This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| 2013 spacecraft launches | |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
| Total launches | 92 |
| Successful | 81 |
| Notable | SpaceX CRS-1, Chang'e 3, MAVEN, Hayabusa-2 |
2013 spacecraft launches
2013 saw a diverse set of orbital and interplanetary efforts led by national agencies and commercial firms, spanning Earth observation, telecommunications, exploration, and resupply. Major actors included National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Roscosmos, European Space Agency, China National Space Administration, Indian Space Research Organisation, and emerging companies such as SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation. The year featured landmark missions to the Moon and Mars alongside routine deployments for International Space Station logistics and global satellite constellations.
The year’s cadence combined veteran programs like Proton (rocket), Soyuz, Ariane 5, and Long March 3B with increasing commercial activity from Falcon 9 and attempts by private launchers. High-profile payloads included scientific explorers and science-artifact missions such as Chang'e 3, MAVEN, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter adjuncts, and new telecommunications platforms from Inmarsat, Intelsat, and Eutelsat. International collaboration appeared in cargo operations to the International Space Station using Progress (spacecraft), Automated Transfer Vehicle, and Dragon spacecraft. The interplay of state programs—CNSA and JAXA—and commercial ventures shaped short-term launch manifesting and long-term strategic plans for lunar and Martian exploration.
Global launch tallies for 2013 included approximately 92 orbital attempts with a distribution among heavy, medium, and small-class vehicles. Leading launch providers by flight count were Roscosmos’s Soyuz operations, China National Space Administration’s Long March series, and Arianespace’s Ariane 5 missions. Commercial operators such as SpaceX increased manifest activity with Falcon 9 flights supporting Commercial Resupply Services, while national agencies—Indian Space Research Organisation—added medium-lift launches for missions like Mars Orbiter Mission follow-ons and regional satellites. Success rates were affected by partial failures and anomalies involving vehicles like Proton-M and medium-class launchers.
2013’s marquee flights included Chang'e 3—China’s lunar lander and rover campaign that delivered the Yutu (rover)—and NASA’s MAVEN mission en route to Mars. Commercial resupply to the International Space Station featured SpaceX CRS-2 and earlier SpaceX CRS-1 flights, alongside Progress (spacecraft) logistics from Roscosmos. NASA-supported planetary science also saw missions coordinated with Jet Propulsion Laboratory and scientific instruments from institutions like California Institute of Technology and Smithsonian Institution. The European Space Agency continued earth-observation and science missions with launches of satellites built by manufacturers such as Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space. Japan’s Hayabusa2 precursor planning continued with technology demonstrations involving JAXA contractors, and Indian Space Research Organisation advanced its low-cost exploration profile.
Major carriers in 2013 comprised the heavy-lift Ariane 5, medium-lift Proton-M, Zenit derivatives, and numerous Long March variants. The Falcon 9 v1.0 performed multiple flights delivering payloads for SSTL-class satellites and Commercial Resupply Services contracts. Small satellite deployment platforms such as Dnepr (rocket) and Rockot served microsatellite constellations for operators including Planet Labs and Spire Global precursor projects. Payload types ranged from geostationary communications craft—operators Intelsat, Eutelsat, SES S.A.—to Earth-science assets from NOAA and EUMETSAT.
Orbital insertions returned mixed results: numerous geostationary transfer orbit deliveries placed telecommunications satellites into operational slots for Ku-band and Ka-band services, while low Earth orbit deployments expanded satellite constellation footprints for remote sensing. Interplanetary trajectory achievements included trans-Mars injections for MAVEN and lunar transfer sequences for Chang'e 3. Scientific returns were anticipated from instruments managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and European Space Research and Technology Centre, and collaborative data-sharing agreements were arranged with research centers such as Max Planck Society and Russian Academy of Sciences.
Several launch failures and anomalies punctuated 2013: partial loss incidents affected some Proton-M flights and a small number of Long March missions experienced upper-stage issues. Commercial providers confronted first-stage anomalies during Falcon 9 flights, prompting investigations involving Federal Aviation Administration oversight and manufacturing audits with stakeholders including SpaceX engineers and Aerospace Corporation consultants. Each anomaly generated contingency adjustments for manifest planning by entities like NASA and Arianespace and spurred technical reviews by contractors such as United Launch Alliance and international partners.
The annual cadence unfolded across months with concentrated activity in spring and autumn windows favored by interplanetary launch opportunities to Mars and seasonal slots for geostationary orbit insertions. Launch manifests were publicly posted by agencies including Roscosmos, CNSA, JAXA, ISRO, and commercial arrangers like SpaceX and Arianespace; mission milestones were tracked by observatories such as Mount Wilson Observatory and analysis groups including United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs monitoring space object cataloging.
Category:2013 in spaceflight