Space Humanity Program

Open main menu

Search

Spacecraft

Read in another languageWatch this pageEdit

"Orbital vehicle" redirects here. For other uses, see Orbital vehicle (disambiguation).

More than 100 Soviet and Russian crewed Soyuzspacecraft (TMA version shown) have flown since 1967 and now support the International Space Station.

The US Space Shuttle flew 135 times from 1981 to 2011, supporting Spacelab, Mir, and the ISS. (Columbia's first launch, which had a white external tank, shown)

A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).

On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a space vehicleenters space and then returns to the surface, without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full orbit of the Earth. For orbital spaceflights, spacecraft enter closed orbits around the Earth or around other celestial bodies. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit (space stations) only, whereas those used for robotic space missions operate either autonomouslyor telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft used to support scientific research are space probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around a planetary body are artificial satellites. To date, only a handful of interstellar probes, such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and New Horizons, are on trajectories that leave the Solar System.

Orbital spacecraft may be recoverable or not. Most are not. Recoverable spacecraft may be subdivided by method of reentry to Earth into non-winged space capsules and winged spaceplanes.

Humanity has achieved space flight but only a few nations have the technology for orbital launches: Russia (RSA or "Roscosmos"), the United States (NASA), the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan(JAXA), China (CNSA), India (ISRO), Taiwan^[1][2][3][4] (National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Taiwan National Space Organization (NSPO),^[5][6][7] Israel (ISA), Iran (ISA), and North Korea (NADA).

HistoryEdit

See also: History of spaceflight

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. It was launched by the Soviet Union

A German V-2 became the first spacecraft when it reached an altitude of 189 km in June 1944 in Peenemünde, Germany.^[8] Sputnik 1was the first artificial satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit (LEO) by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments; while the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the Space Age.^[9][10] Apart from its value as a technological first, Sputnik 1 also helped to identify the upper atmospheric layer's density, through measuring the satellite's orbital changes. It also provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. Pressurized nitrogen in the satellite's false body provided the first opportunity for meteoroid detection. Sputnik 1 was launched during the International Geophysical Year from Site No.1/5, at the 5th Tyuratam range, in Kazakh SSR (now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome). The satellite travelled at 29,000 kilometers (18,000 mi) per hour, taking 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002 MHz

While Sputnik 1 was the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth, other man-made objects had previously reached an altitude of 100 km, which is the height required by the international organization Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to count as a spaceflight. This altitude is called the Kármán line. In particular, in the 1940s there were several test launches of the V-2 rocket, some of which reached altitudes well over 100 km.

Spacecraft typesEdit

Crewed spacecraftEdit

See also: List of crewed spacecraft and Human spaceflight

Apollo 17 Command Module in Lunar orbit

As of 2016, only three nations have flown crewed spacecraft: USSR/Russia, USA, and China. The first crewed spacecraft was Vostok 1, which carried Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, and completed a full Earth orbit. There were five other crewed missions which used a Vostok spacecraft.^[11] The second crewed spacecraft was named Freedom 7, and it performed a sub-orbital spaceflight in 1961 carrying American astronaut Alan Shepard to an altitude of just over 187 kilometers (116 mi). There were five other crewed missions using Mercury spacecraft.

Other Soviet crewed spacecraft include the Voskhod, Soyuz, flown uncrewed as Zond/L1, L3, TKS, and the Salyut and Mir crewed space stations. Other American crewed spacecraft include the Gemini spacecraft, Apollo spacecraft, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle with undetached European Spacelab and private US Spacehab space stations-modules. China developed, but did not fly Shuguang, and is currently using Shenzhou (its first crewed mission was in 2003).

Except for the Space Shuttle, all of the recoverable crewed orbital spacecraft were space capsules.

Crewed space capsules

Soviet Vostok capsule

American Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft

Soviet Voskhod (variant of Vostok)

1967 Soviet/Russian Soyuz spacecraft

Chinese Shenzhou

The International Space Station, crewed since November 2000, is a joint venture between Russia, the United States, Canada and several other countries.

SpaceplanesEdit

Main article: Spaceplane

Columbia orbiter landing

Some reusable vehicles have been designed only for crewed spaceflight, and these are often called spaceplanes. The first example of such was the North American X-15spaceplane, which conducted two crewed flights which reached an altitude of over 100 km in the 1960s. The first reusable spacecraft, the X-15, was air-launched on a suborbital trajectory on July 19, 1963.

