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m Reverted edits by 207.98.168.88 (talk) to last version by 46.61.152.186
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Documenting the Westford Needles space debris
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| 19 June || [[Mars 1]] || First flyby of [[Mars]] || Closest approach: {{convert|193000|km}}, communications system failed before flyby |
| 19 June || [[Mars 1]] || First flyby of [[Mars]] || Closest approach: {{convert|193000|km}}, communications system failed before flyby |
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== Notable creations of orbital debris == |
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{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;" |
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!Date/Time (UTC) |
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!Source object |
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!Event type |
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!Pieces tracked |
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!Remarks |
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| 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]] | work = Orbital Debris Quarterly News | volume = 17 | issue = 4 | date = October 2013 | accessdate = 13 February 2016}}</ref> |
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| [[Westford Needles | Westford-2]] |
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| Communications experiment |
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| 46<ref name=ODQNv17i4 /> |
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| 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> |
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{{citation |first1=I. I. |last1=Shapiro |first2=H. M. |last2=Jones |last3=Perkins |first3=C.W. |url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1444922&isnumber=31060 |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 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 /> |
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This event prompted international protests<ref name="airforce-history">{{citation |
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| url = http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf |
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|format=PDF| title = The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law |
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| last1 = Terrill Jr. |
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| first1 = Delbert R. |
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| journal = Air Force History and Museums Program |
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| publisher = Air University Press |
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| publication-place = Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama |
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| date = May 1999 |
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| page = 63 |
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}}</ref><ref name="nasa-history">{{citation |
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| url = http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm |
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| title = Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications |
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| series = The NASA History Series |
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| publisher = NASA |
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| work = history.nasa.gov |
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| editor1-last = Butrica |
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| editor1-first = Andrew J. |
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}}</ref><ref name="Bondi1962">{{citation |
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| title = West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary |
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| last1 = Bondi |
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| first1 = H. |
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| date = June 1962 |
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| journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society |
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| volume = 3 |
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| page = 99 |
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| bibcode = 1962QJRAS...3...99. |
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}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1961">{{Citation |
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| last = |
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| first = |
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| author-link = |
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| publication-date = October 23, 1961 |
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| date = October 22, 1961 |
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| title = Protests Continue Abroad |
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| periodical = The New York Times |
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| series = |
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| place = London |
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| publisher = Reuters |
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| volume = |
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| issue = |
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| page = 12 |
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| url = |
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| issn = 0362-4331 |
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| doi = |
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| oclc = |
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| accessdate = |
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}}</ref> and influenced the drafting of the 1967 [[Outer Space Treaty]].<ref name="airforce-history"/> |
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ANorth American X-15 made two suborbital flights in July and August, becoming the first reusable spacecraft
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| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 4 January |
| Last | 21 December |
| Total | 70 |
| Successes | 50 |
| Failures | 17 |
| Partial failures | 3 |
| Catalogued | 55 |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | Atlas 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 |
| Retirements | Atlas LV-3B Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B Scout X-2B Scout X-2M Scout X-3M |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 3 |
| Suborbital | 2 |
| Total travellers | 4 |
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| 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 |
| 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[update], 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] |
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| 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 |
| 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 |
Generic references:
Spaceflight portal
