Space station orbit

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Space station orbit

Category of spacecraft.

Subtopics

Von Braun Station American manned space station. Study 1945. In the first 1946 summary of his work during World War II, Wernher von Braun prophesied the construction of space stations in orbit.

BIS Station British manned space station. Study 1948. H. E. Ross proposed a manned satellite station in Earth orbit that would serve as an astronomical and zero-gravity and vacuum research laboratory.

Aussenstation German manned space station. Study 1951. H. H. Koelle's Aussenstation was a large circular structure consisting of 36 separate 5-m spheres arranged around a central hub, the whole structure rotating to provide an artificial gravity environment.

Ehricke 4-man orbital station American manned space station. Study 1954. In 1954 Ehricke postulated a four-man design that might serve a number of different purposes, depending upon altitude and orbital inclination.

Outpost American manned space station. Study 1958. In 1958, the year after Sputnik 1, Krafft Ehricke, then with General Dynamics' Convair Division, designed a four-man space station known as Outpost.

Ideal Home Station American manned space station. Study 1959. Designed by Douglas, the Space Vehicle was represented by a full-scale model at the Ideal Home Show in London in 1962. It had a length of 19 m and was 5.2 m in diameter.

3 Crew Lifeboat American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1959. Three crew bailout lifeboat separable, not re-entry capable, short duration. Mass per crew 239 kg.

VKA-23 Design 1 Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1960. Myasishchev single-pilot winged spacecraft of 1960, sized for launch to orbit by Korolev's Vostok booster.

Apollo ATM American manned space station. Study 1966. The Apollo Telescope Mount began as a solar telescope built into the spaceframe of an Apollo lunar module.

OS Russian manned space station. Study 1960. In 1960 Korolev proposed a military orbital station (OS), with a crew of 3 to 5, orbiting at 350 to 400 km altitude.

1 Crew Ballistic Re-entry Capsule American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1960. One crew ballistic re-entry capsule. Orbital escape - no abort capability. Mass per crew 327 kg.

3 Crew Lifting Re-Entry Concept American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1960. Three crew lifting re-entry capsule. Orbital escape - no abort capability. Mass per crew 434 kg.

FIRST Re-Entry Glider American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1960. FIRST (Fabrication of Inflatable Re-entry Structures for Test) used an inflatable Rogallo wing for emergency return of space crew from orbit.

Lofti American communications technology satellite. The Low Frequency Trans-Ionospheric (LOFTI) satellites were produced as a cooperative effort with the Radio Division.

TKS Heavy Space Station Russian manned space station. Study 1961. The TKS (Heavy Space Station, also known as TOSZ - Heavy Orbital Station of the Earth) was Korolev's first 1961 project for a large N1-launched military space station.

Apollo A American manned space station. Study 1961. Apollo A was a lighter-weight July 1961 version of the Apollo spacecraft.

Apollo X American manned space station. Study 1963.

Advanced Manned System 1961 American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1961. Six crew ballistic re-entry capsule. Orbital escape - abort capability. Mass per crew 548 kg.

OS-1962 Russian manned space station. Study 1962. On 10 March 1962 Korolev approved the technical project "Complex docking of spacecraft in earth orbit - Soyuz". This contained the original Soyuz L1 circumlunar design.

OP Russian manned space station. Study 1962. Korolev's next attempt to win military support for development of the N-I was his fantastic 'Orbitalniy Poyas' (OP -Orbital Belt) scheme of 20 April 1962.

OS-1 (1965) Russian manned space station. Reached mock-up stage, 1965.

MORL American manned space station. Study 1962. In June 1964 Boeing and Douglas received Phase I contracts for Manned Orbital Research Laboratory station designs. The recommended concept was a 13.

Orbital Workshop American manned space station. Study 1965. The Orbital Workshop (OWS) was a 1960's NASA program to create an embryonic space station in orbit using the spent S-IVB rocket stage of a Saturn IB.

