List of crewed spacecraft


This is a list of all crewed spacecraft types that have flown into space, including sub-orbital flights above 80 km, space stations that have been visited by at least one crew member, and spacecraft currently planned to operate with crews in the future. It does not contain crewed flights by spacecraft below 80 km. There is some debate concerning the height at which space is reached : the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale recognizes 100 km, while NASA and the USAF recognize this as 50 miles.
Since the first crewed spaceflight of Vostok 1 in 1961 there have been 13 types of spacecraft that have made crewed flights into space – nine American, three Russian, and one Chinese. There are currently five operational crewed spacecraft, which form the first part of the list below; the eight retired spacecraft types are listed in the next section; and crewed spacecraft currently in development are listed last. Space stations are listed beneath each appropriate section, dates of operation reflect when the first and last crews visited, not when they were launched and deorbited. There are currently two space stations in orbit around Earth, the International Space Station and the Chinese Tiangong space station.
Manned spacecraft are designed to support human life for the human spaceflight portion of the mission. Spacecraft for human spaceflight must have a human-rating certification as fit for purpose. Manned spacecraft must have a pressurized, breathable atmosphere and be temperature-regulated. Manned spacecraft include space capsules, spaceplanes, and space stations.

Currently operational crewed spacecraft

Soyuz (1967)

n three person Earth orbital spacecraft; Early versions were operated by the Soviet Union and later versions by Russia after 1991. Soyuz has completed over 150 crewed spaceflights, including two emergency sub-orbital flights: Soyuz 18a and Soyuz MS-10. There have been two spacecraft losses resulting in the deaths of four cosmonauts, Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11. Soyuz is the only spacecraft to have successfully saved the lives of a crew using the rocket launch escape system, when in 1983 Soyuz T-10-1 exploded on the launchpad. This spacecraft type has flown into space more times than any other spacecraft.

Shenzhou (2003)

three-person Earth orbital spacecraft. Shenzhou is China's first crewed spacecraft. On 15 October 2003, Yang Liwei was carried into space by Shenzhou 5 becoming China's first Taikonaut. The spacecraft has gone on to fly crews to China's Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space labs. Since Jun 2021, Shenzhou has been used as the vehicle to send crews to China's new modular Tiangong space station and back. As of December 2023, Shenzhou has made 12 successful crewed spaceflights.

Crew Dragon (2020)

four-person Earth orbital spacecraft designed by SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station under the NASA Commercial Crew Contract. As of April 2025, Crew Dragon has made 17 crewed spaceflights. The first crewed flight, Crew Dragon Demo-2, launched on 30 May 2020 and returned to Earth on 2 August 2020. This was the first time an American spacecraft had sent astronauts to orbit since the final Space Shuttle flight in July 2011. The first operational flight of the Crew Dragon launched on 15 November 2020 with SpaceX Crew-1.

New Shepard (2021)

New Shepard is a six-person capsule for suborbital space tourism in the United States. It is launched by a reusable booster and can fly with or without crew. Uncrewed flights started in 2015. The first crewed test flight flew on 20 July 2021. As of December 2023 there have been 24 flights, including six crewed flights carrying a total of 32 passengers into space.

Starliner (2024)

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is a United States five-person Earth orbital spacecraft designed to transport astronauts to the International Space Station under the NASA Commercial Crew Program. Following several technical problems 1 on the first uncrewed test flight in December 2019, a second uncrewed test flight launched in May 2022. The following crewed flight test launched in June 2024, carrying astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station. After experiencing thruster issues during its approach and docking, the astronauts successfully completed their mission at the ISS and departed the station. Due to ongoing assessments and mission adjustments, the Starliner landed uncrewed. The Crew-9 mission, carrying astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida on March 18, 2025. This landing marked the end of a long space saga for Williams and Wilmore, who arrived at the ISS aboard the Starliner.

Currently operational space stations

International Space Station (ISS) (1998)

Multinational low Earth orbit modular space station. The International Space Station is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency. Following the uncrewed initial assembly from 1998 to 2000, it has been continuously crewed since November 2000. As of 4 March 2024, ISS has been visited by 111 crewed spacecraft. The ISS is the largest space station yet constructed. It is planned to operate until 2028, with a possible extension to 2030.

