Soyuz B Russian space tug. Study 1962. In the definitive December 1962 Soyuz draft project, the Soyuz B (9K) rocket acceleration block would be launched into a 225 km orbit by a Soyuz 11A511 booster. |
Lockheed 1963 Space Tug American space tug. Study 1963. Lockheed proposed a space tug to service its 1963 space station. |
Gemini Agena Target Vehicle American modification of the Agena-D upper stage for use as a docking target and space tug for Gemini. |
GE Lunar NEP Tug American lunar logistics spacecraft. Nuclear electric tug proposed by General Electric in a 1965 study to support an Apollo Applications Lunar Base. A Snap-50 space reactor generating 1.9 MW would power the tug. |
PPM American space tug. Study 1968. The Primary Propulsion Module was the definitive 1960's design for a nuclear thermal rocket stage suitable for interplanetary operations. |
Space Tug The original Boeing Space Tug design of the early 1970's was sized to be flown either in a single shuttle mission or as a Saturn V payload. Optimum mass was found to be 20.6 metric tons regardless. |
ATV ICC European space tug. Study 1985. The Integrated Cargo Carrier was located at the forward end of the ATV. It represented 60% of the total ATV volume and carried all of the cargo for resupplying the Station. |
ATV SM European space tug. Study 1985. The unpressurized ATV Service Module included propulsion systems, electrical power (including solar arrays), computers, communications and most of the avionics. |
OTV American space tug. Studied 1985-1989. The Orbital Transfer Vehicle was reusable space tug, powered by LOx/LH2 engines and equipped with an aerobrake allowing it to be returned for refueling and reuse at an orbiting space station. |
SEP Tug American space tug. Study 1986. In 1986, Graeme Aston of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposed a lunar transportation system based on a solar-electric propulsion (SEP) space tug for ferrying moon base elements and cargo between Earth and lunar orbit. |
OMV American space tug. Cancelled 1987. The Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) was an important component in NASA's future Space Station plans in the 1980s. |
HTV Japanese unmanned spacecraft designed for launch by the H-IIB launch vehicle for International Space Station resupply. The HTV carried International Standard Payload Racks, and was docked using the ISS robot arm after rendezvous with the station. Supply satellite operated by JAXA (ex NASDA), Japan. Launched 2009 - 2016. |
Interorbital Tug Russian space tug. Cancelled 1991. Upper stage / space tug - nuclear electric space tug, to be launched by Energia-2. Developed 1978-1991, ultimately cancelled. |
Nerva 2/NTR American space tug. Study 2005. Upper stage / space tug - study completed 1991. Late 1980's update of 1960's Nerva design. |
STCAEM Cryogenic Aerobrake TMIS American space tug. Study 1991. The Trans-Mars Injection Stage (TMIS) consisted of a core unit with four advanced space engines (ASE), avionics and cryogenic propellant tanks, and provision for up to four "strap-on" propellant tank sets. |
ERTA Russian space tug. Study 1992. ERTA (Elecktro-Raketniy Transportniy Apparat) was a nuclear-electric space tug designed to be boosted on medium boosters and provide both propulsion and electrical power for unmanned planetary probes. |
ICAN American space tug. Antimatter-powered nuclear pulse spacecraft designed by Pennsylvania State University. |
MoTV American space tug. Study 2003. SpaceDev design for a low-cost, restartable hybrid propulsion space tug or upper stage. |
Kistler OV American space tug. Study 2012. The Kistler reusable launch vehicle concept included a reusable, recoverable second stage, dubbed the 'Orbital Vehicle', with an integral cargo module. |