1973 saw the launch of the first American Space station known as Skylab on a Saturn V rocket.

1973 in spaceflight
Orbital launches
First8 January
Last29 December

Launches

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

January

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8 January
06:55
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 MOM Selenocentric Lunar rover 15 January 1973 (At Moon) Successful
11 January
10:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 543 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 24 January 1973 Successful
20 January
03:36
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 544 (Tselina-O) MO SSSR Low Earth ELINT 15 June 1980 Successful
24 January
11:44
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 545 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth Radar calibration 31 July 1973 Successful
26 January
11:44
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Kapustin Yar Site 107
  Kosmos 546 (Zaliv mockup) MO SSSR Low Earth Boilerplate In orbit Successful

February

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1 February
08:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
 Kosmos 547 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 13 February 1973 Successful
3 February
05:48
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Baikonur
  Molniya 1-23 MOM Molniya Communication 23 October 1977 Successful
8 February
13:15
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 548 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 21 February 1973 Successful
15 February
01:11
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Baikonur Site 31/6
  Prognoz-3 MOM Molniya Solar flare detection 31 December 1976 Successful
26 February
04:37
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 549 (Tselina-O) MO SSSR Low Earth ELINT 29 June 1980 Successful

March

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1 March
12:40
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 550 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 11 March 1973 Successful
6 March
09:20
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 551 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 20 March 1973 Successful
6 March
09:30
  Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D   Cape Canaveral SLC-13
  Rhyolite 2 US Air Force Geosynchronous ELINT In orbit Successful
9 March
21:00
  Titan IIID   Vandenberg SLC-4E
  KH-9 NRO / CIA Low Earth Reconnaissance 17 March 1973 Successful
20 March
11:20
  Vostok-2M (R-7 8A92M)   Plesetsk
  Meteor 1-14 MOM Low Earth Weather In orbit Successful
22 March
10:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 552 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 3 April 1973 Successful
  Nauka MOM Low Earth Technology 9 April 1973 Successful

April

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3 April
09:00
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Salyut 2 (Almaz) MOM Low Earth Space Station 28 May 1973 Spacecraft failure
Depressurised before crew launch could occur
5 April
11:11
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 2-5 MOM Molniya Communications 6 January 1979 Successful
6 April
02:11
  Atlas SLV-3D Centaur   Cape Canaveral SLC-36B
  Pioneer 11 (Pioneer G) NASA Heliocentric to Solar escape Planetary probe In orbit Successful
First spacecraft to visit Saturn
Maiden flight of Atlas SLV-3D Centaur rocket.
12 April
11:49
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 553 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth Radar calibration 11 November 1973 Successful
19 April
08:59
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 554 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 7 May 1973 Successful
Destroyed in orbit after deactivation
19 April
10:19
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Kapustin Yar Site 86
   Interkosmos 9 (Kopernik 500) Interkosmos Low Earth Solar radiation detection In orbit Successful
20 April
23:47
  Delta 1914   Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
  Anik A2 Telesat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
25 April   Tsyklon-2   Baikonur Site 90
  US-A MO SSSR Intended: Low Earth Ocean surveillance 25 April 1973 Failure
Engine failure
25 April
10:45
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 555 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 7 May 1973 Successful
  Nauka MOM Low Earth Scientific research 9 May 1973 Successful
5 May
07:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 556 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 14 May 1973 Successful
11 May
00:20
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Kosmos 557 (Salyut / Zarya) MOM Low Earth Space Station 22 May 1973 Failure
Loss of control in orbit
14 May
17:30
  Saturn V   Kennedy LC-39A NASA
  Skylab NASA Low Earth Space Station 11 July 1979 Successful
First American Space Station
Last flight of the Saturn V rocket
Damaged during launch, but repaired
16 May
16:40
  Titan IIIB (24B)   Vandenberg SLC-4W
  OPS 2093 (KH-8) NRO / US Air Force Low Earth Reconnaissance 13 June 1973 Successful
17 May
13:19
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 558 (DS-P1-Yu) MOM Low Earth Radar calibration 22 December 1973 Successful
18 May
11:00
  Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 559 (Zenit-4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 23 May 1973 Successful
Maiden flight of Soyuz-U carrier rocket
21 May
08:47
  Diamant-B   Kourou SEREB
  Castor CNES Intended:Low Earth Technology 21 May 1973 Failure
  Pollux CNES Intended:Low Earth Technology    
Final flight of Diamant-B
Fairing failed to separate
23 May
10:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 560 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 5 June 1973 Successful
24 May
02:00[2]
  K63D   Vladimirovka test range, near Kapustin Yar
  BOR-3 No.301 Suborbital Re-entry test for Spiral program 22 May Failure
Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane.[1] Payload fairing failed at about 5 km altitude. Apogee: 20 km
25 May   Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Zaliv (Tsiklon) RVSN Intended: Low Earth Navigation 25 May 1973 Failure
Failed to reach orbit
25 May
13:00
  Saturn IB   Kennedy LC-39B NASA
  Apollo CSM-116 (Skylab 2) NASA Low Earth, docked to Skylab Crewed orbital flight 22 June 1973 Successful
Crewed flight with 3 astronauts, first crewed flight to Skylab
25 May
13:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 561 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 6 June 1973 Successful
  Nauka MOM Low Earth Gamma ray telescope 20 June 1973 Successful
29 May
10:16
  Vostok-2M (R-7 8A92M)   Plesetsk
  Meteor 1-15 MOM Low Earth Weather In orbit Successful

