2004 in spaceflight
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
This article outlines notable events occurring in 2004 in spaceflight , including major launches and EVAs .
First privately funded human spaceflight
First Delta IV Heavy
The first launch of the Delta IV Heavy on 21 December 2004 carried a
boilerplate payload and was a partial failure.
Cavitation in the liquid-oxygen propellant lines caused shutdown of both boosters eight seconds early, and the core engine nine seconds early; this resulted in a lower staging velocity for which the second stage was unable to compensate. The payload was left in a lower than intended orbit.
[ 1]
Launches
Date and time (UTC )
Rocket
Flight number
Launch site
LSP
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat )
Operator
Orbit
Function
Decay (UTC)
Outcome
Remarks
January
11 January 04:13
Zenit-3SL
Ocean Odyssey
Sea Launch
Estrela do Sul 1 (Telstar 14)
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational Partial spacecraft failure
One of the payload's solar panels did not deploy, and several transponders were disabled. Its replacement, Telstar 14R , launched in 2011, suffered a similar issue.
29 January 11:58
Soyuz-U
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskosmos
Progress M1-11
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS )
Logistics
3 June
Successful
ISS flight 13P
February
5 February 23:46
Atlas IIAS
Cape Canaveral SLC-36A
International Launch Services
AMC-10
SES Americom
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
14 February 18:50
Titan IVB (402)/IUS
Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Lockheed Martin
DSP-22
US Air Force
Geosynchronous
Missile warning
In orbit
Operational
18 February 07:05
Molniya-M
Plesetsk Site 16/2
VKS
Kosmos 2405
Molniya
Missile warning
In orbit
Operational
March
2 March 07:17
Ariane 5G+
Kourou ELA-3
Arianespace
Rosetta
ESA
Heliocentric
Comet probe
30 September 2016
Successful
Philae
ESA
Heliocentric
Comet lander
9 July 2015
Successful
Maiden flight of Ariane 5G+ Studied the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and asteroids 2867 Šteins and 21 Lutetia
13 March 05:40
Atlas IIIA
Cape Canaveral SLC-36B
International Launch Services
MBSat
MBSAT
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIIA
15 March 23:06
Proton-M /Briz-M
Baikonur Site 81/24
International Launch Services
Eutelsat W3A
Eutelsat
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
20 March 17:53
Delta II 7925
Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Boeing IDS
GPS IIR-11
US Air Force
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
27 March 03:30
Proton-K /DM-2
Baikonur Site 81/23
VKS
Kosmos 2406 (Raduga-1 )
Russian military
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
April
16 April 00:45
Atlas IIAS
Cape Canaveral SLC-36A
International Launch Services
Superbird 6
SCC
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
18 April 15:59
Long March 2C
Jiuquan
Tansuo 1 (Shiyan 1)
University of Harbin
Low Earth
Land resource mapping
In orbit
Operational
Naxing 1
Tsinghua University
Low Earth
Earth imaging
In orbit
Operational
19 April 03:19
Soyuz-FG
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskosmos
Soyuz TMA-4
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS)
ISS Expedition 9
24 October
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
20 April 16:57
Delta II 7920
Vandenberg SLC-2W
Boeing IDS
Gravity Probe B
NASA
Low Earth
Test Einstein's Theory of relativity
In orbit
Successful
26 April 20:37
Proton-K/DM-2M
Baikonur Site 200/39
Ekspress AM11
RSCC
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Decommissioned[ 2]
May
4 May 12:42
Zenit-3SL
Ocean Odyssey
Sea Launch
DirecTV-7S
DirecTV
