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Contents

   



(Top)
  


1 Deep space rendezvous  




2 Notable creations of orbital debris  




3 Orbital launch summary  


3.1  By country  




3.2  By rocket  




3.3  By orbit  






4 References  


4.1  Footnotes  















1963 in spaceflight: Difference between revisions






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{{Short description|none}}

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Timeline of spaceflight/Converting|old}}<!--use "|inuse" if you are editing now, "|some" if both formats are in use, and "|old" if only the old format is present-->

{{hatnote|For launches in the first half of the year, see [[1963 in spaceflight (January–June)]], for launches in the second half, see [[1963 in spaceflight (July–December)]]}}

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Timeline of spaceflight/Cleanup|date=yes|templte=yes|incomplete=yes|dialect=yes|EOM=yes|q=yes|refs=yes}}

{{Use American English|date=August 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}

{{Infobox Year in spaceflight

|year = 1963

|image = X15 on B52 wing pylon.jpg

|caption = A [[North American X-15]] made two suborbital flights in July and August, becoming the first reusable spacecraft


|first = 4 January

==Launches==

|last = 21 December

This is a list of [[spaceflight]]s launched in [[1963]].

|total = 70

|success = 50

|failed = 17

|partial = 3

|catalogued = 55


|maidens = [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-D]]<br/>[[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]]<br/>[[Polyot (rocket)|Polyot]] 11A59<br/>[[Scout X-2B]]<br/>[[Scout X-3M]]<br/>[[Scout X-4]]<br/>[[Thor-Ablestar|Thor DSV-2A Ablestar]]<br/>[[Thor-Agena|TAT SLV-2A Agena-B]]<br/>[[Thor-Agena|TAT SLV-2A Agena-D]]<br/>[[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] 11A57

{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}

|retired = [[Atlas LV-3B]]<br/>[[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]]<br/>[[Scout X-2B]]<br/>[[Scout X-2M]]<br/>[[Scout X-3M]]


|suborbital = 2

{| border="2" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #555 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"

|orbital = 3

|- bgcolor="#efefef"

|totalcrew = 4

! Launch Date/Time

}}

! [[Rocket]]

! Launch <br> Site

{{toclimit|limit=2}}

! Launch Contractor

{{TLS-L|alignment=right|fixed=on}}

! Payload

{{clear}}

! Operator

{{TLS-M|1963|half=yes}}

! [[Orbit]]

! Mission/<br>Function

== Deep space rendezvous ==

! Re-Entry/<br>Destruction

{| class=wikitable width="100%"

! Outcome

!Date (GMT)

! Remarks

!Spacecraft

!Event

!Remarks

|-

|-

| 5 April || [[Luna 4]] || Flyby of the [[Moon]] || Failed lander, closest approach: {{convert|8336|km}}

||[[January 4]] <br> 07:12 [[GMT]]

||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] (R-7 8K78)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||[[Sputnik 25]] (Luna 4c)

||USSR

||Intended: Soft [[Moon|lunar]] landing

||Lunar exploration

||[[January 5]], [[1963]]

||'''Failure'''

||Spacecraft failed to escape for lunar trajectory

|-

|-

| 19 June || [[Mars 1]] || First flyby of [[Mars]] || Closest approach: {{convert|193000|km}}, communications system failed before flyby

||[[January 7]] <br> 21:07 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 18 (KH-4 9051)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|-

|}

||[[January 16]] <br> 22:04 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-B]]

== Notable creations of orbital debris ==

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Samos (satellite)|Samos F2-3]] (Ferret 2)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|-

!Date/Time (UTC)

||[[February 2]]

!Source object

||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] (R-7 8K78)

!Event type

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

!Pieces tracked

||USSR

!Remarks

||[[Luna 1963B]] (Luna 4d)

||USSR

||Intended: [[Moon|lunar]] landing

||Lunar exploration

||[[February 2]], [[1963]]

||'''Failure'''

||Failure of upper stage gyro

|-

|-

| 9 May<ref name=ODQNv17i4>{{cite journal|url=http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv17i4.pdf |title=West Ford Needles: Where are They Now? |publisher=[[NASA]] |journal=Orbital Debris Quarterly News |volume=17 |issue=4 |date=October 2013 |access-date=13 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305035905/http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv17i4.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>

||[[February 14]] <br> 05:16 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

| [[Westford Needles|Westford-2]]

| Communications experiment

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

| 46<ref name=ODQNv17i4 />

||[[NASA]]

| As part of an experiment to facilitate international telecommunications, the US Military deployed an artificial space ring consisting of hundreds of millions of tiny copper needles<ref>

||[[Syncom|Syncom 1]]

