The following is an outline of 1984 in spaceflight.

1984 in spaceflight
Orbital launches
First5 Jan
Last22 Dec
Total129
Successes128
Failures1
National firsts
Space traveller Canada
 India
Rockets
Maiden flightsAriane 3
Atlas G
Space Shuttle Discovery
RetirementsTitan 24B
Crewed flights
Orbital8
Total travellers37

Launches edit

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)
Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January edit

31 January
03:08
 Titan 34D/Transtage  Cape Canaveral LC-40  
 OPS-0441 (Vortex 4) NRO High Earth SIGINT In orbit Successful

February edit

3 February
13:00
 Space Shuttle Challenger  Kennedy LC-39A  United Space Alliance
 STS-41-B NASA Low Earth Satellite deployment 11 February
12:15
Successful
 Westar 6 Western Union Intended: Geosynchronous
Actual: Low Earth
Communications 16 November
11:59
Deployment failure
 Palapa B2 Telkom Indonesia Intended: Geosynchronous
Actual: Low Earth
Communications 16 November
11:59
Deployment failure
 SPAS-1A NASA Low Earth (Challenger) Microgravity research 11 February
12:15
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts; first use of the Crewed Maneuvering Unit and the first Space Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center.
PAM failures led to Westar 6 and Palapa B2 being stranded in Low Earth orbit. The satellites were subsequently retrieved by Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-51-A in November and were returned to Earth for refurbishment.
Westar 6 was sold to AsiaSat and renamed AsiaSat 1, and launched by a Chinese Long 3 March carrier rocket on 7 April 1990.
Palapa B2 was renamed Palapa B2R and was launched by an American Delta II 6925-8 carrier rocket on 13 April 1990.
5 February
18:44
 Atlas H  Vandenberg SLC-3E  
 OPS-8737 (NOSS 7) US Navy Low Earth SIGINT In orbit Successful
8 February
12:07
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Soyuz T-10 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Salyut 7 EO-3 11 April
10:48
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with three cosmonauts
21 February
06:46
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Progress 19 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Logistics 1 April
18:18
Successful

March edit

5 March
00:50
 Ariane 1  Kourou ELA  CNES
 Intelsat 508 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful

April edit

3 April
13:08
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Soyuz T-11 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Salyut 7 EP-3 2 October
10:57
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with three cosmonauts including the first Indian space traveller
6 April
13:58
 Space Shuttle Challenger  Kennedy LC-39A  United Space Alliance
 STS-41-C NASA Low Earth Satellite deployment and repair 13 April
13:38
Successful
 LDEF NASA Low Earth Material science 20 January 1990
06:35
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts; Solar Max repair mission
LDEF retrieved by Space Shuttle Columbia during mission STS-32 in January 1990.
14 April
16:52
 Titan 34D/Transtage  Cape Canaveral LC-40  
 OPS-7641 (DSP-12) US Air Force Geosynchronous Early warning In orbit Successful
15 April
08:12
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Progress 20 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Logistics 7 May
00:32
Successful
17 April
18:45
 Titan 24B  Vandenberg SLC-4W  
 OPS-8424 (KH-8-54) NRO Sun-synchronous Reconnaissance 13 August Successful
Final flight of Titan 24B and the final KH-8 spacecraft

May edit

7 May
22:47
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Progress 21 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Logistics 26 May
15:00
Successful
23 May
01:33
 Ariane 1  Kourou ELA  Arianespace
 Spacenet F1 Spacenet Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
28 May
14:12
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Progress 22 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Logistics 15 July
18:52
Successful

June edit

9 June
23:03
 Atlas G  Cape Canaveral LC-36B  
 Intelsat 509 Intelsat Intended: Geosynchronous
Achieved: Low Earth
Communications 24 October Launch Failure
Maiden flight of Atlas G
Upper stage malfunction left payload in a useless orbit
13 June
11:37
 Atlas E/SGS-2  Vandenberg SLC-3W  
 USA-1 (GPS-9) US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
25 June
18:47
 Titan 34D  Vandenberg SLC-4E  
 USA-2 (KH-9-19) NRO Sun-synchronous Reconnaissance 18 October Successful
 USA-3 (SSF-D-5) NRO Sun-synchronous ELINT In orbit Successful

