1963_in_spaceflight
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)
Quick Facts Orbital launches, First ...
 A North American X-15 made two suborbital flights in July and August, becoming the first reusable spacecraft | |
| 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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More information Date (GMT), Spacecraft ...
| 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 |
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More information Date/Time (UTC), Source object ...
| 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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By country
| ||||||
| Orbital launch attempts by country in 1963 | ||||||
More information Country, Launches ...
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Soviet Union | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | |
 United States | 46 | 35 | 8 | 3 |
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By rocket
More information Rocket, Country ...
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By orbit
More information Orbital regime, Launches ...
| 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 |
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- 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).
Footnotes
- "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
- 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.