{{citation |first1=I. I. |last1=Shapiro |first2=H. M. |last2=Jones |last3=Perkins |first3=C.W. |title=Orbital properties of the West Ford dipole belt |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=52 |issue=5 |date=May 1964 |pages=469–518 |doi=10.1109/proc.1964.2992}}</ref> which would act as antennas reflecting radio signals at the target wavelength of 8&nbsp;GHz. A large proportion of the needles were not dispersed properly and remained stuck in clumps that were discovered and tracked by the [[Space Surveillance Network|SSN]] between 1966 and 1991. {{asof|2013|10}}, 46 of the 144 detected debris clumps remain in orbit.<ref name=ODQNv17i4 /> The needles that were properly dispersed are believed to have decayed.<ref name=ODQNv17i4 />

||[[NASA]]

This event prompted international protests<ref name="airforce-history">{{citation

||[[Geosynchronous orbit]]

| url = http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf

||[[Communications satellite]]

| title = The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law

||Still in orbit

| last1 = Terrill Jr.

||'''Failure'''

| first1 = Delbert R.

||First satellite to reach geosynchronous orbit, but only after loss of signal

| journal = Air Force History and Museums Program

| publisher = Air University Press

| location = Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

| date = May 1999

| page = 63

| access-date = 13 February 2016

| archive-date = 17 April 2018

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023607/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf

| url-status = live

}}</ref><ref name="nasa-history">{{citation

| url = https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm

| title = Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications

| series = The NASA History Series

| publisher = NASA

| work = history.nasa.gov

| editor1-last = Butrica

| editor1-first = Andrew J.

| access-date = 12 July 2017

| archive-date = 25 December 2017

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171225231626/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm

| url-status = live

}}</ref><ref name="Bondi1962">{{citation

| title = West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary

| last1 = Bondi

| first1 = H.

| date = June 1962

| journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society

| volume = 3

| page = 99

| bibcode = 1962QJRAS...3...99.

}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1961">{{Citation

| publication-date = 23 October 1961

| date = 22 October 1961

| title = Protests Continue Abroad

| periodical = The New York Times

| place = London

| page = 12

| issn = 0362-4331

}}</ref> and influenced the drafting of the 1967 [[Outer Space Treaty]].<ref name="airforce-history"/>

|}

==Orbital launch summary==

===By country===

{{TLS-PC|1963|USA=1|USSR=1}}

{| align="left" class="wikitable sortable"

|-

|-

! Country

||[[February 19]] <br> 16:33 [[GMT]]

! Launches

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-3M]]

! Successes

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

! Failures

||[[US Air Force]]

! Partial<br/>failures

||[[Defense Meteorological Satellite Program|DMSP-2A F1]]

! Remarks

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Military [[weather satellite]]

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|-

| {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 24 || 15 || 9 || 0 ||

||[[February 28]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 19

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| {{USA}} || 46 || 35 || 8 || 3 ||

||[[March 18]]

|}

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

{{clear}}

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

===By rocket===

||[[KH-6]] 1

{| class="wikitable sortable"

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[March 18]], [[1963]]

||'''Failure'''

||Failed to reach orbit due to guidance malfunction

|-

|-

! Rocket

||[[March 21]] <br> 08:24 [[GMT]]

! Country

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

! Launches

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

! Successes

||USSR

! Failures

||{{Kosmos|13|C}}

! Partial failures

||USSR

! Remarks

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[March 29]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

|-

| [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-B]] || {{USA}} || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 ||

||[[March 28]] <br> 20:11 [[GMT]]

||[[Saturn I]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34|LC-34]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||(none), test flight [[SA-4 (Apollo)|SA-4]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Sub-orbital]]

||Test [[Launch vehicle|Launch vehicle's]] [[Engine out capability]].

