Launches
This is a list of spaceflights launched in 2004.
| Launch Date/Time |
Rocket |
Launch
Site |
Launch Contractor |
Payload |
Operator |
Orbit |
Mission/
Function |
Re-Entry/
Destruction |
Outcome |
Remarks |
11 January
04:13 GMT |
Zenit 3SL |
Ocean Odyssey,
Pacific Ocean |
Sea Launch |
Estrela do Sul 1 (Telstar 14) |
|
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still In orbit |
Successful so far |
|
29 January
11:58 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Progress 13P |
RFSA |
LEO, docked to ISS |
Resupply ISS |
3 June 2004 |
Successful |
|
5 February
23:46 GMT |
Atlas IIAS |
LC-36A, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
AMC 10 |
SES AMERICOM |
GSO |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
14 February
18:50 GMT |
Titan IVB/IUS |
LC-40, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
DSP 22 |
US Air Force |
GSO |
Missile Warning |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
18 February
07:05 GMT |
Molniya-M (R-7 8K78) |
LC-16, Plesetsk |
RFSA |
Molniya-1T |
|
Molniya |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful |
|
2 March
07:17 GMT |
Ariane 5G+ |
ELA-3, CSG(Kourou) |
Arianespace |
Rosetta |
ESA |
Heliocentric |
Comet probe |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Philae |
ESA |
Heliocentric |
Comet lander |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
13 March
05:40 GMT |
Atlas IIIA |
LC-36B, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
MBSAT |
MBSAT |
GSO |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
15 March
23:06 GMT |
Proton-M |
LC-81, Baikonur |
ILS |
Eutelsat W3A |
Eutelsat |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
20 March
17:53 GMT |
Delta II (7925) |
LC-17B, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
GPS 2R-11 |
NAVSTAR |
MEO |
Global Positioning System |
|
Successful so far |
|
27 March
03:30 GMT |
Proton-K/DM-2 |
LC-81, Baikonur |
|
Raduga-1 (Kosmos 2406) |
Russian military |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
16 April
00:45 GMT |
Atlas IIAS |
LC-36A, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
Superbird 6 |
Space Communications Corporation |
GSO |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
18 April
15:59 GMT |
Long March 2C (CZ-2C) |
LC-1, Jiuquan |
|
Tansuo 1 (Shiyan 1) |
University of Harbin |
LEO |
Land resource mapping |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Naxing 1 |
Tsinghua University |
LEO |
Earth Imaging |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
19 April
03:19 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Soyuz TMA-4
3 Cosmonauts |
RFSA |
LEO - docked to ISS |
Manned orbital flight |
24 October 2004 |
Successful |
ISS Expedition 9 |
20 April
16:57 GMT |
Delta II (7920) |
SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB |
|
Gravity Probe B |
NASA |
LEO |
Test Einstein's Theory of relativity. |
Still In Orbit |
Successful |
|
26 April
20:37 GMT |
Proton-K/DM-2M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
|
Ekspress AM-11 |
PO Kosmicheskaya Sviaz |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
4 May
12:42 GMT |
Zenit 3SL |
Ocean Odyssey,
Pacific Ocean |
Sea Launch |
DIRECTV 7S |
DIRECTV |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still In orbit |
Successful so far |
|
19 May
22:22 GMT |
Atlas IIAS |
LC-36B, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
AMC 11 |
SES AMERICOM |
GSO |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
20 May
17:47 GMT |
Taurus (3120) |
LC-576E, Vandenberg AFB |
Orbital Sciences |
FORMOSAT-2 (ROCSAT-2) |
NSPO |
LEO |
Earth Imaging |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
25 May
12:34 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Progress 14P |
RFSA |
LEO, docked to ISS |
Resupply ISS |
30 July 2004 |
Successful |
|
28 May
06:00 GMT |
Tsiklon-2 |
LC-90, Baikonur |
|
Kosmos 2405 |
Russian Navy |
LEO |
Reconnaissance |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
10 June
01:28 GMT |
Zenit-2 |
LC-45L, Baikonur |
|
Kosmos 2406 |
VKA |
LEO |
Sigint |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
16 June
22:27 GMT |
Proton-M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
ILS |
Intelsat 10-02 |
Intelsat |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
21 June
14:47 GMT |
SpaceShipOne |
White Knight, Mojave Spaceport |
Scaled Composites |
Flight 15P
1 Astronaut (Mike Melvill) |
Scaled Composites |
