 5G+ Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace
Rosetta ESA Heliocentric Comet probe30 September 2016Successful
Philae ESA Heliocentric Comet lander9 July 2015Successful
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 CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
Final flight of Atlas IIIA
15 March
23:06
Proton-M/Briz-M Baikonur Site 81/24 International Launch Services
Eutelsat W3A Eutelsat Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
20 March
17:53
Delta II 7925 Cape Canaveral SLC-17B Boeing IDS
GPS IIR-11 US Air Force Medium Earth NavigationIn orbitOperational
27 March
03:30
Proton-K/DM-2 Baikonur Site 81/23 VKS
Kosmos 2406 (Raduga-1) Russian military Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational

April

16 April
00:45
Atlas IIAS Cape Canaveral SLC-36A International Launch Services
Superbird 6 SCC Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
18 April
15:59
Long March 2C Jiuquan
Tansuo 1 (Shiyan 1) University of Harbin Low Earth Land resource mappingIn orbitOperational
Naxing 1 Tsinghua University Low Earth Earth imagingIn orbitOperational
19 April
03:19
Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roskosmos
Soyuz TMA-4 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) ISS Expedition 924 OctoberSuccessful
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 relativityIn orbitSuccessful
26 April
20:37
Proton-K/DM-2M Baikonur Site 200/39
Ekspress AM11 RSCC Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational

May

4 May
12:42
Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch
DirecTV-7S DirecTV Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
17 May
11:12
GoFast Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA CSXT
CSXT Suborbital Test spacecraft17 MaySuccessful
First amateur space launch (apogee: 116 km)[1]
19 May
22:22
Atlas IIAS Cape Canaveral SLC-36B International Launch Services
AMC-11 SES Americom Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
20 May
17:47
Taurus 3120 Vandenberg LC-576E Orbital Sciences
FORMOSAT-2 (ROCSAT-2) NSPO Low Earth Earth imagingIn orbitOperational
25 May
12:34
Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roskosmos
Progress M-49 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics30 JulySuccessful
ISS flight 14P
28 May
06:00
Tsyklon-2 Baikonur Site 90/20 VKS
Kosmos 2405 VMF Low Earth ReconnaissanceIn orbitOperational

June

10 June
01:28
Zenit-2 Baikonur Site 45/1 VKS
Kosmos 2406 VKS Low Earth Signals intelligenceIn orbitOperational
16 June
22:27
Proton-M/Briz-M Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services
Intelsat 10-02 Intelsat Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
21 June
14:47
SpaceShipOne White Knight, Mojave Spaceport Scaled Composites
Flight 15P Scaled Composites Suborbital Test spacecraft21 JuneSuccessful
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 NavigationIn orbitOperational
29 June
03:59
Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch
Telstar 18 Loral/Apstar Intended: Geosynchronous
Achieved: Medium Earth
CommunicationsIn orbitPartial 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 CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
Demeter CNES Low Earth SeismologyIn orbitOperational
SaudiComsat 1 RSRI Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
SaudiComsat 2 RSRI Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
SaudiSat 2 RSRI Low Earth Earth imagingIn orbitOperational
LatinSat C (AprizeSat 1) Aprize Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
Unisat 3 Sapienza University of Rome Low Earth Technology developmentIn orbitOperational
Amsat Echo AMSAT Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational

July

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

August

3 August
07:18
Delta II 7925H Cape Canaveral SLC-17B Boeing IDS
MESSENGER NASA Mercurian Mercury probe30 April 2015Successful
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 CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
11 August
05:03
Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roskosmos
Progress M-50 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics22 DecemberSuccessful
ISS flight 15P
29 August
07:50
Long March 2C Jiuquan
FSW-19 (FSW-2) Geosynchronous Earth imaging7 November
23:55
Successful
31 August
23:17
Atlas IIAS Cape Canaveral SLC-36A International Launch Services
SDS-3-4 (USA-179) NRO Geosynchronous ClassifiedIn orbitOperational
Final flight of Atlas IIAS

September

6 September
10:35
Shavit-1 Palmachim
Ofeq-6 Intended: Low Earth (retrograde) ReconnaissanceT+270Launch failure
Loss of control during third stage burn
8 September
23:14
Long March 4B Taiyuan
Shi Jian 6A CASC Low Earth Technology demonstrationIn orbitOperational
Shi Jian 6B CASC Low Earth Technology demonstrationIn orbitOperational
20 September
10:31
GSLV Satish Dhawan FLP ISRO
EDUSAT (GSAT-3) ISRO Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
23 September
15:07
Kosmos-3M Plesetsk Site 132/1 VKS
Kosmos 2408 Russian military Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
Kosmos 2409 Russian military Low Earth CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
24 September
16:50
Soyuz-U Plestsk Site 16/2 VKS
Kosmos 2410 Russian military Low Earth Reconnaissance9 January 2005Failure
Re-entry capsule could not be located
27 September
08:00
Long March 2D Jiuquan
FSW-20 (FSW-3) Low Earth Earth imagingIn orbitOperational
29 September
15:12
SpaceShipOne White Knight, Mojave Spaceport Scaled Composites
Flight 16P Scaled Composites Suborbital Ansari X Prize qualification29 SeptemberSuccessful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill)