||[[March 28]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||

|-

|-

| [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-D]] || {{USA}} || 5 || 5 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[April 1]] <br> 22:05 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 20 (KH-4 9053)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[April 4]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

|-

| [[Atlas LV-3B]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Retired

||[[April 2]] <br> 08:04 [[GMT]]

||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] (R-7 8K78)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||[[Luna 4]]

||USSR

||Intended: [[Moon|Lunar]] landing, Actual: Lunar fly-by

||Lunar exploration

||[[April 6]], [[1963]]

||Partial success

||Fly-by at 8,336 km on April 5

|-

|-

| [[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Only flight

||[[April 3]] <br> 01:55 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Explorer 17]] (AE-A)

||[[NASA]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Atmospheric research

||[[July 10]], [[1963]] (last signal)

||Successful

||

|-

|-

| [[Delta B]] || {{USA}} || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0 ||

||[[April 5]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-3]]

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5A 2]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Satellite navigation system]]

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| [[Delta C]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 ||

||[[April 6]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|14|C}}

||Soviet Academy of Sciences

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Experimental [[weather satellite]]

||[[April 6]], [[1963]]

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| [[Kosmos-2I]] 63S1 || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 8 || 4 || 4 || 0 ||

||[[April 13]] <br> 11:02 [[GMT]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|14|C}}

||Soviet Academy of Sciences

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Experimental [[weather satellite]]

||[[August 29]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||First Soviet weather satellite

|-

|-

| [[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] 8K78 || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 ||

||[[April 22]] <br> 08:24 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|15|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[April 27]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

|-

| [[Molniya-L]] 8K78L || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 3 || 1 || 2 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[April 25]] <br> 20:11 [[GMT]]

||[[Saturn I]] (C1)

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34|LC-34]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||(none)

||N/A

||N/A

||Test [[Launch vehicle|Launch vehicle's]] [[Engine out capability]].

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|-

| [[Polyot (rocket)|Polyot]] 11A59 || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[April 26]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-2M]]

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Defense Meteorological Satellite Program|DMSP-2A F2]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Military [[weather satellite]]

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| [[Scout X-2B]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || Only flight

||[[April 26]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-5]] 8

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| [[Scout X-2M]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || Retired

||[[April 28]] <br> 09:36 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|16|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[May 8]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

|-

| [[Scout X-3]] || {{USA}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 ||

||[[May 7]] <br> 11:31 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Telstar|Telstar 2]]

||[[AT&T]], [[Bell Labs]]

||[[Highly Elliptical Orbit|HEO]]

||[[Communications satellite]]

||[[May 16]], [[1965]] (last signal)

||Successful

||

|-

|-

| [[Scout X-3M]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Only flight

|rowspan=5 |[[May 9]] <br> 20:09 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=5 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]

|rowspan=5 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=5 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[MIDAS 7]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]

||Surveillance of Soviet rocket launches

||April 1977

| rowspan=5 |Successful

| rowspan=5 |

|-

|-

| [[Scout X-4]] || {{USA}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || Maiden flight

||Dash-1

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]

||Experimental balloon satellite

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Thor-Ablestar|Thor DSV-2A Ablestar]] || {{USA}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight

||TRS-5 (ERS-5)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Thor-Agena|Thor DM-21 Agena-B]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 ||

||TRS-6 (ERS-6)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Thor-Agena|Thor SLV-2 Agena-D]] (Thor DM-21 Agena-D) || {{USA}} || 8 || 6 || 2 || 0 || Redesignated midyear

||West Ford 2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]

||Radio reflective experiment

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Thor-Agena|Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-B]] || {{USA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[May 15]] <br> 13:04 [[GMT]]

||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas D]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14|LC-14]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Mercury 9|Mercury-Atlas 9]] <br> 1 Astronaut ([[Gordon Cooper]])

||[[NASA]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Manned Orbital Flight

||[[May 16]], [[1963]] <!--Check Time-->

||Successful

||Final [[Project Mercury|Mercury]] flight

|-

|-

| [[Thor-Agena|Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-D]] || {{USA}} || 10 || 8 || 2 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[May 18]] <br> 22:34 [[GMT]]

|-

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

| [[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] 11A57 || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|-

||[[US Air Force]]

| [[Vostok-K]] 8K72K || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 ||

||[[KH-6]] 2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||reached orbit but Agena failed in flight

|-

|-

| [[Vostok-2 (rocket)|Vostok-2]] 8A92 || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} || 8 || 6 || 2 || 0 ||

||[[May 22]] <br> 03:07 [[GMT]]

|}

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

===By orbit===

||USSR

{| class="wikitable sortable"

||{{Kosmos|17|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|-

! Orbital regime

||[[May 24]] <br> 10:48 [[GMT]]