The first partially reusable orbital spacecraft, a winged non-capsule, the Space Shuttle, was launched by the USA on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight, on April 12, 1981. During the Shuttle era, six orbiters were built, all of which have flown in the atmosphere and five of which have flown in space. Enterprisewas used only for approach and landing tests, launching from the back of a Boeing 747 SCAand gliding to deadstick landings at Edwards AFB, California. The first Space Shuttle to fly into space was Columbia, followed by Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Endeavour was built to replace Challengerwhen it was lost in January 1986. Columbiabroke up during reentry in February 2003.

The first automatic partially reusable spacecraft was the Buran-class shuttle, launched by the USSR on November 15, 1988, although it made only one flight and this was uncrewed. This spaceplane was designed for a crew and strongly resembled the U.S. Space Shuttle, although its drop-off boosters used liquid propellants and its main engines were located at the base of what would be the external tank in the American Shuttle. Lack of funding, complicated by the dissolution of the USSR, prevented any further flights of Buran. The Space Shuttle was subsequently modified to allow for autonomous re-entry in case of necessity.

Per the Vision for Space Exploration, the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011 due mainly to its old age and high cost of program reaching over a billion dollars per flight. The Shuttle's human transport role is to be replaced by SpaceX's Dragon V2 and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner no later than 2017. The Shuttle's heavy cargo transport role is to be replaced by expendable rockets such as the Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne was a reusable suborbital spaceplane that carried pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie on consecutive flights in 2004 to win the Ansari X Prize. The Spaceship Company will build its successor SpaceShipTwo. A fleet of SpaceShipTwos operated by Virgin Galacticwas planned to begin reusable private spaceflight carrying paying passengers in 2014, but was delayed after the crash of VSS Enterprise.

Unmanned spacecraftEdit

See also: List of unmanned spacecraft by program, Timeline of spaceflight, Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes, List of Solar System probes, Space probe, Robotic spacecraft, Unmanned resupply spacecraft, and Satellite

Hubble Space Telescope

Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)approaches the International Space Station on Monday, March 31, 2008

 

Mariner 10 diagram of trajectory past planet Venus

Learn more

This section needs expansion.

Designed as manned but flown as unmanned only spacecraftEdit

Zond/L1 – lunar flyby capsuleL3 – capsule and lunar landerTKS – capsuleBuran-class shuttle – Soviet shuttle

Semi-manned – manned as space stations or part of space stationsEdit

Progress – unmanned USSR/Russia cargo spacecraftTKS – unmanned USSR/Russia cargo spacecraft and space station moduleAutomated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) – unmanned European cargo spacecraftH-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) – unmanned Japanese cargo spacecraftSpaceX Dragon – unmanned private spacecraftTianzhou 1 (spacecraft) – China's unmanned spacecraft

Earth-orbit satellitesEdit

Explorer 1 – first US satelliteProject SCORE – first communications satelliteSolar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) - orbits the Sun near L1Sputnik 1 – world's first artificial satelliteSputnik 2 – first animal in orbit (Laika)Korabl-Sputnik 2 – first capsule recovered from orbit (Vostok precursor) – animals survivedSyncom – first geosynchronous communications satelliteHubble Space Telescope – largest orbital observatoryX-37 – spaceplane

Lunar probesEdit

Clementine – US Navy mission, orbited Moon, detected hydrogen at the polesKaguya JPN – lunar orbiterLuna 1 – first lunar flybyLuna 2 – first lunar impactLuna 3 – first images of lunar far sideLuna 9 – first soft landing on the MoonLuna 10 – first lunar orbiterLuna 16 – first unmanned lunar sample retrievalLunar Orbiter – very successful series of lunar mapping spacecraftLunar Prospector – confirmed detection of hydrogen at the lunar polesLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – Identifies safe landing sites and locates Moon resourcesLunokhod - Soviet lunar roversSMART-1 ESA – Lunar ImpactSurveyor – USA's first soft landerChang'e 1 – China's Chang'e lunar missionChang'e 2 – China's Chang'e lunar missionChang'e 3 – China's Chang'e lunar missionChandrayaan 1 – first Indian Lunar mission

 

Artist's conception of Cassini–Huygensas it enters Saturn's orbit

 