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
17 May 11:12
GoFast
Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
CSXT
CSXT
Suborbital
Test spacecraft
17 May
Successful
First amateur space launch (apogee: 116 km)[ 3]
19 May 22:22
Atlas IIAS
Cape Canaveral SLC-36B
International Launch Services
AMC-11
SES Americom
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
20 May 17:47
Taurus 3120
Vandenberg LC-576E
Orbital Sciences
FORMOSAT-2 (ROCSAT-2)
NSPO
Low Earth
Earth imaging
In orbit
Operational
25 May 12:34
Soyuz-U
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskosmos
Progress M-49
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS)
Logistics
30 July
Successful
ISS flight 14P
28 May 06:00
Tsyklon-2
Baikonur Site 90/20
VKS
Kosmos 2405
VMF
Low Earth
Reconnaissance
In orbit
Operational
June
10 June 01:28
Zenit-2
Baikonur Site 45/1
VKS
Kosmos 2406
VKS
Low Earth
Signals intelligence
In orbit
Operational
16 June 22:27
Proton-M/Briz-M
Baikonur Site 200/39
International Launch Services
Intelsat 10-02
Intelsat
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
21 June 14:47
SpaceShipOne
White Knight , Mojave Spaceport
Scaled Composites
Flight 15P
Scaled Composites
Suborbital
Test spacecraft
21 June
Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill ) First privately funded crewed spaceflight Maiden flight of SpaceShipOne as a spacecraft
23 June 22:54
Delta II 7925
Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Boeing IDS
GPS IIR-12
US Air Force
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
29 June 03:59
Zenit-3SL
Ocean Odyssey
Sea Launch
Telstar 18
Loral /Apstar
Intended: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth
Communications
In orbit
Partial launch failure
Premature cutout left payload in useless orbit
29 June 06:30
Dnepr
Baikonur Site 109/95
ISC Kosmotras
LatinSat D (AprizeSat 2)
Aprize
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
Demeter
CNES
Low Earth
Seismology
In orbit
Operational
SaudiComsat 1
RSRI
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
SaudiComsat 2
RSRI
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
SaudiSat 2
RSRI
Low Earth
Earth imaging
In orbit
Operational
LatinSat C (AprizeSat 1)
Aprize
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
Unisat 3
Sapienza University of Rome
Low Earth
Technology development
In orbit
Operational
Amsat Echo
AMSAT
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
July
15 July 10:02
Delta II 7920-10L
Vandenberg SLC-2W
Boeing IDS
Aura
NASA
Sun-synchronous (A-train )
Atmospheric research
In orbit
Operational
18 July 00:44
Ariane 5G+
Kourou ELA-3
Arianespace
Anik F2
Telesat
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
22 July 17:46
Kosmos-3M
Plesetsk Site 132/1
VKS
Kosmos 2409 (Parus )
Low Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
25 July 07:05
Long March 2C
Taiyuan
Tan Ce 2
CASC /ESA
High Earth (High-eccentricity )
Magnetosphere research
In orbit
Operational
August
3 August 07:18
Delta II 7925H
Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Boeing IDS
MESSENGER
NASA
Mercurian
Mercury probe
30 April 2015
Successful
Became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury on 4 April 2011
4 August 22:32
Proton-M/Briz-M
Baikonur Site 200/39
International Launch Services
Amazonas
Hispasat
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
11 August 05:03
Soyuz-U
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskosmos
Progress M-50
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS)
Logistics
22 December
Successful
ISS flight 15P
29 August 07:50
Long March 2C
Jiuquan
FSW-19 (FSW-2)
Geosynchronous
Earth imaging
7 November 23:55
Successful
31 August 23:17
Atlas IIAS
Cape Canaveral SLC-36A
International Launch Services