Convair Shuttlecraft American manned spaceplane. Study 1962. Convair concept for a winged shuttle vehicle, early 1960's.

Remova Russian logistics spacecraft. Study 1962. Remova was a Soviet Manned Maneuvering Unit design that first appeared in a German book in 1967. It was said that the study was made at the beginning of the 1960's.

USAF Recommended Station American manned space station. Study 1962. During 1962 NASA Centers, the Air Force, and many of the major aerospace contractors were developing possible space station concepts and studying their potential uses.

LORL American manned space station. Study 1962. Large Orbiting Research Laboratory was a term applied to a number of NASA and USAF designs of the 1960's intended to succeed MORL. Typically these were rotating stations orbited in a single Saturn V launch.

Paracone American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1963. The Douglas Paracone was one of the most minimal schemes for bail-out from orbit. The objective was to hit a continental land mass; for such purposes totally manual re-entry operations were used.

Astrocommuter American manned spaceplane. The Lockheed Astrocommuter was a 1963 design for a manned space shuttle that would use the Saturn 1B as a first stage.

Gemini Transport American logistics spacecraft. Study 1963. This Gemini Transport version was proposed as a Gemini program follow-on in 1963. With the extended reentry module, this was the ancestor of the Big Gemini spacecraft of the late 1960's.

Gemini Ferry American manned spacecraft. Study 1963. The Gemini Ferry vehicle would have been launched by Titan 3M for space station replenishment.

Lockheed 1963 Space Tug American space tug. Study 1963. Lockheed proposed a space tug to service its 1963 space station.

Lockheed 1963 Space Station American manned space station. Study 1963. Lockheed made an unsolicited proposal to NASA in 1963 for an ambitious space station project. The elements would be launched by Saturn I, as would the 'Astrocommuter' shuttle.

MOOSE American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1963. MOOSE was perhaps the most celebrated bail-out from orbit system of the early 1960's. The suited astronaut would strap the MOOSE to his back, and jump out of the spacecraft or station into free space.

Re-Entry Escape System American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1963. One crew lifting re-entry capsule. No abort capability. Mass per crew 1171 kg.

Re-Entry Glider-Six Crew American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1963. A six-man parasail escape system was studied as an elaboration of the single-crew system. It was to provide rescue from manned spacecraft as well as stations.

Self-Deploying Space Station American manned space station. Study 1963. The first space station designs using the Saturn V launch vehicle involved spinning stations, providing artificial G for the crew.

Almaz APOS Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1966. The initial Almaz phase 1 configuration as conceived in 1965 included a single-launch station with its own VA crew return re-entry module.

Gemini Pecan American manned space station. Study 1964.

Soyuz 7K-TK Russian manned spacecraft. Cancelled 1966. To deliver crews to the Soyuz R 11F71 station Kozlov developed the transport spacecraft 11F72 Soyuz 7K-TK.

Saturn II Stage Wet Workshop American manned space station. Study 1964. Wernher von Braun made a rough sketch of a space station based on fitting out of an expended Saturn II stage in orbit on 24 November 1964.

Spiral OS Russian manned spaceplane, developed 1965-1980s, including subscale flight article tests. Evolved into the MAKS spaceplane. The Spiral was an ambitious air-launched manned space system designed in the 1960's.

Apollo LM Lab American manned space station. Study 1965. Use of the Apollo LM as an earth-orbiting laboratory was proposed for Apollo Applications Program missions.

Extended Mission Gemini American manned spacecraft. Study 1965. A McDonnell concept for using Gemini for extended duration missions. The basic Gemini would dock with an Agena upper stage.

Soyuz 7K-OK Russian manned spacecraft. Development of a three-manned orbital version of the Soyuz, the 7K-OK was approved in December 1963. Launched 1966 - 1969.

GE Life Raft American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1966. The GE Life raft was a rigid unpressurized aeroshell. Three crew in space suits with parachutes would strap themselves into the seats.

Orbital Escape System American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1966.

