1999 Mission Report Archive Also: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 STS-103: Hubble fixed Space shuttle Discovery safely returned to Earth on December 27, ending a highly successful eight-day mission that repaired the Hubble Space Telescope's broken pointing system and replaced aging electronics aboard the observatory. See our 'Mission Status Center' for complete coverage of the flight.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    MISSION PREVIEW Ariane 4 rocket launches powerhouse Galaxy 11 The third Arianespace launch of December occurred right on time December 21 at 7:50 p.m. EST (0050 GMT Dec. 22). An Ariane 44L rocket successfully placed PanAmSat's Galaxy 11 communications satellite into Earth orbit. Read a full report on the countdown and launch in Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 22]    PHOTO GALLERY Taurus rocket carries two satellites to space An Orbital Sciences Taurus rocket launched Korean and U.S. science satellites on December 21 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Liftoff occurred at 0713 GMT (2:13 a.m. EST). Read a full report on the countdown and launch in Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 21] Atlas rocket launches NASA's Terra satellite The first Atlas-Centaur rocket to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was a success Saturday. The Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS vehicle placed NASA's Terra environmental research satellite into near-polar orbit. Read a full report on the countdown and launch in Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Updated Dec. 20]    LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY    LAUNCH VIDEO (496k QuickTime file)    ATLAS INDEX Titan 2 rocket successfully launches from California A U.S. Air Force Titan 2 rocket launched a military weather satellite December 12 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch occurred right on time at 1738 GMT (12:38 p.m. EST). Read all about the countdown and launch with Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 12]    LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY    LAUNCH VIDEO (335k QuickTime file) Ariane 5 goes commercial with launch of ESA's XMM The first commercial flight of the Ariane 5 rocket was successful December 10. Liftoff occurred on schedule at 1432 GMT (0932 EST) from Kourou, French Guiana. The massive rocket deployed ESA's X-ray Multi-Mirror observatory into space. Read all about the final countdown and launch in Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 10]    LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY    ARIANE INDEX Pegasus rocket launches carrying seven satellites A Pegasus XL rocket successfully launched seven data relay satellites for the ORBCOMM communications network December 4. ORBCOMM now has 35 satellites in space.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 4]    LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY Ariane 4 rocket launches French spy satellites Arianespace launched an Ariane 40 rocket carrying two military reconnaissance satellites for the French Ministry of Defence December 3 at 1622 GMT (1122 EST). See our reports about the final countdown and launch.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 3]