Tiangong Space Station (2021)

Chinese low Earth orbit modular space station. The Tianhe core module was launched on 29 April 2021. The first crewed flight Shenzhou 12 with 3 astronauts arrived at the station in June 2021. The space station has three modules: the Tianhe core module, and two Laboratory Cabin Modules. The Wentian module docked with the station on 24 July 2022, and the Mengtian module docked on 31 October 2022.

Former crewed spacecraft

Vostok (1961–1963)

single-person Earth orbital spacecraft 6 flights. On 12 April 1961 Vostok 1 carried the first human into space, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On 16 June 1963, Vostok 6 carried the first woman into space, Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

Mercury (1961–1963)

single-person Earth orbital spacecraft 6 flights. Mercury was the United States first crewed spacecraft. On 5 May 1961 Mercury-Redstone 3 carried the first American, Alan Shepard, into space on a sub-orbital flight. On 20 February 1962, Mercury-Atlas 6 carried the first American, John Glenn, into Earth orbit.

X-15 (1962–1968)

single seat, air-launched sub-orbital spaceplane; two X-15 flights above the 100 km Kármán line occurred in 1963, an additional 11 flights between 1962 and 1968 reached altitudes between 80 and 100 km which were recognized as spaceflights by U.S. authorities.

Voskhod (1964–1965)

three person Vostok derivative made 2 flights. On 18 March 1965, Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk in history, from Voskhod 2.

Gemini (1965–1966)

two person Earth orbital spacecraft which made 10 flights. On 3 June 1965, Ed White made America's first spacewalk during Gemini 4.

Apollo (1968–1975)

three-person lunar-capable spacecraft. 15 flights; including nine lunar missions. It was the Apollo spacecraft that enabled America to win the Space Race. In December 1968, Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon. On 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong, the Commander of Apollo 11, and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon. The Apollo Spacecraft comprised:
eight person Earth orbital spacecraft; first orbit-capable spaceplane; first reusable orbital spacecraft. Largest cargo capacity to orbit at the time. 135 spaceflights were made in six shuttles; Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour, of which two were destroyed resulting in the deaths of 14 astronauts during missions STS-51-L and STS-107.

SpaceShipOne (2004)

privately-developed single pilot, air-launched sub-orbital spaceplane; three flights above the Kármán line occurred in 2004.

SpaceShipTwo (2018-2024)

eight person air-launched sub-orbital space plane operated by Virgin Galactic aimed at the space tourism market. On 31 October 2014 during a test flight, VSS Enterprise, the first SpaceShipTwo craft, broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave Desert. One pilot was killed. The second SpaceShipTwo craft, VSS Unity, was completed in 2016 and used until its retirement in 2024. On 13 December 2018, SpaceShipTwo flew to an altitude of 82.7 km, which is recognized as space by the FAA, NASA, and the USAF. This was the first time an American spacecraft had sent astronauts to space since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011. On 11 July 2021 a fourth test flight was made above 80 km with six crew aboard, including the company owner Richard Branson. SpaceShipTwo made 12 successful crewed spaceflights in 13 attempts. The last flight of VSS Unity took place on 8 June 2024, marking the spacecraft's retirement.

Former space stations

Salyut (1971–1986)

/Russian low Earth orbit space stations. Salyut 1, Salyut 4, Salyut 6, and Salyut 7. All now de-orbited.

Almaz (1974–1977)

military reconnaissance low Earth orbit space stations. Badged as Salyut 3, and Salyut 5, as disinformation. Both now deorbited.

Skylab (1973–1974)

low Earth orbit space station. First United States space station. Visited by 3 crews 1973–1974. It deorbited in 1979.

Mir (1986–2000)

/Russian low Earth orbit modular space station. The first modular space station in history. Twenty-eight crews 1986–2000. Mir was visited by 29 Soyuz and 7 Space Shuttle missions. Mir was deorbited in 2001.