Rescue Gemini American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1966. A version of Gemini was proposed for rescue of crews stranded in Earth orbit. This version, launched by a Titan 3C, used a transtage for maneuvering.

OS-1 (1969) Russian manned space station. Study 1969. By 1969 the giant OS-1 space station had evolved to this configuration.

Apollo RM American logistics spacecraft. Study 1967. In 1967 it was planned that Saturn IB-launched Orbital Workshops would be supplied by Apollo CSM spacecraft and Resupply Modules (RM) with up to three metric tons of supplies and instruments.

N-6 Russian cosmic ray astronomy satellite. Proton 4. Cosmic ray measurements. Study of the nature of high and ultra-high energy cosmic rays and their interaction with atomic nuclei. Mass announced at time of launch 17,000 kg.

Apollo 120 in Telescope American manned space station. Study 1968. Concept for use of a Saturn V-launched Apollo CSM with an enormous 10 m diameter space laboratory equipped with a 3 m diameter astronomical telescope.

Apollo LMAL American manned space station. Study 1968.

AIRMAT American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1968. Inflatable; space suits required; ejection seat; requires development of flexible heat shield and new materials. Mass per crew 570 kg.

Rib Stiffened Expandable Escape System American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1968. This Rockwell concept was stowed in a canister. In an emergency, the articulated rib-truss structure would be deployed into a mechanically rigid aeroshell shape.

Space Station 1970 NASA's baseline Space Station of 1970, which was to be operational at early as 1977, was a large earth orbiting laboratory having a crew of 12 and a minimum operational lifetime of 10 years with resupply flights every 90 days.

MKBS Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1974. The culmination of ten years of designs for N1-launched space stations, the MKBS would be cancelled together with the N1.

Big Gemini American manned spacecraft. Reached mockup stage 1967.

Gemini B AM American manned spacecraft module. Cancelled 1969. Adapter module for Gemini B, the engines serving as both abort motors during ascent to orbit and for retrofire on return to earth. Abort/deorbit propulsion.

Gemini B RM American manned spacecraft. Cancelled 1969. Gemini was extensively redesigned for the MOL Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. The resulting Gemini B, although externally similar, was essentially a completely new spacecraft. Reentry capsule.

MURP American manned spaceplane. The McDonnell Douglas Space Shuttle Phase A studies were conducted under contract NAS9-9204. Their Class I vehicle was dubbed MURP - Manned Upper Reusable Payload.

Apollo Rescue CSM American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1970. Influenced by the stranded Skylab crew portrayed in the book and movie 'Marooned', NASA provided a crew rescue capability for the first time in its history.

ENCAP American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1970. The ENCAP encapsulated bailout-from-orbit concept consisted of a folded heat shield. The astronaut would exit his stranded spacecraft and strap into the seat.

Space Base American manned space station. Study 1970. Growth of Space Station into a 50 man Space Base was a required capability in the Phase B NASA Space Station studies of 1969-1970.

S-IVB Advanced Station American manned space station. Study 1970. Follow-on to Skylab proposed by Douglas. The station would still use the S-IVB stage as the basis, but would be much more extensively outfitted for larger crews.

Salyut 1 Russian manned space station. Salyut 1 was the first DOS long duration orbital station, an Almaz spaceframe modified with Soyuz systems by a joint Korolev-Chelomei team. Launched 1971.

Soyuz 7KT-OK Russian manned spacecraft. This was a modification of Soyuz 7K-OK with a lightweight docking system and a crew transfer tunnel. Launched 1971.

Almaz OPS-2 Russian manned space station. Configuration with two docking ports, one at each end of the station. Cancelled 1979. The initial Almaz military space station program planned in 1965 consisted of two phases. In the second phase sustained operations would be conducted with Almaz dual-docking port stations serviced by TKS manned resupply vehicles.

Soyuz 7K-T Russian manned spacecraft. Launched 1972 - 1981.

Modularized Space Station American manned space station. Study 1972. Space station design of 1972 using modules sized for transport in the Space Shuttle payload bay. could be carried inside the Shuttle orbiter payload bay.