! Launches

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

! Achieved

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

! Not Achieved

||USSR

! Accidentally<br />Achieved

||{{Kosmos|18|C}}

! Remarks

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[June 2]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

|-

| [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]] || 57 || 44 || 13 || 2 ||

||[[June 1]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|19a|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||N/A

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|-

| [[Medium Earth orbit|Medium Earth]] || 5 || 4 || 1 || 0 ||

|rowspan=3 |[[June 12]]

|rowspan=3 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]

|rowspan=3 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=3 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[MIDAS 8]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

| rowspan=3 |'''Failure'''

| rowspan=3 |

|-

|-

| [[High Earth orbit|High Earth]] || 5 || 3 || 2 || 0 || Including [[Highly elliptical orbit]]s

||TRS-7 (ERS-7)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous]]/[[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|transfer]] || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 ||

||TRS-8 (ERS-8)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

||[[June 12]] <br> 23:58 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 21 (KH-4 9054)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[June 14]] <br> 11:58 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-K]] (R-7 8K72K)

||[[Gagarin's Start|LC-1/5]], [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||[[RVSN]]

||[[Vostok 5]], 1 Cosmonaut ([[Valery Bykovsky]])

||[[RVSN]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Manned Orbital Flight

||[[June 19]], [[1963]] <!--Check Time-->

||Successful

||

|-

||[[June 15]] <br> 09:29 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-K]] (R-7 8K72K)

||[[Gagarin's Start|LC-1/5]], [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||[[RVSN]]

||[[Vostok 6]], 1 Cosmonaut ([[Valentina Tereshkova]])

||[[RVSN]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Manned Orbital Flight

||[[June 19]], [[1963]] <!--Check Time-->

||Successful

||First woman in space. Final [[Vostok spacecraft|Vostok]] flight.

|-

| rowspan=5 |[[June 15]] <br> 14:38 [[GMT]]

| rowspan=5 |[[Thor Agena]]-D

| rowspan=5 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

| rowspan=5 |[[US Navy]]

||[[Solrad]] 6

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Solar radiation research

||N/A

| rowspan=5 |Successful

| rowspan=5 |

|-

||LOFTI 2A

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Navigation and global positioning

||N/A

|-

||SURCAL 1B

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

|-

||RADOSE

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Radiation measurement

||N/A

|-

||1963-021E ([[Poppy (satellite)|Poppy]] 2)

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

|-

||[[June 16]] <br> 01:55 [[GMT]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-3]]

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5A 3]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Satellite navigation system]]

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[June 19]] <br> 09:50 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[TIROS|TIROS 7]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Weather satellite]]

||[[June 3]], [[1968]] (deactivated)

||Successful

||

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[June 27]] <br> 00:43 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 22 (KH-4 9056)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

| rowspan=2 |Successful

| rowspan=2 |

|-

||Hitch Hiker

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Radiation measurements

||N/A

|-

||[[June 28]] <br> 19:55 [[GMT]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-4]]

||[[Wallops Flight Facility|Wallops Island]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Geophysical Research Sat]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Geophysical experiments

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[June 29]] <br> 22:33 [[GMT]]

||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Samos (satellite)|Samos F2-4]] (Ferret 3)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[July 10]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|19b|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||N/A

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

||[[July 12]] <br> 20:38 [[GMT]]

||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-7]] 1

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[July 19]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 23 (KH-4 9057)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|rowspan=4 |[[July 19]] <br> 03:50 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=4 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]

|rowspan=4 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=4 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[MIDAS 9]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth orbit|MEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

| rowspan=4 |Successful

| rowspan=4 |

|-

||TRS-9 (ERS-9)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth orbit|MEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

||TRS-10 (ERS-10)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth orbit|MEO]]

||Solar cell damage test

||N/A

|-

||Dash-2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Medium Earth orbit|MEO]]

||Experimental balloon satellite

||[[April 12]], [[1971]]

|-

||[[July 19]] <br> 18:20 [[GMT]]

||[[North American Aviation|North American]] [[North American X-15|X-15]]

||[[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52]], [[Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[X-15 Flight 90|Flight 90]] <br> 1 Astronaut ([[Joseph A. Walker]])

||[[US Air Force]]/[[NASA]]

