This article outlines notable events occurring in 2003 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
First human spaceflight mission from China
Orbital launches
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January
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February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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October
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November
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December
Suborbital launches
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January
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March
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April
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December
Deep Space Rendezvous Date (GMT)SpacecraftEventRemarks19 June Nozomi 3rd flyby of the Earth21 September Galileo Deorbited into the Jovian atmosphere9 December Nozomi Flyby of Mars Damaged by solar flares24 December Beagle 2 Crashed at Isidis Planitia, Mars24 December Mars Express Areocentric orbit injection
EVAs Start date/timeDurationEnd timeSpacecraftCrewFunctionRemarks15 January12:506 hours19:41ISS QuestReleased the remaining launch locks on the P1 radiator assembly, removed debris on a sealing ring of Unity's docking port, and tested an ammonia reservoir on the station's P6 truss.8 April12:406 hours19:06ISS QuestReconfigured cables on the S0 (S-Zero), S1 and P1 trusses, replaced a Power Control Module on the Mobile Transporter, installed Spool Positioning Devices on Destiny, and reinstalled a thermal cover on an S1 Radiator Beam Valve Module.
Orbital launch statistics By country For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport.
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures 1 0 1 0 7 6 1 0 4 4 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 1 0 21 21 0 0 3 3 0 0 23 22 1 0 World
By rocket
By family FamilyCountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks Ariane 4 4 0 0 Atlas 5 5 0 0 Delta 9 9 0 0 GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-II 2 1 1 0 Kaituozhe 1 0 1 0 Long March 6 6 0 0 Mu 1 1 0 0 Pegasus 4 4 0 0 PSLV 1 1 0 0 R-7 10 10 0 0 R-14 3 3 0 0 Space Shuttle 1 0 1 0 Columbia disintegrated on reentry Titan 4 4 0 0 Universal Rocket 8 8 0 0 Zenit 3 3 0 0
By type RocketCountryFamilyLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks Ariane 4 Ariane 1 1 0 0 Final flight Ariane 5 Ariane 3 3 0 0 Atlas II Atlas 1 1 0 0 Atlas III Atlas 2 2 0 0 Atlas V Atlas 2 2 0 0 Delta II Delta 7 7 0 0 Delta IV Delta 2 2 0 0 GSLV GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-IIA H-II 2 1 1 0 Kaituozhe-1 Kaituozhe 1 0 1 0 Kosmos R-12/R-14 3 3 0 0 Long March 2 Long March 3 3 0 0 Long March 3 Long March 2 2 0 0 Long March 4 Long March 1 1 0 0 Molniya R-7 2 2 0 0 M-V Mu 1 1 0 0 Pegasus Pegasus 4 4 0 0 PSLV PSLV 1 1 0 0 Proton Universal Rocket 5 5 0 0 Soyuz R-7 8 8 0 0 Space Shuttle Space Shuttle 1 0 1 0 Titan II Titan 2 2 0 0 Final flight Titan IV Titan 2 2 0 0 UR-100 Universal Rocket 3 3 0 0 Zenit Zenit 3 3 0 0
By configuration RocketCountryTypeLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks Ariane 4 44L Ariane 4 1 1 0 0 Final flight Ariane 5G Ariane 5 3 3 0 0 Final flight Atlas IIAS Atlas II 1 1 0 0 Atlas IIIB Atlas III 2 2 0 0 Atlas V 401 Atlas V 1 1 0 0 Atlas V 521 Atlas V 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Delta II 7320-10C Delta II 1 1 0 0 Delta II 7920H Delta II 1 1 0 0 Delta II 7925H Delta II 2 2 0 0 Delta II 7925–9.5 Delta II 3 3 0 0 Delta IV Medium Delta IV 2 2 0 0 Maiden flight GSLV Mk I GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-IIA 2024 H-IIA 2 1 1 0 Kaituozhe-1 Kaituozhe-1 1 0 1 0 Kosmos-3M Kosmos 3 3 0 0 Long March 2C Long March 2 1 1 0 0 Long March 2D Long March 2 1 1 0 0 Long March 2F Long March 2 1 1 0 0 Long March 3A Long March 3 2 2 0 0 Long March 4B Long March 4 1 1 0 0 Molniya-M Molniya 2 2 0 0 M-V M-V 1 1 0 0 Pegasus-XL Pegasus 4 4 0 0 PSLV-G PSLV 1 1 0 0 Proton-K / DM-2 Proton 3 3 0 0 Proton-K / Briz-M Proton 2 2 0 0 Rokot / Briz-KM UR-100 2 2 0 0 Soyuz-U Soyuz 4 4 0 0 Soyuz-FG Soyuz 2 2 0 0 Soyuz-FG / Fregat Soyuz 2 2 0 0 Space Shuttle Space Shuttle 1 0 1 0 Strela UR-100 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Titan 23G Titan II 1 1 0 0 Final flight Titan 23G / Star 37 Titan II 1 1 0 0 Final flight Titan IV-B (401B) / Centaur Titan IV 2 2 0 0 Final flight Zenit-3SL Zenit 3 3 0 0
By spaceport
SiteCountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks Alcântara 1 0 1 0 Baikonur 14 14 0 0 Cape Canaveral 16 16 0 0 Two launches used Stargazer aircraft Jiuquan 2 2 0 0 Kennedy 1 0 1 0 Kourou 4 4 0 0 Ocean Odyssey International waters 3 3 0 0 Plesetsk 7 7 0 0 Satish Dhawan 2 2 0 0 Taiyuan 2 1 1 0 Tanegashima 2 1 1 0 Uchinoura 1 1 0 0 Vandenberg 6 6 0 0 Two launches used Stargazer aircraft Xichang 3 3 0 0 Total 64 60 4 0
By orbit
Orbital regime Launches Failures Accidentallyachieved RemarksTransatmospheric 0 0 0 0 Low Earth 29 26 3 0 5 to ISS Medium Earth / Molniya 6 6 0 0 Geosynchronous / GTO 23 23 0 0 High Earth / Lunar transfer 1 1 0 0 Heliocentric / Planetary transfer 5 5 0 0 Total 64 61 3 0
References
Footnotes