June

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5 June
11:26
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 562 (DS-P1-Yu) MOM Low Earth 7 January 1974 Successful
6 June
11:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 563 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 18 June 1973 Successful
8 June
15:50
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 564 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 565 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 566 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 567 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 568 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 569 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 570 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 571 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communications In orbit Successful
10 June
10:10
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 572 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 23 June 1973 Successful
10 June
14:13
  Delta 1913   Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
  Explorer 49 (RAE) NASA Selenocentric Astronomy In orbit Successful
12 June
07:14
  Titan IIIC   Cape Canaveral SLC-40
  DSP F-4 (IMEWS 4) US Air Force Geosynchronous Missile early warning In orbit Successful
15 June
06:00
  Soyuz (R-7 11A511)   Baikonur Site 1/5
  Kosmos 573 (Soyuz 7K-T) MOM Low Earth Test spacecraft 17 June 1973
06:01
Successful
20 June
06:16
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 574 (Zaliv/Tsiklon) MO SSSR Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
21 June
13:29
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 575 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 3 July 1973 Successful
26 June
01:22
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Tselina-O RVSN Intended: Low Earth SIGINT Never left ground Failure
Exploded on pad after fuelling error; 9 killed
26 June
17:00
  Titan IIIB (24B)   Vandenberg SLC-4W
  OPS 4018 (KH-8) US Air Force Intended: Low Earth Reconnaissance 26 June 1973 Failure
Agena upper stage malfunction; Failed to reach orbit
27 June
11:50
  Soyuz-M (R-7 11A511M)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 576 (Zenit-4MT / Orion) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 July 1973 Successful

July

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4 July   Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk Site 43
  (Zenit 4M) MOM Intended: Low Earth Reconnaissance 4 July 1973 Failure
11 July
09:58
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 2-6 MOM Molniya Communication 5 August 1978 Successful
13 July
20:24
  Titan IIID   Vandenberg SLC-4E
  OPS 8261 (KH-9) NRO / CIA Low Earth Reconnaissance 12 October 1973 Successful
16 July
17:10
  Delta 0300   Vandenberg SLC-2W
  ITOS E NASA / NOAA Intended: Low Earth Weather 16 July 1973 Failure
Second stage malfunction
21 July
19:30
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Mars 4 MOM Intended: Areocentric
Actual: Heliocentric
Mars orbiter In orbit Failure
Retro-rockets failed, did not enter Martian orbit
25 July
11:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 577 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 7 August 1973 Successful
25 July
18:55
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Mars 5 MOM Areocentric Mars orbiter In orbit Partial Failure
Computer malfunction a few days after entering Martian orbit
28 July
11:10
  Saturn IB   Kennedy LC-39B NASA
  Apollo CSM-117 (Skylab 3) NASA Low Earth, docked to Skylab Crewed orbital flight 25 September 1973 Partial Failure
Crewed flight with 3 astronauts. Thruster malfunction, nearly required rescue mission