||[[Sub-orbital]]

||Manned Spaceflight

||[[July 19]], [[1963]] <br> 18:31 [[GMT]]

||Successful

||First X-15 flight to qualify as spaceflight

|-

||[[July 26]] <br> 14:38 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Syncom|Syncom 2]]

||[[NASA]], [[US Department of Defense|DoD]]

||[[Geosynchronous orbit]]

||[[Communications satellite]]

||Still in orbit

||Successful

||First successful geosynchronous satellite

|-

||[[July 31]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-6]] 3 (KH-6 8003)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||Camera failed after 32 hours

|-

||[[August 6]] <br> 06:00 [[GMT]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|19|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[August 22]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|20|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

||[[August 23]] <br> 18:05 [[GMT]]

||[[North American Aviation|North American]] [[North American X-15|X-15]]

||[[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52]], [[Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[X-15 Flight 91|Flight 91]] <br> 1 Astronaut ([[Joseph A. Walker]])

||[[US Air Force]]/[[NASA]]

||[[Sub-orbital]]

||Manned Spaceflight

||[[August 23]], [[1963]] <br> 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]] <br> 00:30 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] A1 (KH-4A 1001)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[August 29]] <br> 19:12 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-5]] 9 (KH-4 9033)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

|rowspan=2 |Successful

|rowspan=2 |

|-

||1963-035B

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Radar monitoring

||N/A

|-

||[[September 9]] <br> 19:26 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-7]] 2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[September 23]] <br> 22:48 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] A2 (KH-4A 1002)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[September 27]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-2B]]

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Defense Meteorological Satellite Program|DMSP-1A F3]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Military [[weather satellite]]

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[September 28]] <br> 20:09 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Able-Star]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Navy]]

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5E 1]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Space physics

||November 1974 (last data)

|rowspan=2 |Successful

|rowspan=2 |

|-

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5BN 1]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Satellite navigation system]]

||Still in orbit (since 1996 as NIMS)

|-

|rowspan=3 |[[October 17]] <br> 02:24 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=3 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]

|rowspan=3 |[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13|LC-13]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

|rowspan=3 |[[US Air Force]]

||ERS 12

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Highly Elliptical Orbit|HEO]]

||Space physics

||N/A

|rowspan=3 |Successful

|rowspan=3 |Vela spacecrafts placed in 70,000 mile orbits

|-

||[[Vela (satellite)|Vela 1A]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Supersynchronous Orbit]]

||Nuclear test ban control

||deactivated after 5 years

|-

||[[Vela (satellite)|Vela 1B]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Supersynchronous Orbit]]

||Nuclear test ban control

||deactivated after 5 years

|-

||[[October 18]] <br> 09:36 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|20|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[October 26]], [[1963]]

||Success

||Capsule recovered

|-

||[[October 24]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|21|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||N/A

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[October 25]] <br> 18:57 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-7]] 3

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

|rowspan=2 |Surveillance

|rowspan=2 |N/A

|rowspan=2 |Successful

|rowspan=2 |

|-

||1963-041B

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[October 29]] <br> 21:07 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-5]] 10 (KH-5 9059A)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

|rowspan=2 |Successful

|rowspan=2 |

|-

||Hitch Hiker 2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Radio monitoring

||N/A

|-

||[[November 1]] <br> 08:52 [[GMT]]

||[[Polyot (rocket)|Polyot]] (R-7 11A59)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31|LC-31/6]], [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||[[Polyot 1]]

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Spacecraft engineering

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[November 9]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 24 (1963-008X)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||

|-

||[[November 11]] <br> 06:28 [[GMT]]

||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] (R-7 8K78)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|21|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Zond test

||[[November 14]], [[1963]]

||Partial failure

||Probably a test for Venera flights, escape stage failed

|-

||[[November 16]] <br> 10:48 [[GMT]]

||[[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] (R-7 11A57)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|22|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||First flight of the [[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] carrier rocket

|-

||[[November 27]] <br> 02:24 [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Explorer program|Explorer 18]] (IMP-A)

||[[NASA]]

||[[Highly Elliptical Orbit|HEO]]

||Magnetospheric research

||[[May 10]], [[1965]] (last signal)

||Successful

||

|-

||[[November 27]] <br> 18:57 [[GMT]]

||[[Centaur (rocket stage)|Atlas Centaur-B]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||Atlas Centaur 2