SDS-3-4 (USA-179 )
NRO
Geosynchronous
Classified
In orbit
Operational
Final flight of Atlas IIAS
September
6 September 10:35
Shavit-1
Palmachim
Ofeq-6
Intended: Low Earth (retrograde )
Reconnaissance
T+270
Launch failure
Loss of control during third stage burn
8 September 23:14
Long March 4B
Taiyuan
Shijian 6-01A
CASC
Low Earth
Technology demonstration
In orbit
Operational
Shijian 6-01B
CASC
Low Earth
Technology demonstration
In orbit
Operational
20 September 10:31
GSLV
Satish Dhawan FLP
ISRO
EDUSAT (GSAT-3)
ISRO
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
23 September 15:07
Kosmos-3M
Plesetsk Site 132/1
VKS
Kosmos 2408
Russian military
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
Kosmos 2409
Russian military
Low Earth
Communications
In orbit
Operational
24 September 16:50
Soyuz-U
Plestsk Site 16/2
VKS
Kosmos 2410
Russian military
Low Earth
Reconnaissance
9 January 2005
Failure
Re-entry capsule could not be located
27 September 08:00
Long March 2D
Jiuquan
FSW-20 (FSW-3)
Low Earth
Earth imaging
In orbit
Operational
29 September 15:12
SpaceShipOne
White Knight, Mojave Spaceport
Scaled Composites
Flight 16P
Scaled Composites
Suborbital
Ansari X Prize qualification
29 September
Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Mike Melvill)
October
4 October 14:49
SpaceShipOne
White Knight, Mojave Spaceport
Scaled Composites
Flight 17P
Scaled Composites
Suborbital
Ansari X Prize qualification
4 October
Successful
Crewed sub-orbital flight with 1 astronaut (Brian Binnie ) Final flight of SpaceShipOne
14 October 03:06
Soyuz-FG
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskosmos
Soyuz TMA-5
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS)
ISS Expedition 10
24 April 2005
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts
14 October 21:23
Proton-M/Briz-M
Baikonur Site 200/39
International Launch Services
AMC-15
SES Americom
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
19 October 01:20
Long March 3A
Xichang
Feng Yun 2C
Geosynchronous
Weather satellite
In orbit
Operational
29 October 22:11
Proton-K/DM-2M
Baikonur Site 200/39
Ekspress AM-1
RSCC
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
November
6 November 03:10
Long March 4B
Taiyuan
Zi Yuan 2C
Geosynchronous
Earth imaging
In orbit
Operational
6 November 05:39
Delta II 7925
Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Boeing IDS
GPS IIR-13
US Air Force
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
8 November 18:30
Soyuz-2.1a
Plesetsk Site 43/4
Zenit-8 (Obilik)
Suborbital
Test carrier rocket
8 November
Successful
Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1a
18 November 10:45
Long March 2C
Xichang
Shiyan 2
Low Earth
Earth observation
In orbit
Operational
20 November 17:16
Delta II 7320
Cape Canaveral SLC-17A
Boeing IDS
Swift
NASA
Low Earth
Gamma-ray research
In orbit
Operational
December
14 December
Taiwan Sounding Rocket
Sounding Rocket IV
Jiu Peng Air Base
NSPO
Airglow photometer, GPS receiver[ 4]
NSPO
Suborbital
Airglow research, technology test
14 December
Successful
Apogee: ~280 km (174 mi)
17 December 12:07
Atlas V 521
Cape Canaveral SLC-41
International Launch Services
AMC-16
SES Americom
Geosynchronous
Communications
In orbit
Operational
18 December 16:26
Ariane 5G+
Kourou ELA-3
Arianespace
Helios 2A
DGA
Low Earth
Reconnaissance
In orbit
Operational
Nanosat 01
INTA
Low Earth
Technology demonstration
In orbit
Operational
Essaim 1
DGA
Low Earth
ELINT
In orbit
Operational
Essaim 2
DGA
Low Earth
ELINT
In orbit
Operational
Essaim 3
DGA
Low Earth
ELINT
In orbit
Operational
Essaim 4
DGA
Low Earth
ELINT
In orbit
Operational
Parasol
CNES
Sun-synchronous (A-train)
Aeronomy
In orbit
Operational
Final flight of Ariane 5G+
21 December 21:50