July edit

17 July
17:40
 Soyuz-U2  Baikonur Site 31/6  
 Soyuz T-12 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Salyut 7 EP-4 29 July
12:55
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with three cosmonauts
First crewed flight of Soyuz-U2
26 July
18:05
  Sonda III   Barreira do Inferno Launch Center   IAE
  IAE Suborbital Engineering test 26 July Successful
688 km downrange. 565 km perigee. 12m40s. 17th Sonda III launch.[1]

August edit

4 August
13:32
 Ariane 3  Kourou ELA  Arianespace
 Eutelsat 1F2 Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
 Telecom 1A France Télécom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
Maiden flight of Ariane 3
Eutelsat 1F2 retired in 1993
14 August
06:28
 Soyuz-U  Baikonur Site 1/5  
 Progress 23 Low Earth (Salyut 7) Logistics 28 August
01:28
Successful
28 August
18:03
 Titan 34B  Vandenberg SLC-4W  
 USA-4 (SDS-1-5) US Air Force Molniya Communications In orbit Successful
30 August
12:41
 Space Shuttle Discovery  Kennedy LC-39A  United Space Alliance
 STS-41-D NASA Low Earth Satellite deployment 5 September
15:37
Successful
 SBS-4 SBS Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
Communications In orbit Successful
 Telstar 302 AT&T Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
Communications In orbit Successful
 Leasat 2 US Navy Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
Communications In orbit Successful
 OAST-1 NASA Low Earth (Discovery) Solar array R&D 5 September
15:37
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with six astronauts
Maiden flight of Space Shuttle Discovery

September edit

8 September
21:41
 Atlas E/SGS-2  Vandenberg SLC-3W  
 USA-5 (GPS-10) US Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Successful

October edit

5 October
11:03
  Space Shuttle Challenger   Kennedy LC-39A   United Space Alliance
  STS-41-G NASA Low Earth Satellite deployment 13 October
16:26
Successful
  ERBS NASA Low Earth Radiation budget observation 9 January 2023
04:04[2]
Successful
  OSTA-3 NASA Low Earth (Challenger) Earth imaging 13 October
16:26
Successful
  ORS NASA Low Earth (Challenger) Satellite refuelling demonstration 13 October
16:26
Successful
Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts including the first Canadian space traveller
Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B)
ERBS retired on 14 October 2005

November edit

8 November
12:15
 Space Shuttle Discovery  Kennedy LC-39A  United Space Alliance
 STS-51-A NASA Low Earth Satellite deployment and retrieval 16 November
11:59
Successful
 Anik D2 Telesat Canada Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
Communications In orbit Successful
 Leasat 1 US Navy Current: Graveyard
Operational: Geosynchronous
Communications In orbit Successful
Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts
Anik D2 retired on 31 January 1995
Retrieved Westar 6 and Palapa B2 satellites which were stranded in Low Earth orbit after PAM failures during deployment from Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-41-B in February.
10 November
01:14
 Ariane 3  Kourou ELA  Arianespace
 Spacenet F2 Spacenet Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
 MARECS 2 ESA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
21 November   Sonda IV   Barreira do Inferno Launch Center   CTA
  CTA Suborbital Engineering test 21 November Successful
600 km perigee. 1th Sonda IV launch.[3]

December edit

4 December
18:03
 Titan 34D  Vandenberg SLC-4E  
 USA-6 (KH-11-6) NRO Sun-synchronous Reconnaissance In orbit Successful
12 December
10:42
 Atlas E/Star-37S-ISS  Vandenberg SLC-3W  
 NOAA 9 (NOAA-F) NOAA Sun-synchronous Meteorology In orbit Successful
22 December
00:02
 Titan 34D/Transtage  Cape Canaveral LC-40  
 USA-7 (DSP-12) US Air Force Geosynchronous Early warning In orbit Successful

Deep-space rendezvous edit

There were no deep-space rendezvous in 1984.