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Centaur performing test

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[November 27]] <br> 21:07 [[GMT]]

||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 25 (KH-4 9061)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Partial failure

||Capsule was not recovered but remained in orbit

|-

||[[November 28]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|23|C}} ([[Zenit (satellite)|Zenit-1]])

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||N/A

||N/A

||'''Failure'''

||Upper stage failed

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[December 5]] <br> 21:51 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Able-Star]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Navy]]

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5BN 2]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Satellite navigation system]]

||N/A

||Successful

||Nuclear powered

|-

||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5E 3]]

||[[US Navy]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Satellite navigation system]]

||N/A

||Successful

||Solar powered

|-

||[[December 13]] <br> 13:55 [[GMT]]

||[[Kosmos (rocket family)|Kosmos]]

||[[Kapustin Yar]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|23|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Engineering, space science

||[[March 27]], [[1964]]

||Successful

||

|-

||[[December 18]] <br> 21:50 [[GMT]]

||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]

||[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-7]] 4

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

||Successful

||

|-

||[[December 19]] <br> 09:21 [[GMT]]

||[[Vostok (rocket)|Vostok-2]] (R-7 8A92)

||[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]

||USSR

||{{Kosmos|24|C}}

||USSR

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||[[December 28]], [[1963]]

||Successful

||Capsule recovered

|-

||[[December 19]] <br> 18:43 [[GMT]]

||[[Scout (rocket family)|Scout X-4]]

||[[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 5|SLC-5]], [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Explorer program|Explorer 19]] (AD A)

||[[NASA]]

||[[Low Earth Orbit|LEO]]

||Atmospheric density measurement

||N/A

||Successful

||Balloon satellite

|-

||[[December 21]] <br> 09:21 <!-- or 09:30? --> [[GMT]]

||[[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-B]]

||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[TIROS|TIROS 8]]

||[[NASA]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||[[Weather satellite]]

||[[July 1]], [[1967]] (deactivated)

||Successful

||

|-

|rowspan=2 |[[December 21]] <br> 21:45 [[GMT]]

|rowspan=2 |[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]

|rowspan=2 |[[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg AFB]]

|rowspan=2 |[[US Air Force]]

||[[KH-4]] 26 (KH-4 9062)

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Surveillance

||N/A

|rowspan=2 |Successful

|rowspan=2 |

|-

||Hitch Hiker 3

||[[US Air Force]]

||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]

||Radar monitoring

||N/A

|-

|-

| [[Heliocentric orbit|Heliocentric]] || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 ||

|}

|}

== Deep Space Rendez-vous in 1963 ==

*[[April 5]] — [[Luna 4]] missed Moon by 8,336 km (lander mission)

*[[June 19]] — [[Mars 1]] flyby of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] (193,000 km), communication lost en route


==References==

==References==

{{TLS-R}}

{{TLS-R}}

===Footnotes===

{{reflist|2}}

<br>

<br>

{{TLS-L|year=1963|nav=on|state=expanded}}

{{start box}}

{{Orbital launches in 1963}}

{{succession box

| title=[[Timeline of spaceflight]]

| years= [[1963]]

| before=[[1962 in spaceflight|1962]]

| after=[[1964 in spaceflight|1964]]}}

{{end}}

[[Category:Space lists]]

[[Category:Timelines of spaceflight|63]]

[[Category:1963 in space exploration]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:1963 In Spaceflight}}

[[ja:1963年の宇宙飛行]]

[[Category:1963 in spaceflight| ]]

[[Category:Spaceflight by year]]

Latest revision as of 23:11, 22 July 2023

For launches in the first half of the year, see 1963 in spaceflight (January–June), for launches in the second half, see 1963 in spaceflight (July–December)

1963 in spaceflight
ANorth American X-15 made two suborbital flights in July and August, becoming the first reusable spacecraft
Orbital launches
First4 January
Last21 December
Total70
Successes50
Failures17
Partial failures3
Catalogued55
Rockets
Maiden flightsAtlas LV-3A Agena-D
Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B
Polyot 11A59
Scout X-2B
Scout X-3M
Scout X-4
Thor DSV-2A Ablestar
TAT SLV-2A Agena-B
TAT SLV-2A Agena-D
Voskhod 11A57
RetirementsAtlas LV-3B
Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B
Scout X-2B
Scout X-2M
Scout X-3M
Crewed flights
Orbital3
Suborbital2
Total travellers4
  • t
  • e
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec →

