en 1973 in spaceflight

1973 in spaceflight
Orbital launches
First	8 January
Last	29 December
	v; t; e;

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

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
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
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
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
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
May
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

← Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
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Dec →

Deep Space Rendezvous

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

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

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

^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "BOR-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
^ Wade, Mark. "K63D". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
^ 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.
^ 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.

[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.

[Belew-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.

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1973 in spaceflight

Launches

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deep Space Rendezvous

EVAs

References

Footnotes