1963 in spaceflight
Launches
This is a list of spaceflights launched in 1963.
| Launch Date/Time |
Rocket |
Launch
Site |
Launch Contractor |
Payload |
Operator |
Orbit |
Mission/
Function |
Re-Entry/
Destruction |
Outcome |
Remarks |
January 4
07:12 GMT |
Molniya-L |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Sputnik 25 (Luna 4c) |
USSR |
Intended: Soft lunar landing |
Lunar exploration |
January 5, 1963 |
Failure |
Spacecraft failed to escape for lunar trajectory |
January 7
21:07 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 18 (KH-4 9051) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
January 16
22:04 GMT |
Thor Agena-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
Samos F2-3 (Ferret 2) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| February 2 |
Molniya-L |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Luna 1963B (Luna 4d) |
USSR |
Intended: lunar landing |
Lunar exploration |
February 2, 1963 |
Failure |
Failure of upper stage gyro |
February 14
05:16 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
Syncom 1 |
NASA |
Geosynchronous orbit |
Communications satellite |
Still in orbit |
Failure |
First satellite to reach geosynchronous orbit, but only after loss of signal |
February 19
16:33 GMT |
Scout X-3M |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
DMSP-2A F1 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Military weather satellite |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| February 28 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 19 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
|
| March 18 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-6 1 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
March 18, 1963 |
Failure |
Failed to reach orbit due to guidance malfunction |
March 21
08:24 GMT |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 13 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
March 29, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
March 28
20:11 GMT |
Saturn I |
LC-34, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
(none), test flight SA-4 |
NASA |
Sub-orbital |
Test Launch vehicle's Engine out capability. |
March 28, 1963 |
Successful |
|
April 1
22:05 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 20 (KH-4 9053) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
April 4, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
April 2
08:04 GMT |
Molniya-L |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Luna 4 |
USSR |
Intended: Lunar landing, Actual: Lunar fly-by |
Lunar exploration |
April 6, 1963 |
Partial success |
Fly-by at 8,336 km on April 5 |
April 3
01:55 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
Explorer 17 (AE-A) |
NASA |
LEO |
Atmospheric research |
July 10, 1963 (last signal) |
Successful |
|
| April 5 |
Scout X-3 |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
US Navy |
Transit 5A 2 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Satellite navigation system |
N/A |
Failure |
|
| April 6 |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos (14) |
Soviet Academy of Sciences |
LEO |
Experimental weather satellite |
April 6, 1963 |
Failure |
|
April 13
11:02 GMT |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos 14 |
Soviet Academy of Sciences |
LEO |
Experimental weather satellite |
August 29, 1963 |
Successful |
First Soviet weather satellite |
April 22
08:24 GMT |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 15 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
April 27, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
April 25
20:11 GMT |
Saturn I (C1) |
LC-34, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
(none) |
N/A |
N/A |
Test Launch vehicle's Engine out capability. |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| April 26 |
Scout X-2M |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
DMSP-2A F2 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Military weather satellite |
N/A |
Failure |
|
| April 26 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-5 8 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
|
April 28
09:36 GMT |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 16 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
May 8, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
May 7
11:31 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
Telstar 2 |
AT&T, Bell Labs |
HEO |
Communications satellite |
May 16, 1965 (last signal) |
Successful |
|
May 9
20:09 GMT |
Atlas Agena-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
MIDAS 7 |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Surveillance of Soviet rocket launches |
April 1977 |
Successful |
|
| Dash-1 |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Experimental balloon satellite |
N/A |
| TRS-5 (ERS-5) |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
| TRS-6 (ERS-6) |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
| West Ford 2 |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Radio reflective experiment |
N/A |
May 15
13:04 GMT |
Atlas D |
LC-14, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
Mercury-Atlas 9
