Editing Spacecraft (section)

== Crewed and uncrewed spacecraft ==

=== Crewed spacecraft ===
{{See also|List of crewed spacecraft|human spaceflight}}
[[File:Apollo 17 Command Module AS17-145-22261HR.jpg|thumb|[[Apollo 17]] Command Module ''America'' 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]].<ref name=EA-vostok>{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/vostok.htm|title=Vostok|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629092837/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/vostok.htm|archive-date=2011-06-29}}</ref> The second crewed spacecraft was named [[Mercury-Redstone 3|''Freedom 7'']], and it performed a [[sub-orbital spaceflight]] in 1961 carrying American astronaut [[Alan Shepard]] to an altitude of just over {{convert|187|km|sp=us}}. There were five other crewed missions using [[Project Mercury|Mercury spacecraft]].

Other Soviet crewed spacecraft include the [[Voskhod spacecraft|Voskhod]], [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]], flown uncrewed as [[Soyuz 7K-L1|Zond/L1]], [[Soyuz 7K-L3|L3]], [[TKS spacecraft|TKS]], and the [[Salyut program|Salyut]] and ''[[Mir]]'' crewed [[space station]]s. Other American crewed spacecraft include the [[Project Gemini|Gemini spacecraft]], the [[Apollo (spacecraft)|Apollo spacecraft]] including the [[Apollo Lunar Module]], the [[Skylab]] space station, the [[Space Shuttle orbiter|Space Shuttle]] with undetached European [[Spacelab]] and private US [[Spacehab]] space stations-modules, and the SpaceX Crew Dragon configuration of their [[SpaceX Dragon 2|Dragon 2]]. US company [[Boeing]] also developed and flown a spacecraft of their own, the [[Boeing Starliner|CST-100]], commonly referred to as [[Boeing Starliner|Starliner]], but a crewed flight is yet to occur. China developed, but did not fly [[Shuguang (spacecraft)|Shuguang]], and is currently using [[Shenzhou program|Shenzhou]] (its first crewed mission was in 2003).

Except for the Space Shuttle and the [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran spaceplane]] of the Soviet Union, the latter of which only ever had one uncrewed test flight, all of the recoverable crewed orbital spacecraft were [[space capsule]]s.

<gallery class="center" caption="Crewed spacecraft">
File:NASA spacecraft comparison.jpg|alt=Drawings of Mercury, Gemini capsules and Apollo spacecraft, with their launch vehicles|American Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft
File:Vostok Spacecraft Diagram.svg|Soviet Vostok capsule
File:Voskhod 1 and 2.svg|alt=Line drawing of Voskhod capsules|Soviet Voskhod (variant of Vostok)
File:Soyuz 7K-OK(A) drawing.svg|alt=Soyuz 7K-OK(A) drawing|1967 Soviet/Russian Soyuz spacecraft
File:Post S-7 Shenzhou spacecraft.png|alt=Drawing of Shenzhou spacecraft|Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft
</gallery>

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

=== Uncrewed spacecraft ===
{{Main|Uncrewed spacecraft|satellite|space telescope|cargo spacecraft}}
{{See also|Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes|list of Solar System probes|list of space telescopes}}
[[File:Hubble Space Telescope (27946391011).jpg|thumb|[[Hubble Space Telescope]]]]
[[File:Iss016e034191.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jules Verne ATV|Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)]] approaches the [[International Space Station]] on Monday, March 31, 2008.]]

Uncrewed spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input; they may be [[Remotely operated vehicle|remote controlled]], remote guided or even [[autonomous vehicle|autonomous]], meaning they have a pre-programmed list of operations, which they will execute unless otherwise instructed.

Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than [[Human spaceflight|crewed]] operation, due to lower cost and lower risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations such as [[Venus]] or the vicinity of [[Jupiter]] are too hostile for human survival. Outer planets such as [[Saturn]], [[Uranus]], and [[Neptune]] are too distant to reach with current crewed spaceflight technology, so telerobotic probes are the only way to explore them. Telerobotics also allows exploration of regions that are vulnerable to contamination by Earth micro-organisms since spacecraft can be sterilized. Humans can not be sterilized in the same way as a spaceship, as they coexist with numerous micro-organisms, and these micro-organisms are also hard to contain within a spaceship or spacesuit. Multiple space probes were sent to study Moon, the planets, the Sun, multiple small Solar System bodies (comets and asteroids).