Sub-orbital |
Manned sub-orbital flight |
21 June 2004 |
Successful |
First privately funded manned spaceflight
Maiden flight of SpaceShipOne as a spacecraft |
23 June
22:54 GMT |
Delta II (7925) |
LC-17B, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
GPS 2R-12 |
NAVSTAR |
MEO |
Global Positioning System |
|
Successful so far |
|
29 June
03:59 GMT |
Zenit 3SL |
Ocean Odyssey,
Pacific Ocean |
Sea Launch |
Telstar 18 |
Loral/APT |
Intended: Geosynchronous
Actual: HEO |
Comsat |
Still In orbit |
Failure |
Premature cutout left payload in useless orbit |
29 June
06:30 GMT |
Dnepr (Dnipro) |
LC-109, Baikonur |
ISC Kosmotras |
LatinSat D (AprizeSat 2) |
Aprize |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Demeter |
CNES |
LEO |
Seismology |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Saudicomsat 1 |
Riyadh Space Research Institute |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Saudicomsat 2 |
Riyadh Space Research Institute |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Saudisat 2 |
Riyadh Space Research Institute |
LEO |
Earth Imaging |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| LatinSat C (AprizeSat 1) |
Aprize |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Unisat 3 |
La Sapienza |
LEO |
Technology Development |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Amsat Echo |
Amsat |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
15 July
10:02 GMT |
Delta II (7920) |
SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB |
|
Aura |
NASA |
LEO |
Atmospheric research |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
18 July
00:44 GMT |
Aérospatiale Ariane 5G |
ELA-3 CSG (Kourou) |
Arianespace |
Anik F2 |
Telesat Canada |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful so far |
|
22 July
17:46 GMT |
Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M) |
LC-132, Plesetsk |
|
Kosmos-2409 |
|
LEO |
Navigation satellite |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
25 July
07:05 GMT |
Long March 2C (CZ-2C) |
LC-1, Taiyuan |
|
Tan Ce 2 |
CASC/ESA |
LEO/HEO (High-eccentricity) |
Magnetosphere research |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
3 August
07:18 GMT |
Boeing Delta II (7925H) |
LC-17B, Cape Canaveral |
|
MESSENGER |
NASA |
Currently: Heliocentric orbit
Planned:Mercurian Orbit |
Probe to explore Mercury |
Still in orbit |
Successful so far |
Will become first spacecraft to orbit Mercury |
4 August
22:32 GMT |
Proton-M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
ILS |
Amazonas |
Hispasat |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
11 August
05:03 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Progress 15P |
RFSA |
LEO, docked to ISS |
Resupply ISS |
22 December 2004 |
Successful |
|
29 August
07:50 GMT |
Long March 2C |
SLS, Jiuquan |
|
FSW-2 (FSW-19) |
|
Geosynchronous |
Earth Imaging |
7 November, 23:55 GMT |
Successful |
|
31 August
23:17 GMT |
Atlas IIAS |
LC-36A, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
Classified (USA-179) |
NRO |
|
Classified |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
Final flight of Atlas II |
6 September
10:35 GMT |
Shaviyt 1 |
Palmachim Beach |
|
'Ofeq-6 |
Tsahal |
Intended: LEO |
Reconnaissance |
T+270 |
Failure |
Loss of control during third stage burn |
8 September
23:14 GMT |
Long March 4B (CZ-4B) |
LC-1, Taiyuan |
|
Shi Jian 6A |
CASC |
LEO |
Technology demonstration |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Shi Jian 6B |
CASC |
LEO |
Technology demonstration |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
20 September
10:31 GMT |
GSLV |
Sriharikota |
|
EDUSAT (GSAT-3) |
ISRO |
Geosynchronous |
Educational comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
23 September
15:07 GMT |
Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M) |
LC-132, Plesetsk |
|
Kosmos 2408 |
Russian military |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Kosmos 2409 |
Russian military |
LEO |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
24 September
16:50 GMT |
Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U) |
LC-16, Plesetsk |
|
Kosmos 2410 |
Russian military |
LEO |
Reconnaissance |
9 January 2005 |
Failure |
Re-entry capsule could not be located |
27 September
08:00 GMT |
Long March 2D |
SLS, Jiuquan |
|
FSW-3 (FSW 20) |
|
LEO |
Earth Imaging |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
29 September
15:12 GMT |
SpaceShipOne |
