View source for 1963 in spaceflight

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox Year in spaceflight
|year = 1963
|image = X15 on B52 wing pylon.jpg
|caption = A [[North American X-15]] made two suborbital flights in July and August, becoming the first reusable spacecraft

|first = 4 January
|last = 21 December
|total = 70
|success = 50
|failed = 17
|partial = 3
|catalogued = 55

|maidens = [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-D]]<br/>[[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]]<br/>[[Polyot (rocket)|Polyot]] 11A59<br/>[[Scout X-2B]]<br/>[[Scout X-3M]]<br/>[[Scout X-4]]<br/>[[Thor-Ablestar|Thor DSV-2A Ablestar]]<br/>[[Thor-Agena|TAT SLV-2A Agena-B]]<br/>[[Thor-Agena|TAT SLV-2A Agena-D]]<br/>[[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] 11A57
|retired = [[Atlas LV-3B]]<br/>[[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]]<br/>[[Scout X-2B]]<br/>[[Scout X-2M]]<br/>[[Scout X-3M]]

|suborbital = 2
|orbital = 3
|totalcrew = 4
}}

{{Infobox spaceflight
| programme          = [[Timeline of spaceflight]]
| previous_mission   = [[1962 in spaceflight|1962]]
| next_mission       = [[1964 in spaceflight|1964]]
}}

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{{TLS-M|1963|quarter=yes}}

== Orbital and Suborbital launches ==
{{Main|1963 in spaceflight (January–March)|1963 in spaceflight (April-June)|1963 in spaceflight (July–September)|1963 in spaceflight (October-December)}}

== Deep space rendezvous ==
{| class=wikitable width="100%"
!Date (GMT)
!Spacecraft
!Event
!Remarks
|-
| 5 April     || [[Luna 4]]    || Flyby of the [[Moon]] || Failed lander, closest approach: {{convert|8336|km}}
|-
| 19 June     || [[Mars 1]]    || First flyby of [[Mars]]     || Closest approach: {{convert|193000|km}}, communications system failed before flyby
|-
|}

== Notable creations of orbital debris ==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
!Date/Time (UTC)
!Source object
!Event type
!Pieces tracked
!Remarks

|-
| 9 May<ref name=ODQNv17i4>{{cite journal|url=http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv17i4.pdf |title=West Ford Needles: Where are They Now? |publisher=[[NASA]] |journal=Orbital Debris Quarterly News |volume=17 |issue=4 |date=October 2013 |access-date=13 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305035905/http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv17i4.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>
| [[Westford Needles|Westford-2]]
| Communications experiment
| 46<ref name=ODQNv17i4 />
| 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<ref>
{{citation |first1=I. I. |last1=Shapiro |first2=H. M. |last2=Jones |last3=Perkins |first3=C.W. |title=Orbital properties of the West Ford dipole belt |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=52 |issue=5 |date=May 1964 |pages=469–518 |doi=10.1109/proc.1964.2992}}</ref> which would act as antennas reflecting radio signals at the target wavelength of 8&nbsp;GHz. A large proportion of the needles were not dispersed properly and remained stuck in clumps that were discovered and tracked by the [[Space Surveillance Network|SSN]] between 1966 and 1991. {{asof|2013|10}}, 46 of the 144 detected debris clumps remain in orbit.<ref name=ODQNv17i4 /> The needles that were properly dispersed are believed to have decayed.<ref name=ODQNv17i4 />
This event prompted international protests<ref name="airforce-history">{{citation
 | url = http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf
 | title = The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law
 | last1 = Terrill Jr.
 | first1 = Delbert R.
 | journal = Air Force History and Museums Program
 | publisher = Air University Press
 | location = Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
 | date = May 1999
 | page = 63
 | access-date = 13 February 2016
 | archive-date = 17 April 2018
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023607/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/space/terrill.pdf
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref><ref name="nasa-history">{{citation
 | url = https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm
 | title = Beyond the Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications
 | series = The NASA History Series
 | publisher = NASA
 | work = history.nasa.gov
 | editor1-last = Butrica
 | editor1-first = Andrew J.
 | access-date = 12 July 2017
 | archive-date = 25 December 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171225231626/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4217/intro.htm
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref><ref name="Bondi1962">{{citation
 | title = West Ford Project, Introductory Note by the Secretary
 | last1 = Bondi
 | first1 = H.
 | date = June 1962
 | journal = Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society
 | volume = 3
 | page = 99
 | bibcode = 1962QJRAS...3...99.
}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1961">{{Citation
 | publication-date = 23 October 1961
 | date = 22 October 1961
 | title = Protests Continue Abroad
 | periodical = The New York Times
 | place = London
 | page = 12
 | issn = 0362-4331
}}</ref> and influenced the drafting of the 1967 [[Outer Space Treaty]].<ref name="airforce-history"/>

|}

==Orbital launch statistics==
===By country===
{{Pie chart
| radius = 120
| legend = false
| thumb = left
| [ 
 {"value":460, "color":"#484785", "label": "United States: 46 (65.71%)"},
 {"value":240, "color":"#A52A2A", "label": "Soviet Union: 24 (34.29%)"},
]
}}

