2003 was an interesting and exciting year for space exploration. Unfortunately the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in February overshadowed many of the great achievements in 2003.

If you have any suggestions for any events to be added to this page, then please Contact Info.

February 2003

 * Space Shuttle Columbia - Shuttle Columbia (STS-107 mission) was launched on January 16 2003. On February 1 Columbia broke up on its return to Earth. Unfortunately the seven crew died. On February 2, NASA announced the creation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). On July 7, a piece of foam of the same size and speed that hit Shuttle Columbia was impact tested. The test made hole in the shuttle wing panel. On August 26, CAIB published its final report which consisted of  a 250 page document that included 29 recommendations for NASA to implement. 15 of these were classed as return to flight recommendations that have to be corrected before the shuttle returned to flight. The other 14 must be corrected after Space Shuttle flights re-commence.

After the Columbia disaster and for the rest of 2003, the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) was reduced from 3 to 2. The ISS partners had to totally rely on the Russians for crew and cargo transport for the ISS. The Soyuz Spacecraft (Russian) became the only spacecraft with the ability to ferry and return crews from the ISS and the Progress spacecraft was used to carry cargo.

June 2003

 * Mars Express/Beagle 2 - Mars Express orbiter with its British land Beagle 2 was launched on the 2nd June 2003 by a Soyuz Fregat Rocket in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Mars Express is Europe’s first mission to Mars.

 * Thuraya-2:  Sea Launch successfully orbited Thuraya-2 on June 10, 2003 on a Zenit Rocket. The satellite was built at Boeing Satellite Systems' Integration and Test Complex near Los Angeles International Airport. Hughes Network Systems provided the ground facilities. The Thuraya satellites are the first spacecraft in the Boeing GEM series.

August 2003

 * Mars Scout Mission - NASA selects Phoenix as the first Mars Scout Mission. It has been scheduled for launch in 2007.

 * Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) - SIRTF spacecraft is an infrared space telescope which will allow astronomers to study everything from asteroids to distant galaxies. It was launched aboard a Delta 2 rocket on August 25, 2003.

 * Space Wedding - On August 10, 2003, ISS Commander Yuri Malenchenko became the first cosmonaut to be married whilst in space. The ceremony took place during a private communication session between Johnston Space Center, Texas and the ISS. The law in the US State of Texas allows marriages when the groom is absent from the ceremony as long as there is a valid reason.

September 2003

 * Smart-1 Spacecraft: Smart-1 is a European Space Agency (ESA) technology demonstrator. It was launched on 27 September 2003.

It is the first space probe ESA has ever sent to the Moon. It is mainly designed to demonstrate innovative and key technologies for future deep space science missions such as Ion Propulsion engines.

October 2003

 * Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was formed in October 2003 by merging the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL), National Space Development Agency and Institute (NASDA) and Astronautical Science (ISAS).

 * Land Launch System - Sea Launch Company offers sea-based rocket launches at the Equator. On October 20, 2003 Sea Launch announced plans to offer launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Land Launch system will launch medium weight satellites. It will use a version of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket to lift commercial satellites in the 2000-3500 kg range to geosynchronous transfer orbit, and heavier payloads to inclined or lower orbits. A two-stage configuration of the same rocket will also be available for launching heavy payloads, or groups of payloads, to low Earth orbits. Payloads and vehicles will be processed and launched from existing Zenit facilities at the Baikonur launch site.

November 2003

December 2003

 * Delta IV Heavy Rocket version - On December 10 2003, Boeing  announced the successful rollout and vehicle erection of the first Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex (SLC) 37 pad at Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida. Its launch is scheduled for summer 2004.

The Delta IV Heavy is the longest rocket ever to have moved horizontally to a launch pad.

Links:

Sea Launch to Offer Land-Based, Medium-Lift Launches from Baikonur

Boeing Delta IV Heavy Completes Rollout

ESA - Smart-1

Related:

• Space Shuttle Books

• Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond
  by Brian Harvey
  from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca

• Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft by Rex Hall, David J. Shayler
  From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca

• Space Shuttle Model: Includes all types of merchandise including the STS 107 Space Patch.

• Space Shuttle Video and DVD:
  
   - Hail Columbia (IMAX) (1982) from Amazon.com (dvd, vhs) and Amazon.co.uk dvd
  
   - First U.S. Space Shuttle Mission Video (1981) from Amazon.com

Any comments or suggestions on the 2003 Space Mission page, click on Contact Info.