White Knight, Mojave Spaceport |
Scaled Composites |
Flight 16P
1 Astronaut (Mike Melvill) |
Scaled Composites |
Sub-orbital |
Manned sub-orbital flight |
29 September 2004 |
Successful |
First of two flights necessary to claim Ansari X Prize. |
4 October
14:49 GMT |
SpaceShipOne |
White Knight, Mojave Spaceport |
Scaled Composites |
Flight 17P
1 Astronaut (Brian Binnie) |
Scaled Composites |
Sub-orbital |
Manned sub-orbital flight |
4 October 2004 |
Successful |
Second of two flights necessary to claim Ansari X Prize
Final flight of SpaceShipOne |
14 October
03:06 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Soyuz TMA-5
3 Cosmonauts |
RFSA |
LEO - docked to ISS |
Manned orbital flight |
24 April 2005 |
Successful |
ISS Expedition 10 |
14 October
21:23 GMT |
Proton-M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
ILS |
Americom 15 |
SES Americom |
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
19 October
01:20 GMT |
Long March 3A (CZ-3A) |
LC-2, Xichang |
|
Feng Yun 2C |
|
Geosynchronous |
Weather satellite |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
29 October
22:11 GMT |
Proton-K/DM-2M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
|
Ekspress AM-1 |
|
Geosynchronous |
Comsat |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
6 November
03:10 GMT |
Long March 4B (CZ-4B) |
LC-1, Taiyuan |
|
Zi Yuan 2C |
|
Geosynchronous |
Earth Imaging |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
6 November
05:39 GMT |
Delta II (7925) |
LC-17B, Cape Canaveral |
US Air Force |
GPS 2R-13 |
NAVSTAR |
MEO |
Global Positioning System |
Still in orbit |
Successful so far |
|
8 November
18:30 GMT |
Soyuz 2 (R-7/Soyuz ST) |
LC-43, Plesetsk |
|
Zenit 8 (Obilik) |
|
Sub-orbital |
Test carrier rocket |
8 November 2004 |
Successful |
Maiden flight of Soyuz 2. |
18 November
10:45 GMT |
Long March 2C (CZ-2C) |
LC-1, Xichang |
|
Shiyan Weixing 2 |
|
LEO |
Earth Observation |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
20 November
17:16 GMT |
Delta II (7320) |
LC-17A, Cape Canaveral |
|
Swift |
NASA |
LEO |
Gamma-ray research |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
17 December
12:07 GMT |
Atlas V (521) |
LC-41, Cape Canaveral |
ILS |
AMC 16 |
SES AMERICOM |
GSO |
Comsat |
Still In Orbit |
Successful so far |
|
18 December
16:26 GMT |
Ariane 5G+ |
ELA-3, CSG(Kourou) |
Arianespace |
Helios 2A |
DGA |
LEO |
Reconnaissance |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Nanosat 01 |
INTA |
LEO |
Technology demonstration |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Essaim 1 |
DGA |
LEO |
ELINT |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Essaim 2 |
DGA |
LEO |
ELINT |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Essaim 3 |
DGA |
LEO |
ELINT |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Essaim 4 |
DGA |
LEO |
ELINT |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Parasol |
CNES |
LEO |
Aeronomy |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
21 December
21:50 GMT |
Delta IVH (9250H) |
LC-37B, Cape Canaveral |
|
DemoSat (USA 181) |
US Air Force |
Intended: Subsynchronous Actual: MEO |
Test launch vehicle |
Still in orbit |
Partial 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 |
| Sparkie (3CSat1) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Cloud imaging |
~22 December 2004 |
Failure |
| Ralphie (3CSat2) |
US Air Force |
LEO |
Cloud imaging |
~22 December 2004 |
Failure |
| 22 December |
R-36 (Satan) |
Dombarovskiy |
RVSN |
Dummy warhead |
RVSN |
Sub-orbital |
ICBM test |
22 December 2004 |
Successful |
|
23 December
22:19 GMT |
Soyuz (R-7/A-2) |
LC-1, Baikonur |
RFSA |
Progress 16P |
RFSA |
LEO, docked to ISS |
Resupply ISS |
9 March 2005 |
Successful |
|
24 December
11:20 GMT |
Tsiklon 3 |
LC-32, Plesetsk |
|
Sich-1M |
NKAU |
LEO |
Earth Observation |
Still in orbit |
Partial failure |
Placed in incorrect orbit due to premature 3rd stage cutoff |
| MK-1TS |
NKAU |
LEO |
Earth Observation |
Still in orbit |
26 December
13:53 GMT |
Proton-K/DM-2M |
LC-200, Baikonur |
|
Kosmos 2411 |
KNITs |
MEO |
Glonass Navigation |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Kosmos 2412 |
KNITs |
MEO |
Glonass Navigation |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
| Kosmos 2413 |
KNITs |
MEO |
Glonass Navigation |
Still in orbit |
Successful So Far |
|
Deep Space Rendezvous in 2004
References
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