Artist's conception of the Phoenix spacecraft as it lands on Mars

Planetary probesEdit

Akatsuki JPN – a Venus orbiterCassini–Huygens – first Saturn orbiter and Titan landerCuriosity – Rover sent to Mars by NASA in 2012Galileo – first Jupiter orbiter and descent probeIKAROS JPN – first solar-sail spacecraftMariner 4 – first Mars flyby, first close and high resolution images of MarsMariner 9 – first Mars orbiterMariner 10 – first Mercury flyby, first close up imagesMars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity)– Mars roversMars Express – Mars orbiterMars Global Surveyor – Mars orbiterMars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) - India's first Interplanetary probeMars Reconnaissance Orbiter – an advanced climate, imaging, sub-surface radar, and telecommunications Mars orbiterMESSENGER – first Mercury orbiter (arrival 2011)Mars Pathfinder – Mars lander, carrying the Sojourner roverNew Horizons – first Pluto flyby (arrival 2015)Pioneer 10 – first Jupiter flyby, first close up imagesPioneer 11 – second Jupiter flyby and first Saturn flyby (first close up images of Saturn)Pioneer Venus – first Venus orbiter and landersVega 1 – Balloon release into Venusatmosphere and lander (joint mission with Vega 2), mothership continued on to fly by Halley's Comet^{[citation needed]}Venera 4 – first soft landing on another planet (Venus)Viking 1 – first soft landing on MarsVoyager 2 – Jupiter flyby, Saturn flyby, and first flybys/images of Neptune and Uranus

Other – deep spaceEdit

Main article: Space probe

ClusterDeep Space 1Deep ImpactGenesisHayabusaNear Earth Asteroid RendezvousStardustSTEREO – Heliospheric and solar sensing; first images of the entire SunWMAP

Fastest spacecraftEdit

Parker Solar Probe (estimated 343,000 km/h or 213,000 mph at first sun close pass, will reach 700,000 km/h or 430,000 mph at final perihelion)^[12]Helios I and II Solar Probes (252,792 km/h or 157,078 mph)

Furthest spacecraft from the SunEdit

Voyager 1 at 144.20 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 3.58 AU/year^[13]Pioneer 10 at 122.48 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 2.52 AU/year^[13]Voyager 2 at 119.34 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 3.24 AU/year^[13]Pioneer 11 at 101.17 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 2.37 AU/year^[13]

Unfunded and canceled programsEdit

 

The first test flight of the Delta Clipper-Experimental Advanced (DC-XA), a prototype launch system

Manned spacecraftEdit

Chinese Shuguang capsuleSoviet Soyuz Kontakt capsuleSoviet Almaz space stationUS Manned Orbiting Laboratory space stationUS Altair lunar lander

Multi-stage spaceplanesEdit

US X-20 spaceplaneSoviet Spiral shuttleSoviet/Russian Buran-class shuttleESA Hermes shuttleKliper Russian semi-shuttle/semi-capsuleJapanese HOPE-X shuttleChinese Shuguang Project 921-3 shuttle

SSTO spacecraftEdit

RR/British Aerospace HOTOLESA Hopper OrbiterUS DC-X (Delta Clipper)US Roton Rotored-HybridUS VentureStar

Spacecraft under developmentEdit

The Orion spacecraft

MannedEdit

(US-NASA) Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle – capsule(US-SpaceX) Dragon V2 – capsule(US-Boeing) CST-100 – capsule(US-Sierra Nevada Corporation) Dream Chaser – orbital spaceplane(US-The SpaceShip company) SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane(US-Blue Origin) New Shepard – VTVLcapsule(US-XCOR) Lynx rocketplane – suborbital spaceplaneChina Shenzhou spacecraft Cargo(India-DRDO) Avatar RLV -Under development, First demonstration flight planned in 2015.^[14](India-ISRO) Gaganyaan – capsule(India-ISRO) RLV Technology Demonstration Programme - SpacecraftSpaceX reusable rocket (BFR)(Russia-RKA) Prospective Piloted Transport System (PPTS) – capsule(Europe-ESA) Advanced Crew Transportation System – capsule(Iranian Space Agency) Orbital Vehicle – capsule

UnmannedEdit

ESA & JAXA BepiColombo - Planetary Probe to MercuryChina Shenzhou (spacecraft) CargoCNES Mars NetlanderOrbital Sciences Cygnus – cargo delivery to the ISSDarwin14 ESA probeJames Webb Space Telescope (delayed)Mars 2020 roverReaction Engines LimitedSkylonSpaceX Dragon – cargo delivery to the ISSStarChip and Sprites - miniaturized interstellar spacecraftSystem F6—a DARPA Fractionated Spacecraft demonstratorTerrestrial Planet Finder cancelled probe

SubsystemsEdit

A spacecraft system comprises various subsystems, depending on the mission profile. Spacecraft subsystems comprise the spacecraft's "bus" and may include attitude determination and control (variously called ADAC, ADC, or ACS), guidance, navigation and control (GNC or GN&C), communications (comms), command and data handling (CDH or C&DH), power (EPS), thermal control (TCS), propulsion, and structures. Attached to the bus are typically payloads.

Life supportSpacecraft intended for human spaceflight must also include a life support system for the crew.

