Comparison of crewed space vehicles explained

A number of different spacecraft have been used to carry people to and from outer space.

Table code key

bgcolor=khaki width=15px		Spacecraft under development
	Spacecraft is operational
bgcolor=lightgrey		Retired spacecraft
	Payload To / From the ISS
§	Crewed (Uncrewed) [Includes failures]

Orbital and interplanetary space vehicles

width=10%	Spacecraft	width=6%	Origin	width=10%	Manufacturer	width=6%	Range	width=9%	Launch system	width=6%	Crew size	width=6%	Length (m)	width=6%	Diameter (m)	width=10%	Launch mass (kg)	width=6%	Power system	Recovery method	Payload (kg)	width=6%	First spaceflight §	width=6%	Last spaceflight	width=6%	Flights §
Mercury		McDonnell Aircraft North American Aviation	LEO attained	Redstone MRLV Atlas LV-3B				data-sort-value="1400"	1,400	Batteries	Parachute splashdown (one drogue, one main)		data-sort-value="1961.1"	(1960)		(12)^[1]
Gemini		McDonnell Aircraft Martin	LEO	Titan II GLV Titan IIIC^[2]				data-sort-value="3790"	3,790	Fuel cells	Parachute splashdown (one drogue, one main)		data-sort-value="1965"	(1964)		(2)
Apollo		North American Aviation Grumman and Douglas	Lunar	Saturn IB Saturn V				5,500 CM + 14,700 LM + 24,500 Service Module	Fuel cells	Parachute splashdown (two drogues, three pilots, three mains)		data-sort-value="1967"	(1966)		(4)^[3]
Space Shuttle orbiter		Rockwell International	LEO	Space Shuttle	^[4]		^[5]		Fuel cells	Runway landing (with one pilot and one drogue chute from mid-1990s)	/16,000	data-sort-value="1981"			^[6]
Soyuz 7K-T		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz Soyuz-U				data-sort-value="6830"	6,830	Batteries	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1973.1"			(4)^[7]
Voskhod		OKB-1	LEO	Voskhod	^[8]			data-sort-value="5682"	5,682	Batteries	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1964"	(1964)		(3)
Vostok		OKB-1	LEO first	Vostok-K				data-sort-value="4725"		Batteries	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1961.0"	(1960)		(7)^[9]
Soyuz 7K-OK		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz				data-sort-value="6560"	6,560	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1967"	(1966)		(8)^[10]
Soyuz 7KT-OK		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz				data-sort-value="6790"	6,790	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1971"			^[11]
Soyuz 7K-T-AF		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz				data-sort-value="6570"	6,570	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1973.0"
Soyuz 7K-TM		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz-U				data-sort-value="6570"	6,570	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1974"			(2)
Soyuz 7K-MF6		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz-U				data-sort-value="6510"	6,510	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1976"
Soyuz-T		OKB-1	LEO	Soyuz-U Soyuz-U2				data-sort-value="6850"	6,850	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1978"			(6)^[12]
Soyuz-TM		RKK Energia	LEO	Soyuz-U2 Soyuz-U				data-sort-value="7250"	7,250	Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="1986"			(1)
Buran		RKK Energia	LEO	Energia			^[13]	data-sort-value="105000"	105,000	Fuel cells	Runway landing with three drogue chutes	data-sort-value="30000"	30,000 ^[14]	data-sort-value="(1988)"	N/A		(1)
Soyuz-TMA 11F732		RKK Energia	LEO	Soyuz-FG				data-sort-value="7250"	7,250	Solar panels	Parachute landing with retrorockets		data-sort-value="2002"
Soyuz TMA-M 11F747		RKK Energia	LEO	Soyuz-FG				data-sort-value="7150"		Solar panels	Parachute landing with retrorockets		data-sort-value="2010"
Shenzhou		China Academy of Space Technology	LEO	Chang Zheng 2F				data-sort-value="7840"		Solar panels	Parachute landing		data-sort-value="2003"	(1999)	Active	(5)
Soyuz MS		RKK Energia	LEO	Soyuz-2.1a				data-sort-value="7080"	7,080	Solar panels	Parachute landing with retrorockets			Active	(2)
Crew Dragon		SpaceX	LEO	Falcon 9	^[15]	^[16]	^[17]	^[18]	Solar Panels	Parachute splashdown (two drogues, four mains), propulsive landing or splashdown for emergencies^[19]	/		Active	(1)
CST-100 Starliner		Boeing	LEO	Atlas V	^[20]			data-sort-value="13000"	13,000	Solar panels	Parachute landing (two forward cover chutes, two drogues, three pilots and three mains) with airbags			Active
Orion		Lockheed Martin Astrium	Lunar, Mars	Space Launch System	^[21]			8,900 capsule + 12,300 service module	Solar panels	Parachute splashdown (two drogues, three pilots and three mains)		(2014)	Testing	^[22]
Mengzhou		China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation		Long March 10				data-sort-value="21600"		Solar panels			data-sort-value="2026"		Testing	(1)
Gaganyaan		Indian Space Research Organization	LEO	GSLV Mk III				data-sort-value="7800"		Solar Panels	Parachute splashdown (with drogues and mains)		data-sort-value="2021"	(Planned:)	Planned
Starship		SpaceX	Solar System^[23]	Starship	^[24]		^[25]		Solar Panels	Propulsive landing (caught by mechanical arms on the launch tower when landing on launch site)		(Planned:)	Testing
Orel		RKK Energia	LEO,Lunar	Irtysh (rocket) Angara A5				data-sort-value="37478"	37,478	Solar panels			data-sort-value="2028"	(Planned:)	Planned
Dream Chaser		Sierra Nevada Corporation	LEO	Vulcan Centaur			^[26]	data-sort-value="11300"		Solar panels	Runway landing		TBA	Planned
Biconic Space Vehicle		Blue Origin	LEO	New Glenn								TBA	Planned
Nyx		The Exploration Company	LEO,Lunar	Ariane 6 or Falcon 9				data-sort-value="8000"	8,000	Solar panels		4,000 LEO, 2,000 Lunar	TBA	Planned