August

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1 August
14:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 578 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 13 August 1973 Successful
5 August
17:45
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Mars 6 MOM Heliocentric Mars lander 12 March 1974 Failure
Disappeared shortly before landing
8 August
17:00
  Proton-K   Baikonur Site 81
  Mars 7 MOM Heliocentric Mars lander In orbit Failure
Missed planet due to premature separation
17 August
04:49
  Thor-LV2F Burner-2A   Vandenberg SLC-10W
  DMSP 5B F-4 US Air Force Low Earth Weather In orbit Successful
21 August
12:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 579 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 3 September 1973 Successful
21 August
16:07
  Titan IIIB (33B)   Vandenberg SLC-4W
  OPS 7724 (Jumpseat 3) NRO / US Air Force Molniya SIGINT In orbit Successful
22 August
11:24
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 580 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth 1 April 1974 Successful
23 August
22:57
  Atlas SLV-3D Centaur   Cape Canaveral LC-36A
  Intelsat IV F7 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communication In orbit Successful
24 August
10:59
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 581 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 6 September 1973 Successful
28 August
10:08
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 582 (Tselina-O) MO SSSR Low Earth ELINT 5 September 1980 Successful
30 August
00:07
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 1-24 MOM Molniya Communication 5 December 1979 Successful
30 August
10:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 583 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 12 September 1973 Successful

September

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6 September
10:40
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 584 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 20 September 1973 Successful
8 September
01:50
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 585 (Sfera) MO SSSR Low Earth In orbit Successful
14 September
00:31
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 586 (Tsiklon) MO SSSR Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
18 September   Feng Bao 1   Jiuquan LA-2B
  JSSW Intended: Low Earth Unknown 18 September Failure
First orbital launch of Feng Bao 1.
21 September
13:05
  Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 587 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 4 October 1973 Successful
27 September
12:18
  Soyuz (R-7 11A511)   Baikonur Site 1/5
  Soyuz 12, 2 Cosmonauts MOM Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 29 September 1973 Successful
Return-to-flight after Soyuz 11 incident
27 September
17:15
  Titan IIIB (24B)   Vandenberg SLC-4W
  OPS 6275 (KH-8) Low Earth Reconnaissance 29 October 1973 Successful

October

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2 October
21:46
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 588 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 589 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 590 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 591 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 592 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 593 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 594 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 595 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
3 October
13:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 596 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 October 1973 Failure
  Nauka RVSN Low Earth Magnetosphere 9 October 1973 Successful
Parachute failed to deploy during recovery
6 October
12:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 597 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 12 October 1973 Successful
10 October
10:45
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 598 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 16 October 1973 Successful
15 October
08:45
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 599 (Zenit 2M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 28 October 1973 Successful
16 October
12:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 600 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 23 October 1973 Successful
16 October
14:00
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 601 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth 15 August 1984 Successful
19 October
10:26
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 2-7 MOM Molniya Communication 8 July 1983 Successful
20 October
10:14
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 602 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 29 October 1973 Successful
26 October
02:26
  Delta 1913   Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
  Explorer 50 (IMP) NASA High Earth Magnetosphere In orbit Successful
27 October
11:09
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 603 (Zenit 4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 9 November 1973 Successful
29 October
14:00
  Vostok-2M (R-7 8A92M)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 604 (Tselina) MOM Low Earth SIGINT 19 January 1992 Successful
30 October
00:37
  Scout A-1   Vandenberg SLC-5 Vought
  Transit-O 20 US Navy Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
Final flight of Scout A rocket
30 October
19:00
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Interkosmos 10 (DS-U2-IK) Interkosmos Low Earth Geophysics 1 July 1977 Successful
31 October
18:24
  Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)   Plesetsk Site 43
  Kosmos 605 (Bion 1) MOM Low Earth Biology 22 November 1973 Successful