Delta IV Heavy 9250H
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B
Boeing IDS
DemoSat (USA-181 )
US Air Force
Intended: Subsynchronous Actual: Medium Earth
Test launch vehicle
In orbit
Partial launch failure
Sparkie (3CSat1 )
US Air Force
Low Earth
Cloud imaging
22 December
Satellite failure
Ralphie (3CSat2 )
US Air Force
Low Earth
Cloud imaging
22 December
Satellite failure
Maiden flight of Delta IV Heavy Premature cut-off of second stage (burn one) left all payloads in wrong orbits. Both nanosats failed to contact ground after separation
22 December
R-36
Dombarovskiy
RVSN
Dummy warhead
RVSN
Suborbital
Missile test
22 December
Successful
23 December 22:19
Soyuz-U
Baikonur Site 1/5
Roskomsos
Progress M-51
Roskosmos
Low Earth (ISS)
Logistics
9 March 2005
Successful
ISS flight 16P
24 December 11:20
Tsyklon-3
Plesetsk Site 32/2
VKS
Sich-1M
NKAU
Low Earth
Earth observation
In orbit
Partial launch failure
MK-1TS
NKAU
Low Earth
Earth observation
Both satellites placed into incorrect orbits due to premature third stage cutoff
26 December 13:53
Proton-K/DM-2
Baikonur Site 200/39
VKS
Kosmos 2411 (GLONASS )
KNITs
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
Kosmos 2412 (GLONASS)
KNITs
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
Kosmos 2413 (GLONASS)
KNITs
Medium Earth
Navigation
In orbit
Operational
Deep Space Rendezvous
EVAs
Start Date/Time
Duration
End Time
Spacecraft
Crew
Function
Remarks
26 February 21:17
3 hours55 minutes
27 February 01:12
Expedition 8 ISS Pirs
/Michael Foale Alexander Kaleri
Replaced microgravity experiment cassette containers, attached the Russian experiment Matryoshka to Zvezda , and removed a JAXA micro-meteor impact experiment.[ 5]
Reduced duration due a cooling system malfunction in Kaleri's spacesuit.
24 June 21:56
14 minutes
22:10
Expedition 9 ISS Pirs
Gennady Padalka Michael Fincke
Spacewalk cut short due to a pressure problem in Fincke's prime oxygen tank in his spacesuit.[ 6] [ 7]
Rescheduled for 30 June.
30 June 21:19
5 hours 40 minutes
1 July 02:59
Expedition 9 ISS Pirs
Gennady Padalka Michael Fincke
Replaced a Remote Power Controller (RPC) that failed in late April, causing a loss of power in Control Moment Gyroscope No. 2 (CMG 2).[ 6] [ 8]
3 August 06:58
4 hours 30 minutes
11:28
Expedition 9 ISS Pirs
Gennady Padalka Michael Fincke
Removed laser retro reflectors from the Zvezda assembly compartment, and installed three updated laser retro reflectors and one internal videometer target in preparation for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). Installed two antennas, and removed and replaced Kromka experiment packages.[ 6] [ 9]
3 September 16:43
5 hours 20 minutes
22:04
Expedition 9 ISS Pirs
Gennady Padalka Michael Fincke
Replaced the Zarya Control Module flow control panel, installed four safety tether fairleads on Zarya's handrails, installed three communications antennas, and removed covers from the antennas.[ 6] [ 10]
Orbital launch summary
By country
By rocket
By family
By type
By configuration
By spaceport
China
France
India
International waters
Israel
Kazakhstan
Russia
United States
By orbit
Transatmospheric
Low Earth
Low Earth (ISS)
Low Earth (SSO)
Low Earth (retrograde)
Medium Earth
Geosychronous (transfer)
Inclined GSO
High Earth
Heliocentric
References
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).
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
January February March April May June July August September October November December
AMC-16
Helios IIA , Nanosat 01 , Essaim 1 , Essaim 2 , Essaim 3 , Essaim 4 , Parasol
HLVOLSDP , Sparkie , Ralphie
Progress M-51
Sich-1M , MK-1TS
Kosmos 2411 , Kosmos 2412 , Kosmos 2413
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).