Reaction control system thrusters on the front of the U.S. Space Shuttle

Attitude controlA Spacecraft needs an attitude controlsubsystem to be correctly oriented in space and respond to external torques and forces properly. The attitude control subsystem consists of sensors and actuators, together with controlling algorithms. The attitude-control subsystem permits proper pointing for the science objective, sun pointing for power to the solar arrays and earth pointing for communications.GNCGuidance refers to the calculation of the commands (usually done by the CDH subsystem) needed to steer the spacecraft where it is desired to be. Navigation means determining a spacecraft's orbital elementsor position. Control means adjusting the path of the spacecraft to meet mission requirements.Command and data handlingThe CDH subsystem receives commands from the communications subsystem, performs validation and decoding of the commands, and distributes the commands to the appropriate spacecraft subsystems and components. The CDH also receives housekeeping data and science data from the other spacecraft subsystems and components, and packages the data for storage on a data recorder or transmission to the ground via the communications subsystem. Other functions of the CDH include maintaining the spacecraft clock and state-of-health monitoring.

Further information: On-Board Data Handling

CommunicationsSpacecraft, both robotic and crewed, utilize various communications systems for communication with terrestrial stations as well as for communication between spacecraft in space. Technologies utilized include RF and optical communication. In addition, some spacecraft payloads are explicitly for the purpose of ground–ground communication using receiver/retransmitter electronic technologies.PowerSpacecraft need an electrical power generation and distribution subsystem for powering the various spacecraft subsystems. For spacecraft near the Sun, solar panels are frequently used to generate electrical power. Spacecraft designed to operate in more distant locations, for example Jupiter, might employ a radioisotope thermoelectric generator(RTG) to generate electrical power. Electrical power is sent through power conditioning equipment before it passes through a power distribution unit over an electrical bus to other spacecraft components. Batteries are typically connected to the bus via a battery charge regulator, and the batteries are used to provide electrical power during periods when primary power is not available, for example when a low Earth orbit spacecraft is eclipsed by Earth.Thermal controlSpacecraft must be engineered to withstand transit through Earth's atmosphere and the space environment. They must operate in a vacuum with temperatures potentially ranging across hundreds of degrees Celsius as well as (if subject to reentry) in the presence of plasmas. Material requirements are such that either high melting temperature, low density materials such as beryllium and reinforced carbon–carbon or (possibly due to the lower thickness requirements despite its high density) tungsten or ablativecarbon–carbon composites are used. Depending on mission profile, spacecraft may also need to operate on the surface of another planetary body. The thermal control subsystem can be passive, dependent on the selection of materials with specific radiative properties. Active thermal control makes use of electrical heaters and certain actuators such as louvers to control temperature ranges of equipments within specific ranges.Spacecraft propulsionSpacecraft may or may not have a propulsion subsystem, depending on whether or not the mission profile calls for propulsion. The Swift spacecraft is an example of a spacecraft that does not have a propulsion subsystem. Typically though, LEO spacecraft include a propulsion subsystem for altitude adjustments (drag make-up maneuvers) and inclinationadjustment maneuvers. A propulsion system is also needed for spacecraft that perform momentum management maneuvers. Components of a conventional propulsion subsystem include fuel, tankage, valves, pipes, and thrusters. The thermal control system interfaces with the propulsion subsystem by monitoring the temperature of those components, and by preheating tanks and thrusters in preparation for a spacecraft maneuver.StructuresSpacecraft must be engineered to withstand launch loads imparted by the launch vehicle, and must have a point of attachment for all the other subsystems. Depending on mission profile, the structural subsystem might need to withstand loads imparted by entry into the atmosphere of another planetary body, and landing on the surface of another planetary body.PayloadThe payload depends on the mission of the spacecraft, and is typically regarded as the part of the spacecraft "that pays the bills". Typical payloads could include scientific instruments (cameras, telescopes, or particle detectors, for example), cargo, or a human crew.Ground segment

Main article: Ground segment

The ground segment, though not technically part of the spacecraft, is vital to the operation of the spacecraft. Typical components of a ground segment in use during normal operations include a mission operations facility where the flight operations team conducts the operations of the spacecraft, a data processing and storage facility, ground stations to radiate signals to and receive signals from the spacecraft, and a voice and data communications network to connect all mission elements.^[15]Launch vehicleThe launch vehicle propels the spacecraft from Earth's surface, through the atmosphere, and into an orbit, the exact orbit being dependent on the mission configuration. The launch vehicle may be expendable or reusable.

See also

References

External links

Last edited 3 days ago by CLCStudent

RELATED ARTICLES

Spaceflight

essentially an extreme form of ballistic flight,use of space technology to achieve the flight of spacecraft into and through outer space, used in space exploration, and also in commercial activities like space tourism and satellite telecommunications

List of human spaceflight programs

Wikimedia list article

History of spaceflight

aspect of history

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop