1963 in spaceflight
5196868
197776680
2008-03-12T18:52:39Z
GW Simulations
596246
cleanup tag
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Timeline of spaceflight/Cleanup|date=yes|templte=yes|incomplete=yes|dialect=yes|EOM=yes|q=yes|refs=yes}}
==Launches==
This is a list of [[spaceflight]]s launched in [[1963]].
{{incomplete list}}
{| border="2" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #555 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Launch Date/Time
! [[Rocket]]
! Launch <br> Site
! Launch Contractor
! Payload
! Operator
! [[Orbit]]
! Mission/<br>Function
! Re-Entry/<br>Destruction
! Outcome
! Remarks
|-
||[[January 4]] <br> 07:12 [[GMT]]
||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya-L]]
||[[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
|-
||[[January 7]] <br> 21:07 [[GMT]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[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]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Samos (satellite)|Samos F2-3]] (Ferret 2)
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[February 2]]
||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya-L]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Luna 1963B]] (Luna 4d)
||USSR
||Intended: [[Moon|lunar]] landing
||Lunar exploration
||[[February 2]], [[1963]]
||'''Failure'''
||Failure of upper stage gyro
|-
||[[February 14]] <br> 05:16 [[GMT]]
||[[Delta rocket|Delta-B]]
||[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17|LC-17]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]
||[[NASA]]
||[[Syncom|Syncom 1]]
||[[NASA]]
||[[Geosynchronous orbit]]
||[[Communications satellite]]
||Still in orbit
||'''Failure'''
||First satellite to reach geosynchronous orbit, but only after loss of signal
|-
||[[February 19]] <br> 16:33 [[GMT]]
||[[Scout (rocket)|Scout X-3M]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Defense Meteorological Satellite Program|DMSP-2A F1]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Military [[weather satellite]]
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[February 28]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||KH-4 19
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[March 18]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||KH-6 1
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[March 18]], [[1963]]
||'''Failure'''
||Failed to reach orbit due to guidance malfunction
|-
||[[March 21]] <br> 08:24 [[GMT]]
||[[Vostok rocket|Vostok-2]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 13]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[March 29]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[March 28]] <br> 20:11 [[GMT]]
||[[Saturn I (rocket)|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
||
|-
||[[April 1]] <br> 22:05 [[GMT]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[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
|-
||[[April 2]] <br> 08:04 [[GMT]]
||[[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya-L]]
||[[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
|-
||[[April 3]] <br> 01:55 [[GMT]]
||[[Delta rocket|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
||
|-
||[[April 5]]
||[[Scout (rocket)|Scout X-3]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Navy]]
||[[Transit (satellite)|Transit 5A 2]]
||[[US Navy]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||[[Satellite navigation system]]
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[April 6]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (14)]]
||Soviet Academy of Sciences
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Experimental [[weather satellite]]
||[[April 6]], [[1963]]
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[April 13]] <br> 11:02 [[GMT]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 14]]
||Soviet Academy of Sciences
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Experimental [[weather satellite]]
||[[August 29]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||First Soviet weather satellite
|-
||[[April 22]] <br> 08:24 [[GMT]]
||[[Vostok rocket|Vostok-2]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 15]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[April 27]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[April 25]] <br> 20:11 [[GMT]]
||[[Saturn I (rocket)|Saturn I (C1)]]
||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
||
|-
||[[April 26]]
||[[Scout (rocket)|Scout X-2M]]
||[[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'''
||
|-
||[[April 26]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||KH-5 8
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[April 28]] <br> 09:36 [[GMT]]
||[[Vostok rocket|Vostok-2]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 16]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[May 8]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[May 7]] <br> 11:31 [[GMT]]
||[[Delta rocket|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
||
|-
| rowspan=5 |[[May 9]] <br> 20:09 [[GMT]]
| rowspan=5 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]
| rowspan=5 |[[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 |
|-
||Dash-1
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]
||Experimental balloon satellite
||N/A
|-
||TRS-5 (ERS-5)
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]
||Solar cell damage test
||N/A
|-
||TRS-6 (ERS-6)
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]
||Solar cell damage test
||N/A
|-
||West Ford 2
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Medium Earth Orbit|MEO]]
||Radio reflective experiment
||N/A
|-
||[[May 15]] <br> 13:04 [[GMT]]
||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas D]]
||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
|-
||[[May 18]] <br> 22:34 [[GMT]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[Vandenberg AFB]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||KH-6 2
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||reached orbit but Agena failed in flight
|-
||[[May 22]] <br> 03:07 [[GMT]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 17]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[May 24]] <br> 10:48 [[GMT]]
||[[Vostok rocket|Vostok-2]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 18]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[June 2]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[June 1]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (19a)]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||N/A
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
| rowspan=3 |[[June 12]]
| rowspan=3 |[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-B]]
| rowspan=3 |[[Vandenberg AFB]]
| rowspan=3 |[[US Air Force]]
||[[MIDAS 8]]
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
| rowspan=3 |'''Failure'''
| rowspan=3 |
|-
||TRS-7 (ERS-7)
||[[US Air Force]]
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Solar cell damage test
||N/A
|-
||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 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|R-7 8K72K (Vostok/A-1)]]
||LC-1, [[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|R-7 8K72K (Vostok/A-1)]]
||LC-1, [[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 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)|Scout X-3]]
||[[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|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 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)|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 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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (19b)]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||N/A
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[July 12]] <br> 20:38 [[GMT]]
||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]
||[[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 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 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]] [[X-15]]
||[[B-52]], [[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|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 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
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 19]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[August 22]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (20)]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||'''Failure'''
||
|-
||[[August 23]] <br> 18:05 [[GMT]]
||[[North American Aviation|North American]] [[X-15]]
||[[B-52]], [[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 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 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 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 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)|Scout X-2B]]
||[[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 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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 20]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[October 26]], [[1963]]
||Success
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[October 24]]
||Kosmos
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (21)]]
||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 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 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]]
||11A59 I1
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Polyot 1]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Spacecraft engineering
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[November 9]]
||[[PGM-17 Thor|Thor Agena-D]]
||[[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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos 21]]
||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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 22]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||N/A
||Successful
||
|-
||[[November 27]] <br> 02:24 [[GMT]]
||[[Delta rocket|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 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 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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos (23)]] (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 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
||[[Kapustin Yar]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 23]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Engineering, space science
||[[March 27]], [[1964]]
||Successful
||
|-
||[[December 18]] <br> 21:50 [[GMT]]
||[[Atlas (missile)|Atlas Agena-D]]
||[[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]]
||[[Baikonur]]
||USSR
||[[Cosmos (satellite)|Cosmos 24]]
||USSR
||[[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
||Surveillance
||[[December 28]], [[1963]]
||Successful
||Capsule recovered
|-
||[[December 19]] <br> 18:43 [[GMT]]
||[[Scout (rocket)|Scout X-4]]
||[[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|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 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
|-
|}
== 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==
{{TLS-R}}
<br>
{{start box}}
{{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]]