1 Astronaut (Gordon Cooper) |
NASA |
LEO |
Manned Orbital Flight |
May 16, 1963 |
Successful |
Final Mercury flight |
May 18
22:34 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-6 2 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
reached orbit but Agena failed in flight |
May 22
03:07 GMT |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos 17 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
May 24
10:48 GMT |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 18 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
June 2, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
| June 1 |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos (19a) |
USSR |
LEO |
N/A |
N/A |
Failure |
|
| June 12 |
Atlas Agena-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
MIDAS 8 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
|
| TRS-7 (ERS-7) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
| TRS-8 (ERS-8) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
June 12
23:58 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 21 (KH-4 9054) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
June 14
11:58 GMT |
R-7 8K72K (Vostok/A-1) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RVSN |
Vostok 5, 1 Cosmonaut (Valery Bykovsky) |
RVSN |
LEO |
Manned Orbital Flight |
June 19, 1963 |
Successful |
|
June 15
09:29 GMT |
R-7 8K72K (Vostok/A-1) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RVSN |
Vostok 6, 1 Cosmonaut (Valentina Tereshkova) |
RVSN |
LEO |
Manned Orbital Flight |
June 19, 1963 |
Successful |
First woman in space. Final Vostok flight. |
June 15
14:38 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Navy |
Solrad 6 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Solar radiation research |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| LOFTI 2A |
US Navy |
LEO |
Navigation and global positioning |
N/A |
| SURCAL 1B |
US Navy |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
| RADOSE |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Radiation measurement |
N/A |
| 1963-021E (Poppy 2) |
US Navy |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
June 16
01:55 GMT |
Scout X-3 |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
US Navy |
Transit 5A 3 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Satellite navigation system |
N/A |
Successful |
|
June 19
09:50 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
TIROS 7 |
NASA |
LEO |
Weather satellite |
June 3, 1968 (deactivated) |
Successful |
|
June 27
00:43 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 22 (KH-4 9056) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| Hitch Hiker |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Radiation measurements |
N/A |
June 28
19:55 GMT |
Scout X-4 |
Wallops Island |
US Air Force |
Geophysical Research Sat |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Geophysical experiments |
N/A |
Successful |
|
June 29
22:33 GMT |
Atlas Agena-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
Samos F2-4 (Ferret 3) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| July 10 |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos (19b) |
USSR |
LEO |
N/A |
N/A |
Failure |
|
July 12
20:38 GMT |
Atlas Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-7 1 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| July 19 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 23 (KH-4 9057) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
July 19
03:50 GMT |
Atlas Agena-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
MIDAS 9 |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| TRS-9 (ERS-9) |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
| TRS-10 (ERS-10) |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Solar cell damage test |
N/A |
| Dash-2 |
US Air Force |
MEO |
Experimental balloon satellite |
April 12, 1971 |
July 19
18:20 GMT |
North American X-15 |
B-52, Edwards AFB |
US Air Force |
Flight 90
1 Astronaut (Joseph A. Walker) |
US Air Force/NASA |
Sub-orbital |
Manned Spaceflight |
July 19, 1963
18:31 GMT |
Successful |
First X-15 flight to qualify as spaceflight |
July 26
14:38 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
Syncom 2 |
NASA, DoD |
Geosynchronous orbit |
Communications satellite |
Still in orbit |
Successful |
First successful geosynchronous satellite |
| July 31 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-6 3 (KH-6 8003) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
Camera failed after 32 hours |
August 6
06:00 GMT |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos 19 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| August 22 |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos (20) |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
|
August 23
18:05 GMT |
North American X-15 |
B-52, Edwards AFB |
US Air Force |
Flight 91
1 Astronaut (Joseph A. Walker) |
US Air Force/NASA |
Sub-orbital |
Manned Spaceflight |
August 23, 1963
18:17 GMT |
Successful |
Second and last X-15 flight to qualify as spaceflight. First instance of a single spacecraft making two flights |
August 24
00:30 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 A1 (KH-4A 1001) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
August 29
19:12 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-5 9 (KH-4 9033) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| 1963-035B |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Radar monitoring |
N/A |
September 9
19:26 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-7 2 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
September 23
22:48 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 A2 (KH-4A 1002) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| September 27 |
Scout X-2B |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
DMSP-1A F3 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Military weather satellite |
N/A |
Failure |
|
September 28
20:09 GMT |
Thor Able-Star |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Navy |
Transit 5E 1 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Space physics |
November 1974 (last data) |
Successful |
|
| Transit 5BN 1 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Satellite navigation system |
Still in orbit (since 1996 as NIMS) |
October 17
02:24 GMT |
Atlas Agena-D |
LC-13, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
ERS 12 |
US Air Force |
HEO |
Space physics |
N/A |
Successful |
Vela spacecrafts placed in 70,000 mile orbits |
| Vela 1A |
US Air Force |
Supersynchronous Orbit |
Nuclear test ban control |
deactivated after 5 years |
| Vela 1B |
US Air Force |
Supersynchronous Orbit |
Nuclear test ban control |
deactivated after 5 years |
October 18
09:36 GMT |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 20 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
October 26, 1963 |
Success |
Capsule recovered |
| October 24 |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos (21) |
USSR |
LEO |
N/A |
N/A |
Failure |
|
October 25
18:57 GMT |
Atlas Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-7 3 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| 1963-041B |
October 29
21:07 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-5 10 (KH-5 9059A) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| Hitch Hiker 2 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Radio monitoring |
N/A |
November 1
08:52 GMT |
11A59 I1 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Polyot 1 |
USSR |
LEO |
Spacecraft engineering |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| November 9 |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 24 (1963-008X) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Failure |
|
November 11
06:28 GMT |
Molniya |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 21 |
USSR |
LEO |
Zond test |
November 14, 1963 |
Partial failure |
Probably a test for Venera flights, escape stage failed |
November 16
10:48 GMT |
Voskhod |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 22 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
November 27
02:24 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
Explorer 18 (IMP-A) |
NASA |
HEO |
Magnetospheric research |
May 10, 1965 (last signal) |
Successful |
|
November 27
18:57 GMT |
Atlas Centaur-B |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
Atlas Centaur 2 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Centaur performing test |
N/A |
Successful |
|
November 27
21:07 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 25 (KH-4 9061) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Partial failure |
Capsule was not recovered but remained in orbit |
| November 28 |
Vostok-2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos (23) (Zenit-1) |
USSR |
LEO |
N/A |
N/A |
Failure |
Upper stage failed |
December 5
21:51 GMT |
Thor Able-Star |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Navy |
Transit 5BN 2 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Satellite navigation system |
N/A |
Successful |
Nuclear powered |
| Transit 5E 3 |
US Navy |
LEO |
Satellite navigation system |
N/A |
Successful |
Solar powered |
December 13
13:55 GMT |
Kosmos |
Kapustin Yar |
USSR |
Cosmos 23 |
USSR |
LEO |
Engineering, space science |
March 27, 1964 |
Successful |
|
December 18
21:50 GMT |
Atlas Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-7 4 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
December 19
09:21 GMT |
Vostok 2 |
Baikonur |
USSR |
Cosmos 24 |
USSR |
LEO |
Surveillance |
December 28, 1963 |
Successful |
Capsule recovered |
December 19
18:43 GMT |
Scout X-4 |
SLC-5, Vandenberg AFB |
NASA |
Explorer 19 (AD A) |
NASA |
LEO |
Atmospheric density measurement |
N/A |
Successful |
Balloon satellite |
December 21
09:21 GMT |
Delta-B |
LC-17, Cape Canaveral |
NASA |
TIROS 8 |
NASA |
LEO |
Weather satellite |
July 1, 1967 (deactivated) |
Successful |
|
December 21
21:45 GMT |
Thor Agena-D |
Vandenberg AFB |
US Air Force |
KH-4 26 (KH-4 9062) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Surveillance |
N/A |
Successful |
|
| Hitch Hiker 3 |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Radar monitoring |
N/A |
Deep Space Rendez-vous in 1963
References
Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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