Suborbital space vehicles

width=80	Spacecraft	Origin	Manufacturer	Altitude	Launch system	Crew size	Length (m)	Diameter (m)	Launch mass (kg)	Power system	Generated power (W)	Recovery method	First spaceflight §	Last spaceflight	Flights §
SpaceShipOne		Scaled Composites	112 km X Prize	White Knight Hybrid Motor		8.53	8.05	data-sort-value="3600"	3,600	Batteries		Runway landing	data-sort-value="2004"			^[27]
X-15		North American Aviation	108 km altitude	B-52 Ammonia-LOX		15.45	6.8	data-sort-value="15420"	15,420	Two 28 volt-300 amp DC generators		Runway landing	data-sort-value="1963"	^[28]		^[29]
SpaceShipTwo		Virgin Galactic	90 km	White Knight Two RocketMotorTwo	^[30]	18.3	8.3	data-sort-value="9740"	9,740	Batteries		Runway landing	December 13, 2018		^[31]
New Shepard		Blue Origin	119 km	New Shepard BE-3				data-sort-value="75000"	75,000 ^[32]	Batteries		Parachute landing (three drogues, three mains)	data-sort-value="2017"	(2015)		6 (17)
Spica Rocket		Copenhagen Suborbitals	105 km	BPM100	1	13	1	4,100	Batteries		Parachute splashdown	2025	Early Development	0
SpaceShip III		Virgin Galactic	Approximately 90 km	White Knight Two	^[33]	18.3	8.3	data-sort-value="9740"	9,740	Batteries		Runway landing	Unknown	Undergoing initial ground testing	^[34]

Footnotes

1. Including 2 suborbital flights, not including boilerplate tests
2. One uncrewed launch on Titan IIIC ahead of proposed use in MOL programme
3. Not including boilerplate tests
4. No missions carried more than eight astronauts, although higher crew sizes were theoretically possible, for example recovering the crew of a stranded orbiter.
5. Wingspan 23.79m
6. Includes two fatal accidents; STS-51-L disintegrated during ascent, STS-107 damaged during ascent, disintegrated during reentry.
7. Crewed flights include one launch failure - abort during third stage flight, recovered after suborbital flight
8. Able to carry three cosmonauts without spacesuits, or two with spacesuits; both combinations flown
9. Uncrewed flight count includes two launch failures
10. Crewed flights include one fatal in-flight failure; Soyuz 1 lost due to parachute failure upon landing.
11. Crewed flights include one fatal in-flight failure; Soyuz 11 depressurised during reentry.
12. Crewed flights include one launch failure (SAS (launch escape system) used ~70 seconds before planned liftoff due to fire on launch pad - crew survived)
13. Wingspan 23.92m
14. planned payload, never used
15. News: After redesigns, the finish line is in sight for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship. 7 December 2019. Stephen. Clark. Spaceflight Now. 'With [the addition of parachutes] and the angle of the seats, we could not get seven anymore', Shotwell said. "So now we only have four seats. That was kind of a big change for us".. 1 June 2020. 6 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200606095625/https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/12/07/after-redesigns-the-finish-line-is-in-sight-for-spacexs-crew-dragon/. live.
16. Web site: Falcon 9 . SpaceX . 20 January 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130715094112/http://www.spacex.com/falcon9 . 15 July 2013 .
17. Web site: SpaceX Brochure – 2008 . 9 December 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120320032815/http://www.spacex.com/SpaceX_Brochure_V7_All.pdf . 20 March 2012 .
18. Web site: SpaceX's Crew Dragon ready for first test flight – Spaceflight Now. Clark. Stephen. en-US. 2019-03-02.
19. Web site: McCrea . Aaron . 2024-10-10 . Dragon receives long-planned propulsive landing upgrade after years of development . 2024-11-12 . NASASpaceFlight.com . en-US.
20. Each mission in the Commercial Crew Program will send up to four astronauts to the ISS
21. Originally set to launch up to 6 astronauts, when designed for transportation of crew to the ISS under the Constellation Program
22. Including uncrewed test in 2014
23. Designed to land almost everywhere in the solar system
24. Number of seats will be lower on early missions
25. Plus delta wings
26. Including wings
27. Does not include crewed atmospheric flights
28. Does not include only-U.S.-recognized spaceflights
29. Does not include atmospheric flights, or missions considered spaceflights by the US definition but not the FAI's definition
30. 2 crew + 6 passengers
31. Does not include crewed atmospheric flights
32. todate only 45,000
33. 2 crew + 6 passengers
34. Does not include crewed atmospheric flights

See also

• Cargo spacecraft (robotic resupply spacecraft)
• Comparison of orbital launch systems
• Comparison of orbital rocket engines
• Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
• Human spaceflight