Almaz OPS Russian manned space station. Vladimir Chelomei's Almaz OPS was the only manned military space station ever actually flown.

Salyut 4 Russian manned space station. Four of the initial DOS-1 versions of a civilian Soviet space station were built using converted Almaz military stations. Launched 1973.

Skylab American manned space station. First US space station. The project began life as the Orbital Workshop- outfitting of an S-IVB stage with a docking adapter with equipment launched by several subsequent S-1B launches.Launched 1973.

Soyuz 7K-TM Russian manned spacecraft. The Soyuz 7K-T as modified for the docking with Apollo. Launched 1974 - 1975.

Soyuz 7K-T/A9 Russian manned spacecraft. Version of 7K-T for flights to Almaz. Known difference with the basic 7K-T included systems for remote control of the Almaz station and a revised parachute system. Russian orbital launch vehicle variant.

Soyuz 7K-S Russian manned spacecraft. The Soyuz 7K-S had its genesis in military Soyuz designs of the 1960's. Launched 1974 - 1976.

MTKVA Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1974, competitor with Buran. Manned lifting body spaceplane, designed by Soviet engineers as a recoverable spacecraft in the early 1970's.

Apollo ASTP Docking Module American manned space station module. Docking Module 2. The ASTP docking module was basically an airlock with docking facilities on each end to allow crew transfer between the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft.

MOSES American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1975. The General Electric MOSES space rescue concept of the early 1980's took advantage of large re-entry capsules already developed for classified US military projects.

Mir-2 Russian manned space station. Study 1989. The Mir-2 space station was originally authorized in the February 1976 resolution setting forth plans for development of third generation Soviet space systems.

Apollo CM Escape Concept American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1976. Escape capsule using Apollo command module studied by Rockwell for NASA for use with the shuttle in the 1970's-80's. Mass per crew: 750 kg.

Northrop LBEC American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1976. Northrop, building on its work on the HL-10 and M2-F3 lifting bodies, proposed a lifting body three-crew lifeboat. The piloted spacecraft would use a parasail for recovery.

OPS + TKS Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1976. Designation give to combined TKS+OPS Almaz station.

Rockwell SHS American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1976. The Rockwell Spherical Heat Shield escape concept used a return capsule shell like a Vostok capsule cut in half. Two crew could be returned in a pressurized environment. Mass per crew 220 kg.

KSI Russian logistics spacecraft. Study 1977. Capsule designed to return film and data materials from the Almaz military space station.

TKS Vladimir Chelomei's TKS manned ferry vehicle was designed to provide a reusable resupply and crew return spacecraft much more capable and flexible than either the Soyuz or Apollo designs. Although the TKS completed its development program as part of the military Almaz space station program it was never used for manned spaceflight. However the TKS resupply vehicle provided the basis for the successful FGB space station modules used with the Salyut, Mir, and International Space Station. The original TKS was launched four times, from 1977.07.17 (Cosmos 929) to 1985.09.27 (Cosmos 1686).

Salyut 6 Russian manned space station, launched 1977-09-29. The Salyut 6 space station was the most successful of the DOS series prior to Mir. It was aloft for four years and ten months, completing 27,785 orbits of the earth.

Progress Russian logistics spacecraft. Progress took the basic Soyuz 7K-T manned ferry designed for the Salyut space station and modified it for unmanned space station resupply. Cargo satellite operated by RKK, Russia. Launched 1978 - 1990.

Soyuz T Russian manned spacecraft. Soyuz T had a long gestation, beginning as the Soyuz VI military orbital complex Soyuz in 1967. Launched 1978 - 1986.

37K-Mir Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1983. The basic 37K design consisted of a 4.2 m diameter pressurized cylinder with a docking port at the forward end. It was not equipped with its own propulsion system.

37KS Russian manned space station module. Cancelled 1983. Would have been launched by Proton and delivered and docked to the Mir station by a new lighter weight FGO tug.