EVAs edit

Start date/time Duration End time Spacecraft Crew Remarks
7 February 5 hours
55 minutes
STS-41-B
Challenger
 Bruce McCandless II
 Robert L. Stewart
McCandless and Stewart rode on the Crewed Maneuvering Unit (MMUs) during the first untethered EVAs in history. Both astronauts practiced using tools and procedures for the planned capture and repair of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite to be performed in a subsequent flight.[4]
9 February 6 hours
17 minutes
STS-41-B
Challenger
 Bruce McCandless II
 Robert L. Stewart
Continued testing the MMUs and practice with tools and procedures to be used with recovery and repair of the SMM satellite.[4]
8 April
14:18
2 hours
38 minutes
16:56 STS-41-C
Challenger
 George Nelson
 James van Hoften
Nelson rode the MMU to the SMM satellite. Van Hoften stood by in the payload bay to provide any needed assistance. After three unsuccessful attempts to capture the SMM with the Trunnion Pin Acquisition Device (TPAD) tool and one attempt to grab the satellite by hand, the spacewalkers returned to Challenger. The SMM was recovered the next day with the RMS.[5]
11 April
08:58
6 hours
44 minutes
15:42 STS-41-C
Challenger
 George Nelson
 James van Hoften
Completed repair of the SMM satellite and then continued testing of the MMU.[6]
23 April
04:31
4 hours
20 minutes
08:46 Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Installed a new ladder to reach the ruptured Main Oxidizer Line on Salyut 7. First of five EVAs to conduct the repair.
26 April
02:40
4 hours
56 minutes
07:40 Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Removed installation and installed a valve in the spare oxidizer line. Second of five EVAs to repair the Main Oxidizer Line on the station.
29 April
01:35
2 hours
45 minutes
04:20 Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Installed a bypass line around the damaged section of the Main Oxidizer Line on the station. Third of five repair EVAs.
3 May
23:15
2 hours
45 minutes
4 May
02:00
Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Installed a second bypass line and replaced thermal insulation at the Main Oxidizer Line of the station. Fourth of five repair EVAs.
18 May
17:52
3 hours
5 minutes
20:57 Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Installed two new solar arrays onto the space station.
25 July
14:55
3 hours
35 minutes
18:29 Salyut 7 EP-4  Vladimir Dzhanibekov
 Svetlana Savitskaya
Tested the URI multi-purpose tool with several metal samples.
Savitskaya became the first women in history to perform an EVA.
8 August
08:46
5 hours 13:46 Salyut 7 EO-3  Leonid Kizim
 Vladimir Solovyov
Using a pneumatic press tool delivered by Soyuz T-12, the cosmonauts completed the fifth and final EVA to repair the damaged Main Oxidizer Line of the station by crimping the ends of the ruptured pipe.
11 October
15:38
3 hours
29 minutes
19:05 STS-41-G
Challenger
 David Leestma
 Kathryn Sullivan
Demonstrated the use of the Orbital Refueling System, including the installation of an ORS valve maintenance kit.[7]
Sullivan was the first American women and the second women in history to conduct an EVA.[8]
12 November
13:25
6 hours 19:25 STS-51-A
Discovery
 Joseph P. Allen
 Dale Gardner
Allen rode the MMU to the Palapa B2 satellite and retrieved it into the payload bay. Gardner and Allen then secured the satellite in the payload bay for return to Earth.[9]
14 November
11:09
5 hours
42 minutes
16:51 STS-51-A
Discovery
 Joseph P. Allen
 Dale Gardner
Gardner rode the MMU to the Westar 6 satellite and retrieved it into the payload bay. Allen and Gardner then secured the satellite in the payload bay for return to Earth.[9]

References edit

  • 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).
Generic references:
  Spaceflight portal

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ "Como fazer um projeto espacial e lucrar milhões de dólares". Manchete (in Brazilian Portuguese). No. 1687. 18 August 1984. p. 36. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Retired NASA Earth Radiation Budget Satellite Reenters Atmosphere". NASA. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  3. ^ Maria, Joaquim (8 December 1984). "Com a subida do Sonda IV, o futuro está lançado". Manchete (in Brazilian Portuguese). No. 1703. p. 119. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Collins Jr., Michael A. (March 1984). "STS 41B National Space Transportation System Program Mission Report" (PDF). NASA. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Space Shuttle Flight 11 (STS-41C)". Space Shuttle Video Library. National Space Society. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  6. ^ Collins, Michael (May 1984). "STS-41C National Space Transportation System Program Mission Report" (PDF). NASA. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  7. ^ Collins Jr., Michael A. (November 1984). "STS 41-G National Space Transportation System Program Mission Report" (PDF). NASA. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  8. ^ Wade, Mark (2008). "Sullivan web page". Encyclopedia Astronautica web site. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A)". Space Shuttle Video Library. National Space Society. July 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2009.