November

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2 November
13:01
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk Site 41
  Kosmos 606 (Oko) MOM Molniya Missile Early Warning In orbit Successful
3 November
05:45
  Atlas SLV-3D Centaur   Cape Canaveral SLC-36B
  Mariner 10 NASA Heliocentric Planetary probe 24 March 1975 Successful
Flybys of Venus and Mercury
First spacecraft to visit Mercury
6 November
17:02
  Delta 0300   Vandenberg SLC-2W NASA
  NOAA 3 (ITOS-F) NASA / NOAA Low Earth Weather In orbit Successful
Final flight of Delta 0100 series
10 November
12:38
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 607 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 22 November 1973 Successful
10 November
20:09
  Titan IIID   Vandenberg SLC-4E
  OPS 6630 (KH-9) NRO / CIA Low Earth Reconnaissance 13 March 1974 Successful
  OPS 7705 (SSF) NRO / US Air Force Low Earth SIGINT 26 December 1978 Successful
  OPS 6630 P/L 2 (SSF) NRO / US Air Force Low Earth SIGINT In orbit Successful
14 November
20:40
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Baikonur
  Molniya 1-25 MOM Molniya Communication 26 May 1979 Successful
16 November
14:01
  Saturn IB   Kennedy LC-39B NASA
  Apollo CSM-118 (Skylab 4) NASA Low Earth, docked to Skylab Crewed orbital flight 8 February 1974 Successful
Crewed flight with 3 astronauts. Final flight of Skylab programme
20 November
12:29
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 608 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth Radar calibration 10 July 1974 Successful
21 November
10:00
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Baikonur
  Kosmos 609 (Zenit-4M) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 4 December 1973 Successful
27 November
00:08
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 610 (Tselina-O) MO SSSR Low Earth SIGINT / ELINT 15 September 1980 Successful
28 November
09:29
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 611 (DS-P1-Yu) MO SSSR Low Earth Radar calibration 19 June 1974 Successful
28 November
11:43
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 612 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 11 December 1973 Successful
30 November
05:20
  Soyuz (R-7 11A511)   Baikonur Site 1/5
  Kosmos 613 (Soyuz 7K-T) MOM Low Earth Test spacecraft 29 January 1974
05:29
Successful
30 November
13:08
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 1-26 MOM Molniya Communication 9 June 1985 Successful

December

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4 December
15:00
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 614 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
13 December
11:10
  Kosmos-2I (R-12 11K63)   Plesetsk Site 133
  Kosmos 615 (DS-P1-I) MO SSSR Low Earth 17 December 1975 Successful
13 December
23:57
  Titan IIIC   Cape Canaveral SLC-40
  DSCS II F-3 US Air Force Geosynchronous Communication 1 August 1982 Successful
  DSCS II F-4 US Air Force Geosynchronous Communication 20 December 1993 Successful
16 December
06:18
  Delta 1900   Vandenberg SLC-2W NASA
  Explorer 51 (AE-C) NASA Low Earth / Medium Earth Atmospheric 12 December 1978 Successful
17 December
12:00
  Soyuz-M (R-7 11A511M)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 616 (Zenit 4MT) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 28 December 1973 Successful
18 December
11:55
  Soyuz (R-7 11A511)   Baikonur Site 1/5
  Soyuz 13, 2 Cosmonauts MOM Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 26 December 1973 Successful
Orion 2 Astrophysics / Astronomy
19 December
09:43
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 617 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 618 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 619 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 620 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 621 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 622 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 623 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
  Kosmos 624 (Strela) MO SSSR Low Earth Communication In orbit Successful
21 December
12:30
  Voskhod (R-7 11A57)   Plesetsk
  Kosmos 625 (Zenit 4MK) MOM Low Earth Reconnaissance 3 January 1974 Successful
25 December
11:17
  Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)   Plesetsk
  Molniya 2-8 MOM Molniya Communication 24 November 1985 Successful
26 December
16:30
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
   Aureole 2 (DS-U2-GKA) MO SSSR / CNES Low Earth Auroral research 30 April 1974 Successful
27 December
20:19
  Tsyklon-2   Baikonur Site 90
  Kosmos 626 (US-A / RORSAT) MO SSSR Low Earth Ocean Reconnaissance 22 March 1974 Successful
29 December
04:12
  Kosmos-3M (R-14 11K65M)   Plesetsk Site 132
  Kosmos 627 (Zaliv) MO SSSR Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful

Deep Space Rendezvous

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Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
15 January Luna 21 Delivered Lunokhod 2 between Mare Serenitatis and the Taurus Mountains
15 June Explorer 49 Entered Selenocentric orbit Radio telescope
3 December Pioneer 10 Flyby of Jupiter Closest approach: 130,354 kilometres (80,998 mi)

EVAs

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Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks
26 May
00:40
40 minutes 01:20 CM-116
SLM-1
 Paul J. Weitz Using a 10-foot (3.0 m) long tool, Weitz stood in the open hatch of the Command Module (as Joe Kerwin held onto his legs) and tried to remove a strap preventing the release of a solar panel on Skylab.[3]
7 June
15:15
3 hours
25 minutes
18:40 Skylab
SLM-1
 Pete Conrad
 Joseph P. Kerwin
Used long-handled cable cutters to remove debris that prevented the solar array system from deploying and then forced the solar array system to deploy, providing the Skylab with electrical power needed to operate.
19 June
10:55
1 hour
36 minutes
12:31 Skylab
SLM-1
 Pete Conrad
 Paul J. Weitz
Replaced exposed film cassettes with fresh film and repaired an electrical contact.
6 August
17:30
6 hours
31 minutes
7 August
00:01
Skylab
SLM-2
 Owen K. Garriott
 Jack R. Lousma
Erected a twin-pole solar shield to improve temperature control in Skylab, replaced film cassettes in the solar observatory and installed micrometeoroid detection panels.
24 August
16:24
4 hours
31 minutes
20:55 Skylab
SLM-2
 Owen K. Garriott
 Jack R. Lousma
Installed a new gyroscope selection box, and replaced the film in the solar observatory.
22 September
11:18
2 hours
41 minutes
13:59 Skylab
SLM-2
 Owen K. Garriott
 Alan Bean
Replaced the film on the solar observatory and collected the Thermal Coatings Experiment Panel for return to Earth.[4]
22 November
17:42
6 hours
33 minutes
23 November
00:15
Skylab
SLM-3
 Edward Gibson
 William R. Pogue
Replaced the film on the solar observatory and repaired the antenna for the Earth resources experiment package.
25 December
16:00
7 hours
1 minute
23:01 Skylab
SLM-3
 Gerald P. Carr
 William R. Pogue
Used the extreme ultraviolet electronographic camera and the coronagraph contamination camera to photograph Comet Kohoutek. They also replaced the film on the solar observatory.
29 December
17:00
3 hours
29 minutes
20:29 Skylab
SLM-3
 Gerald P. Carr
 Edward Gibson
Photographed Comet Kohoutek as it appeared from behind the Sun and recovered the Thermal Control Coatings Experiment panel.

References

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "BOR-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. ^ Wade, Mark. "K63D". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ Belew, Leland F. (1977). "Skylab, Our First Space Station" (PDF). NASA. p. 61. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  4. ^ Ledbetter, James (1974). "Skylab Crew Systems Mission Evaluation" (PDF). NASA. pp. 301, p.338. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2009.