LO Russian manned space station. Study 1984. A later version of the 37K design for civilian experiments, the LO Laboratory Compartment, would be retained in the payload bay of Buran and connected to the orbiter's cockpit area by an access tunnel.

NPG Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1986. A later version of the 37K design for military experiments, the NPG Retained Payload, would be mounted in the payload bay of Buran and connected to the orbiter's cockpit area by an access tunnel.

STS External Tank Station American manned space station. Study 1980. NASA studied several concepts in the 1980's using the 'wet workshop' approach to the capacious External Tank carried into orbit with every shuttle flight.

Iskra Russian amateur radio communications satellite. Launched from Salyut 7 airlock. Conduct of experiments in the field of amateur radio communications.

Salyut 7 Russian manned space station, launched 1982-04-19. Salyut 7 was the back-up article for Salyut 6 and very similar in equipment and capabilities. However the crews were able to conduct significant military experiments due to the greatly increased volume and payload of the TKS modules diverted from the cancelled Almaz program that docked with the station.

LKS Russian manned spaceplane. Mock-up stage when cancelled in 1983. The LKS was a Chelomei design for a reusable manned winged spacecraft, similar to the later European Hermes spaceplane.

OK-M Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1984. 1980's design for a spaceplane, smaller than Buran, to replace Soyuz and Progress spacecraft for space station crew rotation/replenishment tasks.

OK-M1 Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1984. The OK-M1 manned spaceplane was designed by NPO Molniya as a follow-on to the OK-M of NPO Energia. The OK-M1 was an integrated part of a unique launch vehicle, the MMKS reusable multi-module space system.

OK-M2 Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1984. The OK-M2 was a manned spaceplane, a straight delta wing joined to a broad fuselage with an upturned nose.

Rescue Ball American manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1984. The Personal Rescue Enclosure (PRE) Rescue Ball was an 86 cm diameter high-tech beach ball for transport of astronauts from a spacecraft in distress to the space shuttle.

Zarya Russian manned spacecraft. Cancelled 1989.' Super Soyuz' replacement for Soyuz and Progress.

Mir Modules-FGB Russian space station modules derived from the Chelomei TKS ferry. See entries for Kvant-2, Priroda, Spektr, and Kristall for details on each.

Yakovlev MVKS Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1986. In reaction to US X-30 project, government decrees of 27 January and 19 July 1986 ordered development of a Soviet equivalent.

Mir The Mir space station was the last remnant of the once mighty Soviet space program. The core module was launched on 1986-02-20. It was built to last only five years, and consisted of a station core derived from the Salyut space station, with docking ports to accomodate additional modules for specialized research. As the Soviet Union collapsed Mir stayed in orbit, but the final modules were were delivered years late and could only be completed with American financial assistance. The Mir complex in the end consisting of 7 modules with 11.5 metric tons of scientific equipment. It cost $220 to $240 million per year to keep in operation. Kept flying over a decade beyond its rated life, Mir proved a source of pride to the Russian people and proved the ability of their cosmonauts and engineers to improvise and keep operations going despite all manner of challenges and mishaps.

Soyuz TM Russian manned spacecraft. Launched 1986 - 2002.

Mir complex Russian manned space station. Assembled 1986 to 1996. Designation given to the entire Mir space station.

Kvant Russian manned space station module. Kvant 1). The Kvant spacecraft represented the first use of a new kind of Soviet space station module, designated 37K. Launched 1987.

Polyus Russian military anti-satellite system. The Polyus military test bed was put together on a crash basis as an answer to America's Star Wars program. Missile defence technology satellite, Russia. Launched 1987.

HL-20 American manned spaceplane. The HL-20 was a 1988 NASA Langley design for a manned spaceplane as a backup to the space shuttle (in case it was abandoned or grounded) and as a CERV (Crew Emergency Return Vehicle) for the Freedom space station.

37KB Russian manned space station module. Carried in the payload bay of the Buran space shuttle. They could remain attached to the bay or (modified to the 37KBI configuration) be docked to the Mir-2 station.

