List of manned spacecraft
Encyclopedia
This is a list of manned spacecraft types, including space station
s, sorted by nation and series in chronological order. Canceled programs are listed at the end.
Comparison =
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s, sorted by nation and series in chronological order. Canceled programs are listed at the end.
Comparison =
Soviet/Russian
- Vostok (1961–1963) single-person Earth orbital craft
- Voskhod (1964–1965) 2 or 3 person Vostok derivative
- TKS (1970s; never flew manned) crew / supply shuttle for AlmazAlmazThe Almaz program was a series of military space stations launched by the Soviet Union under cover of the civilian Salyut DOS-17K program after 1971....
station - Shuttle BuranShuttle BuranThe Buran spacecraft , GRAU index 11F35 K1 was a Russian orbital vehicle analogous in function and design to the US Space Shuttle and developed by Chief Designer Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy of Energia rocket corporation...
(1988) Never flew with a crew - Soyuz (1967–present) 2 or 3 person Earth orbital; fourth and fifth generations continued operation by Russian Federation
American
- Mercury spacecraftProject MercuryIn January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
(1961–1963) single-person Earth orbital craft - Gemini spacecraftProject GeminiProject Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
(1965–1966) 2 person Earth orbital craft - Apollo spacecraft
- Command/Service ModuleApollo Command/Service ModuleThe Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
(1968-1975) 3 person Earth and lunar orbital craft - Lunar ModuleApollo Lunar ModuleThe Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
(1969-1972) 2 person lunar lander
- Command/Service Module
- Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
(1981-2011) 2 to 8 person Earth orbital craft; first orbit-capable spaceplaneSpaceplaneA spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
; first partially reusable spacecraft
Space stations
- Salyut series (1971–1986)
- SkylabSkylabSkylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
(1973–1974) - Almaz seriesAlmazThe Almaz program was a series of military space stations launched by the Soviet Union under cover of the civilian Salyut DOS-17K program after 1971....
(1973–1977) Military reconnaissance stations, disguised as Salyut 2, 3 and 5 - MirMirMir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
(1986–2001) - International Space StationInternational Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(1998–present) - Tiangong 1Tiangong 1Tiangong-1 is a Chinese space laboratory module, and is an experimental testbed to demonstrate the rendezvous and docking capabilities needed to support a space station complex. Launched unmanned aboard a Long March 2F/G rocket on 29 September 2011, it is part of the Tiangong program, which aims...
(2011–present)
Suborbital
- X-15North American X-15The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
(1959–1970) air-launched spaceplane; first X-15 flight to pass Kármán lineKarman lineThe Kármán line lies at an altitude of above the Earth's sea level, and is commonly used to define the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space...
occurred in 1963 - SpaceShipOne (2003-2004) air-launched spaceplane
Orbital
Russian
- Prospective Piloted Transport System (PPTS)Prospective Piloted Transport SystemPPTS , unofficially called Rus, is a project being undertaken by the Russian Federal Space Agency to develop a new-generation manned spacecraft...
(in development) 6 person Earth orbital craft
American
- Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) (in development) 4 person beyond Earth orbit craft
- SpaceX's DragonDragon (spacecraft)The Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, a private space transportation company based in Hawthorne, California. During its unmanned maiden flight in December 2010, it became the first commercially-built and -operated spacecraft to ever be successfully recovered from orbit.The Dragon...
7 person Earth orbital craft (being man-rated) - Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser 7 person Earth orbital spaceplane (in development)
- Boeing's CST-100 7 person Earth orbital craft (in development)
- Blue Origin's orbital spacecraft (in development)
European
- Advanced Re-entry Vehicle (ARV) 4 person Earth orbital (proposed)
Iranian
- ISA manned spacecraftIranian Space AgencyThe Iranian Space Agency is Iran's governmental space agency. Iran is an active participant in the Asian space race and became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009...
(in development)
British
- Skylon (unpiloted reusable spaceplane with possible Passenger Module, engine in development)
Russian
- Space Adventures Explorer (suborbital, in development)
American
- The Spaceship Company's SpaceShipTwo (suborbital, in development)
- The Spaceship Company's SpaceShipThree (suborbital, proposed)
- XCOR Aerospace's Lynx (suborbital, in development)
- Masten Space Systems's XA Series (suborbital, in development)
- Masten Space Systems's O Series (orbital, proposed)
- Masten Space Systems's XL Series (orbital/lunar, proposed)
Romanian
- Stabilo (suborbital, in development)
- Orizont (suborbital, in development)
French
- VSH (suborbital, manned version of VEHRA, in development)
British
- Starchaser Industries's Nova 2 (suborbital, in development)
- Starchaser Industries's Thunderbird (suborbital, in development)
- Starchaser Industries's Thunderstar (suborbital, in development)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Space Transportation SystemSpace Transportation SystemThe Space Transportation System is another name for the NASA Space Shuttle and Space Shuttle program. However, the name originates from, and can describe a more elaborate set of spacefaring hardware in the 1970s, although this meaning is obscure...
(all elements canceled in 1969 except the Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
, which took the name) - VentureStarVentureStarVentureStar was a proposed spaceplane design for a single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch system by Lockheed Martin. The program's primary goal as a United States federally funded program was to develop a reusable unmanned spaceplane for launching satellites into orbit at a fraction of the cost of...
, Lockheed Martin X-33Lockheed Martin X-33The Lockheed Martin X-33 was an unmanned, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane developed in the 1990s under the U.S. government-funded Space Launch Initiative program. The X-33 was a technology demonstrator for the VentureStar orbital spaceplane, which was planned to be a...
demonstrator (canceled 2001) single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) shuttle - Altair Lunar Surface Access Module for Constellation program
Joint NASA / United States Air Force
- Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar (canceled 1963) winged orbital space plane, launched by Titan 3
- Manned Orbiting LaboratoryManned Orbiting LaboratoryThe Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
+ Gemini-B spacecraft (canceled 1969) - Rockwell X-30Rockwell X-30-See also:-References: 2. -External links:*...
or National AeroSpace Plane (canceled 1993) to be used as a hypersonic transport plane or as a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) shuttle
Joint NASA / European Space Agency (ESA)
- X-38 (canceled 1999) lifting body crew-rescue vehicle for ISS
Soviet space program
- Soyuz 7K-L1Soyuz 7K-L1The Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft was designed to launch men from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet manned moon-flyby program in Moon race. It was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK with several components stripped out to reduce the vehicle weight...
(1967–1970) part of the abandoned Soviet manned lunar flyby program - Soyuz L3 spacecraft (late 1960s to early 1970s); part of the abandoned Soviet manned lunar landing program
- Soyuz 7K-L3Soyuz 7K-L3The Soyuz 7K-LOK, or simply LOK was a Soviet spacecraft designed to launch men from Earth to circle the moon and developed in parallel to the 7K-L1. The LOK would carry two cosmonauts into orbit around the Moon, acting as "mother" spacecraft for the LK Lander, which would land one member of the...
(LOK) 2 person lunar orbital craft - LK Lander ModuleLK LanderThe LK was a Soviet lunar lander and counterpart of the American Lunar Module . The LK was to have landed up to two cosmonauts on the Moon...
single-pilot lunar lander
- Soyuz 7K-L3
- Spiral-EPOSMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 was a manned test vehicle to explore low-speed handling and landing.It was a visible result of a Soviet project to create an orbital spaceplane...
(also known as EPOS – Russian acronym for Experimental Passenger Orbital Aircraft – canceled 1976) - Shuttle BuranShuttle BuranThe Buran spacecraft , GRAU index 11F35 K1 was a Russian orbital vehicle analogous in function and design to the US Space Shuttle and developed by Chief Designer Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy of Energia rocket corporation...
(1988) canceled after one unmanned orbital flight - Zarya (project canceled 1989)
- MAKSMAKS space planeThe MAKS is a cancelled Russian air-launched orbiter project that was proposed in 1988, but cancelled in 1991. The orbiter was supposed to reduce the cost of transporting materials to Earth orbit by a factor of ten...
(project canceled 1991)
European Space Agency (ESA)
- Hermes (project cancelled 1992)
- HopperHopper (spacecraft)Hopper was a proposed European Space Agency orbital and reusable launch vehicle. The shuttle prototype spaceplane was one of several proposals for a European reusable launch vehicle planned to cheaply ferry satellites into orbit by 2015...
(project cancelled) - ATVAutomated Transfer VehicleThe Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...
evolution (project not adopted)
China National Space Administration (CNSA)
- Shuguang (project cancelled 1972)
- FSWFanhui Shi WeixingFanhui Shi Weixing is a series of Chinese recoverable reconnaissance satellites. The satellites were used for both military and civilian observation needs, with a total of 26 flights. The first flight was FSW-0 on 1969-06-01 and the last SJ-8 on 2006-09-09....
(unmanned flights only; manned program cancelled)
UK
- HOTOLHOTOLHOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a British air-breathing space shuttle effort by Rolls Royce and British Aerospace.Designed as a single-stage-to-orbit reusable winged launch vehicle, it was to be fitted with a unique air-breathing engine, the RB545 called the Swallow, to be...
(funding withdrawn 1986) - HOTOL 2HOTOLHOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a British air-breathing space shuttle effort by Rolls Royce and British Aerospace.Designed as a single-stage-to-orbit reusable winged launch vehicle, it was to be fitted with a unique air-breathing engine, the RB545 called the Swallow, to be...
(rejected 1991)
National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)
- HOPE-XHOPE-XHOPE was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL , started in the 1980s. It was positioned for most of its lifetime as one of the main Japanese contributions to the International Space Station, the other being the Japanese Experiment Module...
(project cancelled 2003) - FujiFuji (Spacecraft)Fuji was a manned spacecraft of the space capsule kind, proposed by Japan's National Space Development Agency Advanced mission Research center in December 2001...
(project not adopted)