Special class of uncrewed spacecraft is [[space telescope]]s, a [[telescope]] in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. The first operational telescopes were the American [[Orbiting Astronomical Observatory]], [[OAO-2]] launched in 1968, and the Soviet [[Orion (space telescope)|Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope]] aboard space station [[Salyut 1]] in 1971. Space telescopes avoid the filtering and distortion ([[Scintillation (astronomy)|scintillation]]) of [[electromagnetic radiation]] which they observe, and avoid [[light pollution]] which [[Observatory#Ground-based observatories|ground-based observatories]] encounter. The best-known examples are [[Hubble Space Telescope]] and [[James Webb Space Telescope]].

[[Cargo spacecraft]] are designed to carry [[cargo]], possibly to support [[space station]]s' operation by transporting food, propellant and other supplies. Automated cargo spacecraft have been used since 1978 and have serviced [[Salyut 6]], [[Salyut 7]], [[Mir]], the [[International Space Station]] and [[Tiangong program|Tiangong]] space station.

=== Other ===
Some spacecrafts can operate as both a crewed and uncrewed spacecraft. For example, the [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran spaceplane]] could operate autonomously but also had manual controls, though it never flew with crew onboard.<ref name="manipulator">{{cite web |url=http://www.buran.ru/htm/bighand.htm |title=Средства обеспечения работ с полезным грузом: система бортовых манипуляторов "Аист" |website=Buran.ru |language=ru |access-date=13 April 2020 |archive-date=30 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430105409/http://www.buran.ru/htm/bighand.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rtc">{{cite web |url=https://rtc.ru/history/ |title=История ЦНИИ РТК |trans-title=History of the Central Research Institute of RTK |website=RTC.ru |access-date=13 April 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513144601/https://rtc.ru/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other dual crewed/uncrewed spacecrafts include: [[SpaceX Dragon 2]],<ref>{{cite tweet|last=Bridenstine |first=Jim|user=JimBridenstine|number=1251178705633841167|date=17 April 2020|title=BREAKING: On May 27, @NASA will once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil! With our @SpaceX partners, @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken will launch to the @Space_Station on the #CrewDragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Let's #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/RINb3mfRWI|access-date=17 April 2020}} {{PD-notice}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=SpaceX|number=1265739654810091520|date=27 May 2020|title=Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 19:22 UTC|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=nasa-20190206>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2019/02/06/|title=NASA, Partners Update Commercial Crew Launch Dates|work=NASA Commercial Crew Program Blog|date=6 February 2019|access-date=6 February 2019 |archive-date=2 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302204511/https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2019/02/06/|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZL0tbOZYhE|title=Crew Demo-1 &#124; Launch|website=[[YouTube]]|date=2 March 2019 |access-date=8 March 2019|archive-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308142733/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZL0tbOZYhE|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dream Chaser]],<ref name=sn20200114>{{cite web |title=Sierra Nevada explores other uses of Dream Chaser |url=https://spacenews.com/sierra-nevada-explores-other-uses-of-dream-chaser/ |first=Jeff |last=Foust |website=spacenews.com |date=14 January 2020|access-date=11 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="americaspaceshootingstarcontract">{{cite web |last1=Ben |first1=Evans |title=SNC Shooting Star Wins Contract for Unmanned Orbital Outpost |url=https://www.americaspace.com/2020/07/17/snc-shooting-star-wins-contract-for-unmanned-orbital-outpost/ |website=AmericaSpace |date=July 17, 2020 |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> and [[Tianzhou (spacecraft)|Tianzhou]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://spaceflight101.com/spacecraft/tianzhou/|title=Tianzhou Spacecraft Overview|work=Space Flight}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.space.com/tianzhou-4-undocks-china-tiangong-space-station|author=Andrew Jones|date=November 10, 2022
|title=Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft undocks from China's Tiangong space station (video)|work=Space.com}}</ref>