Buran Russian manned spaceplane which represented a huge leap in Soviet space technology and project management. Buran flew only once, in 1988. The cost of Buran - 14.5 billion rubles - was a significant part of the effort to maintain strategic and technical parity with the United States. In the end it contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and thus the demise of Buran itself.

KS space station Russian military orbital bombing system. Study 1988. To co-ordinate the actions of multiple space combat units, NPO Energia proposed in the 1980's a KS space station.

MAKS series Russian manned spaceplane. Reached advanced stage of development testing and prototype construction when project was cancelled in 1988. The MAKS spaceplane was the ultimate development of the OK-M studies NPO Molniya conducted with NPO Energia.

Mir-2 KB Salyut Russian manned space station. Cancelled 1988. Alternative design for the Mir-2 space station by KB Salyut. If Polyus had successfully made it to orbit, it might have been the core for such a station.

Progress M Russian logistics spacecraft. Progress M was an upgraded version of the original Progress. New service module and rendezvous and docking systems were adopted from Soyuz T. Cargo satellite operated by RKK > RAKA, Russia. Launched 1989 - 2009.

Kvant-2 Russian manned space station module. Kvant 2. Kvant-2 was a utility module launched to the Mir station. It provided an airlock, additional electric power, and additional gyrodynes for orienting the station. Built by Khrunichev for MOM > RKA, Russia. Launched 1989.

Kristall Russian manned space station module. Kristall was a dedicated zero-gravity materials and biological science research module for the Mir space station, launched in January 1990, built by Khrunichev for MOM > RKA, Russia. Launched 1990.

Gamma Russian gamma ray astronomy satellite. The Gamma USSR/France gamma/x-ray astronomical telescope spacecraft was derived from the Soyuz manned spacecraft and had an unusually long gestation. Astronomy, Gamma satellite, Russia. Launched 1990. Used Soyuz-Bus.

Mak Russian earth atmosphere satellite. Launched from Mir airlock. Investigation of features of the Earth's atmosphere.

Hermes French manned spaceplane. Cancelled 1992. The Hermes spaceplane would have provided independent European manned access to space. Hermes was designed to take three astronauts to orbits of up to 800 km altitude on missions of 30 to 90 days in space.

Spektr - Original Russian military anti-satellite system. Study 1989. Chelomei designed a spacecraft bus for space based weapons based on his TKS space tug. This was an alternate / competitive design to the NPO Energia USB.

Skif-DM Russian materials science satellite. Cancelled 1992. In 1990 KB Salyut proposed using the back-up of the Polyus 'star wars' test bed as a huge zero-gravity materials production facility.

Spacehab American manned space station module. Spacehab, Inc was founded by Bob Citron in 1982 in Houston. It was the only entrepreneurial company of the 1900's to successfully develop a commercial manned spaceflight module.

Progress M2 Russian logistics spacecraft. Cancelled 1993. As Phase 2 of the third generation Soviet space systems it was planned to use a more capable resupply craft for the Mir-2 space station.

X-38 American manned spaceplane. Lifting body reentry vehicle designed as emergency return spacecraft for International Space Station crew. Crew Return Vehicle prototypesatellite built by, Aerojet (DPS) for NASA.

Spektr Russian manned space station module. Spektr was a module of the Mir space station. It began life as a dedicated military research unit. Built by Khrunichev for MOM > RKA, Russia. Launched 1995.

Mir-Shuttle Docking Module Russian manned space station. A specialized SO docking module was originally designed for docking the Buran space shuttle with the Mir-2 space station.

Priroda Russian manned space station module. Priroda was the last Mir module launched. It was originally an all-Soviet remote sensing module for combined civilian and military surveillance of the earth. Launched 1996.

Alpha Lifeboat Russian manned rescue spacecraft. Study 1995. 1995 joint Energia-Rockwell-Khrunichev design for space station Alpha lifeboat based on the Zarya reentry vehicle with a solid retrofire motor, cold gas thruster package. Five years on-orbit storage.