    • Deep space rendezvous[edit]

    Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
    5 April Luna 4 Flyby of the Moon Failed lander, closest approach: 8,336 kilometres (5,180 mi)
    19 June Mars 1 First flyby of Mars Closest approach: 193,000 kilometres (120,000 mi), communications system failed before flyby

    Notable creations of orbital debris[edit]

    Date/Time (UTC) Source object Event type Pieces tracked Remarks
    9 May[1] Westford-2 Communications experiment 46[1] As part of an experiment to facilitate international telecommunications, the US Military deployed an artificial space ring consisting of hundreds of millions of tiny copper needles[2] which would act as antennas reflecting radio signals at the target wavelength of 8 GHz. A large proportion of the needles were not dispersed properly and remained stuck in clumps that were discovered and tracked by the SSN between 1966 and 1991. As of October 2013, 46 of the 144 detected debris clumps remain in orbit.[1] The needles that were properly dispersed are believed to have decayed.[1]

    This event prompted international protests[3][4][5][6] and influenced the drafting of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.[3]

    Orbital launch summary[edit]

    By country[edit]

      Soviet Union
      United States
    Orbital launch attempts by country in 1963
    Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
    failures     		Remarks
     Soviet Union 24 15 9 0
     United States 46 35 8 3

    By rocket[edit]

    Rocket Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
    Atlas LV-3A Agena-B  United States 3 1 1 1
    Atlas LV-3A Agena-D  United States 5 5 0 0 Maiden flight
    Atlas LV-3B  United States 1 1 0 0 Retired
    Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B  United States 1 1 0 0 Only flight
    Delta B  United States 6 6 0 0
    Delta C  United States 1 1 0 0
    Kosmos-2I 63S1  Soviet Union 8 4 4 0
    Molniya 8K78  Soviet Union 1 0 1 0
    Molniya-L 8K78L  Soviet Union 3 1 2 0 Maiden flight
    Polyot 11A59  Soviet Union 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight
    Scout X-2B  United States 1 0 1 0 Only flight
    Scout X-2M  United States 1 0 1 0 Retired
    Scout X-3  United States 2 0 1 1
    Scout X-3M  United States 1 1 0 0 Only flight
    Scout X-4  United States 2 1 0 1 Maiden flight
    Thor DSV-2A Ablestar  United States 2 2 0 0 Maiden flight
    Thor DM-21 Agena-B  United States 1 1 0 0
    Thor SLV-2 Agena-D (Thor DM-21 Agena-D)  United States 8 6 2 0 Redesignated midyear
    Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-B  United States 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight
    Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-D  United States 10 8 2 0 Maiden flight
    Voskhod 11A57  Soviet Union 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight
    Vostok-K 8K72K  Soviet Union 2 2 0 0
    Vostok-2 8A92  Soviet Union 8 6 2 0

    By orbit[edit]

    Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not Achieved Accidentally
    Achieved     		Remarks
    Low Earth 57 44 13 2
    Medium Earth 5 4 1 0
    High Earth 5 3 2 0 Including Highly elliptical orbits
    Geosynchronous/transfer 2 2 0 0
    Heliocentric 1 0 1 0

    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".
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    • Generic references:


    Spaceflight portal

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ^ a b c d "West Ford Needles: Where are They Now?" (PDF). Orbital Debris Quarterly News. 17 (4). NASA. October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  • ^ Shapiro, I. I.; Jones, H. M.; Perkins, C.W. (May 1964), "Orbital properties of the West Ford dipole belt", Proceedings of the IEEE, 52 (5): 469–518, doi:10.1109/proc.1964.2992
  • ^ a b Terrill Jr., Delbert R. (May 1999), "The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law" (PDF), Air Force History and Museums Program, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press: 63, archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2018, retrieved 13 February 2016
  • ^ Butrica, Andrew J. (ed.), "Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications", history.nasa.gov, The NASA History Series, NASA, archived from the original on 25 December 2017, retrieved 12 July 2017
  • ^ Bondi, H. (June 1962), "West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary", Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3: 99, Bibcode:1962QJRAS...3...99.
  • ^ "Protests Continue Abroad", The New York Times, London (published 23 October 1961), p. 12, 22 October 1961, ISSN 0362-4331



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