{| align="left" class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope=col colspan=2 | Country
! scope=col| Launches
! scope=col| Successes
! scope=col| Failures
! scope=col| Partial<br/>failures
|-
! scope=row style="background:#a52a2a;" | || style="text-align:left;" | {{USSR}} 
| 24 || 15 || 9 || 0
|-
! scope=row style="background:#484785;" | || style="text-align:left;" | {{USA}}  
| 46 || 35 || 8 || 3

|-
! colspan="2" | World 
| {{sum|24|46}} || {{sum|15|35}} || {{sum|9|8}} || {{sum|0|3}}
|}
{{clear}}

===By rocket===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rocket
! Country
! Launches
! Successes
! Failures
! Partial failures
! Remarks
|-
| [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-B]]                    || {{USA}}                   ||  3 ||  1 || 1 || 1 || 
|-
| [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3A Agena-D]]                    || {{USA}}                   ||  5 ||  5 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Atlas LV-3B]]                                        || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Retired
|-
| [[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-B]]                || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Only flight
|-
| [[Delta B]]                                            || {{USA}}                   ||  6 ||  6 || 0 || 0 || 
|-
| [[Delta C]]                                            || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || 
|-
| [[Kosmos-2I]] 63S1                                     || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  8 ||  4 || 4 || 0 ||  
|-
| [[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] 8K78                      || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  1 ||  0 || 1 || 0 || 
|-
| [[Molniya-L]] 8K78L                                    || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  3 ||  1 || 2 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Polyot (rocket)|Polyot]] 11A59                       || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Scout X-2B]]                                         || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  0 || 1 || 0 || Only flight
|-
| [[Scout X-2M]]                                         || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  0 || 1 || 0 || Retired
|-
| [[Scout X-3]]                                          || {{USA}}                   ||  2 ||  0 || 1 || 1 || 
|-
| [[Scout X-3M]]                                         || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Only flight
|-
| [[Scout X-4]]                                          || {{USA}}                   ||  2 ||  1 || 0 || 1 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Thor-Ablestar|Thor DSV-2A Ablestar]]                 || {{USA}}                   ||  2 ||  2 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Thor-Agena|Thor DM-21 Agena-B]]                      || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || 
|-
| [[Thor-Agena|Thor SLV-2 Agena-D]] (Thor DM-21 Agena-D) || {{USA}}                   ||  8 ||  6 || 2 || 0 || Redesignated midyear
|-
| [[Thor-Agena|Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-B]]    || {{USA}}                   ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-
| [[Thor-Agena|Thrust Augmented Thor SLV-2A Agena-D]]    || {{USA}}                   || 10 ||  8 || 2 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-  
| [[Voskhod (rocket)|Voskhod]] 11A57                     || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  1 ||  1 || 0 || 0 || Maiden flight
|-  
| [[Vostok-K]] 8K72K                                     || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  2 ||  2 || 0 || 0 || 
|-
| [[Vostok-2 (rocket)|Vostok-2]] 8A92                    || {{flagcountry|USSR|1955}} ||  8 ||  6 || 2 || 0 || 
|}

===By orbit===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Orbital regime
! Launches
! Achieved
! Not Achieved
! Accidentally<br />Achieved
! Remarks
|-
| [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]                                                      || 57 || 44 || 13 || 2 ||
|-
| [[Medium Earth orbit|Medium Earth]]                                                ||  5 ||  4 ||  1 || 0 ||
|-
| [[High Earth orbit|High Earth]]                                                    ||  5 ||  3 ||  2 || 0 || Including [[Highly elliptical orbit]]s
|-
| [[Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous]]/[[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|transfer]] ||  2 ||  2 ||  0 || 0 ||
|-
| [[Heliocentric orbit|Heliocentric]]                                                ||  1 ||  0 ||  1 || 0 || 
|}

==References==
{{TLS-R}}

===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}
<br>
{{TLS-L|year=1963|nav=on|state=expanded}}
{{Orbital launches in 1963}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1963 In Spaceflight}}
[[Category:1963 in spaceflight| ]]
[[Category:Spaceflight by year]]