Inspector German logistics spacecraft. X-Mir Inspector. Robotic spacecraft designed for free flight and camera inspection of the exterior of the Space Shuttle or International Space Station.

PS Model Russian amateur radio communications satellite. Two subscale models of Sputnik 1, were built by students for hand-launch from Mir on fortieth anniversary of Sputnik 1.

ISS Zarya ISS Space Station central module built by GKNPTs Khrunichev for NASA, Rosaviakosmos, Russia. Launched 1998.

ISS Unity American manned space station. Unity was the first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station. Built by Boeing for NASA, USA. Launched 1998.

VKK Russian manned spaceplane. Study 1998. A Russian concept of the 1990's harking back to Chelomei's Raketoplan of three decades earlier. A manned aircraft would be protected during launch and re-entry by an expendable aeroshell heat shield.

Tu-2000 Russian winged orbital launch vehicle. This Soviet equivalent to the US X-30 single-stage-to-orbit scramjet aerospaceplane began development in1986. Three versions were planned: a Mach 6 test vehicle, under construction at cancellation of the program in 1992; a Mach 6 intercontinental bomber; and a single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle.

X-30 American SSTO winged orbital launch vehicle. Air-breathing scramjet single stage to orbit. Second attempt after study of similar proposal in early 1960's. Cancelled due to cost, technical challenges. Superseded by X-33 rocket-powered SSTO.

IRDT Russian manned rescue spacecraft. Inflatable re-entry and descent technology vehicle designed to return payloads from space to the earth or another planet. Tested three times, with only one partially successful recovery.

ISS Zvezda Russian manned space station module. The Zvezda service module of the International Space Station had its origins a quarter century before it was launched. Built by GKNPTs Khrunichev for Rosaviakosmos, Russia. Launched 2000.

Soyuz TMA Russian three-crew manned spacecraft. Designed for use as a lifeboat for the International Space Station. After the retirement of the US shuttle in 2011, Soyuz TMA was the only conveying crews to the ISS. Except for the Chinese Shenzhou, it became mankind's sole means of access to space. Launched 2002 - 2011.

Kliper Russian manned spaceplane. Study 2004. The Kliper manned spacecraft replacement for Soyuz was first announced at a Moscow news conference on 17 February 2004.

Genesis Pathfinder American technology satellite. One third scale version of the Nautilus inflatable human space habitat module. Technology, inflateable structures satellite for Bigelow Aerospace, USA. Launched 2006-2007.

Guardian American technology satellite. Cancelled 2006. 45% scale version of the Nautilus inflatable human space habitat module, designed to prove the ECS system.

Galaxy space station module The Galaxy subscale space station module was scheduled to fly in 2008. It would be twice as large as its Genesis predecessors and represent a 50% scale model of the Sundancer manned inflatable space station.

Parom Russian logistics spacecraft. Study 2009. In its latest iteration, RKK Energia's Parom was a reusable interorbital tug intended to transport cargo containers and the Kliper manned ferry from low earth orbit to the International Space Station.

Sundancer American manned space station by Bigelow Aerospace, USA. Study 2010. The Sundancer inflatable space station had provisions for three crew. It was to be launched by 2010 aboard a Falcon 9, Zenit-2, or Atlas V booster.

Nautilus American manned space station module. Study 2013. Inflatable pressurized habitat module for use in manned space stations, lunar, or interplanetary spacecraft or bases. Developed by Bigelow Aerospace using private funds.

CSS Skywalker American manned space station. Study 2015. Commercial Space Station Skywalker was hotel entrepreneur Bigelow's concept for the first space hotel.

MDPB American manned space station module. Study 2015. Propulsion module for space stations based on Bigelow Nautilus inflatable habitats.

Dream Chaser American manned spaceplane. A six-passenger human space transport system announced in 2006 by SpaceDev, based on the ten-passenger HL-20 Personnel Launch System developed by NASA Langley in the 1980's.

People: Noordung.

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