October

4 October
14:49
SpaceShipOne White Knight, Mojave Spaceport Scaled Composites
Flight 17P Scaled Composites Suborbital Ansari X Prize qualification4 OctoberSuccessful
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 1024 April 2005Successful
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 CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
19 October
01:20
Long March 3A Xichang
Feng Yun 2C Geosynchronous Weather satelliteIn orbitOperational
29 October
22:11
Proton-K/DM-2M Baikonur Site 200/39
Ekspress AM-1 RSCC Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational

November

6 November
03:10
Long March 4B Taiyuan
Zi Yuan 2C Geosynchronous Earth imagingIn orbitOperational
6 November
05:39
Delta II 7925 Cape Canaveral SLC-17B Boeing IDS
GPS IIR-13 US Air Force Medium Earth NavigationIn orbitOperational
8 November
18:30
Soyuz-2.1a Plesetsk Site 43/4
Zenit-8 (Obilik) Suborbital Test carrier rocket8 NovemberSuccessful
Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1a
18 November
10:45
Long March 2C Xichang
Shiyan Weixing 2 Low Earth Earth observationIn orbitOperational
20 November
17:16
Delta II 7320 Cape Canaveral SLC-17A Boeing IDS
Swift NASA Low Earth Gamma-ray researchIn orbitOperational

December

14 December Sounding Rocket IV Jiu Peng Air Base NSPO
NSPO Suborbital Ionospheric research14 DecemberSuccessful
Apogee: ~280 km (174 mi)
17 December
12:07
Atlas V 521 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 International Launch Services
AMC-16 SES Americom Geosynchronous CommunicationsIn orbitOperational
18 December
16:26
Ariane 5G+ Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace
Helios 2A DGA Low Earth ReconnaissanceIn orbitOperational
Nanosat 01 INTA Low Earth Technology demonstrationIn orbitOperational
Essaim 1 DGA Low Earth ELINTIn orbitOperational
Essaim 2 DGA Low Earth ELINTIn orbitOperational
Essaim 3 DGA Low Earth ELINTIn orbitOperational
Essaim 4 DGA Low Earth ELINTIn orbitOperational
Parasol CNES Sun-synchronous (A-train) AeronomyIn orbitOperational
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 vehicleIn orbitPartial launch failure
Sparkie (3CSat1) US Air Force Low Earth Cloud imaging22 DecemberSatellite failure
Ralphie (3CSat2) US Air Force Low Earth Cloud imaging22 DecemberSatellite 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 test22 DecemberSuccessful
23 December
22:19
Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roskomsos
Progress M-51 Roskosmos Low Earth (ISS) Logistics9 March 2005Successful
ISS flight 16P
24 December
11:20
Tsyklon-3 Plesetsk Site 32/2 VKS
Sich-1M NKAU Low Earth Earth observationIn orbitPartial 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 NavigationIn orbitOperational
Kosmos 2412 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth NavigationIn orbitOperational
Kosmos 2413 (GLONASS) KNITs Medium Earth NavigationIn orbitOperational

Deep Space Rendezvous

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
2 JanuaryStardustFlyby of 81P/Wild (Wild 2)Dust collection (samples returned to Earth in 2006)
3 JanuarySpiritLanding on MarsGusev Crater
24 JanuaryOpportunityLanding on MarsMeridiani Planum
4 FebruaryUlysses2nd flyby of Jupiter
19 MayHayabusaFlyby of the Earth
11 JuneCassiniFlyby of PhoebeClosest approach: 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi)
1 JulyCassiniFirst orbiter of SaturnSaturnian orbit injection
8 SeptemberGenesisCapsule crash-landing on Earth0.4 milligrams (0.0062 gr) of solar sample aboard
26 OctoberCassiniFlyby of TitanClosest approach: 1,200 kilometres (750 mi)
15 NovemberSMART-1Selenocentric orbit injectionFirst European Lunar mission
13 DecemberCassiniFlyby of TitanClosest 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
/Michael Foale
Alexander Kaleri
Replaced microgravity experiment cassette containers, attached the Russian experiment Matryoshka to Zvezda, and removed a JAXA micro-meteor impact experiment.[2] 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.[3][4] 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).[3][5]
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.[3][6]
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.[3][7]

Orbital launch summary

By country

China: 8Europe: 3India: 1Israel: 1Russia: 18Ukraine: 7USA: 16

Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
Remarks
 China8800
 Europe3300
 India1100
 Israel1010
 Russia181800
 Ukraine7502
 United States161501
World545013

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 Kazakhstan171700
Cape Canaveral United States131201
Jiuquan China3300
Kourou France3300
Ocean Odyssey International3201
Palmachim Israel1010
Plesetsk Russia5401
Satish Dhawan India1100
Taiyuan China3300
Vandenberg United States3300
Xichang China2200
Total545013

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
Transatmospheric0000
Low Earth2322106 to ISS
Medium Earth / Molniya5502
Geosynchronous / GTO232120
High Earth / Lunar transfer1100
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer2200
Total545132

References

Generic references:
 Spaceflight portal
  • 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".
  • McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".
  • 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.
  • "Space Information Center". JAXA.
  • "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).

Footnotes

  1. "GoFast". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. NASA (2004). "Expedition 8 Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  3. NASA (2004). "Expedition 9 Spacewalks". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  4. NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-32". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  5. NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-36". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  6. NASA (2004). "International Space Station Status Report #04-43". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  7. 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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