58 articles
Mission Extension Vehicle
The Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is a Northrop Grumman spacecraft that docks with fuel-depleted communications satellites in geostationary orbit, taking over their propulsion to extend their working life.
Monkeys and apes in space
Monkeys and apes in space were nonhuman primates launched mostly by the United States and Soviet Union between 1948 and 1997 to test spaceflight survival before humans flew.
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, formerly called Swift and renamed in 2018 for its first principal investigator, is a NASA space telescope launched in 2004 to rapidly detect and follow up gamma-ray bursts.
NuSTAR
NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) is a NASA Small Explorer X-ray space telescope launched in 2012 and the first in orbit to focus high-energy X-rays for imaging.
On-orbit satellite servicing
On-orbit satellite servicing is the refueling, repair, and upgrading of satellites in orbit, from the 1984 SolarMax repair and Hubble missions to commercial robotic craft like MEV-1.
Orbital Express
Orbital Express was a DARPA mission launched in 2007 that demonstrated autonomous robotic satellite refueling, completing seven rendezvous and dockings and 14 refuelings in orbit.
Polyus (Полюс) (spacecraft)
Polyus, also designated Skif-DM, was a Soviet experimental spacecraft launched on May 15, 1987 as the payload of the Energia rocket's maiden flight; a guidance failure prevented orbital insertion.
Progress (spacecraft)
Progress (Прогресс) is an uncrewed Russian cargo spacecraft, derived from the Soyuz crew vehicle, that has delivered propellant, water, and dry cargo to space stations since 1978, burning up on reentry after each mission.
Progress (Прогресс) (spacecraft)
Progress (Прогресс) is a Russian robotic cargo spacecraft, an unpiloted Soyuz derivative first launched in 1978 that delivers supplies, propellant, and water to space stations including the ISS.
Progress M
Progress M (Прогресс-М) was a Soviet and Russian cargo spacecraft, the second generation of the Progress resupply vehicle, which flew from 1989 to the 2000s to deliver supplies to Mir and the International Space Station.
RemoveDEBRIS
RemoveDEBRIS was a British-led technology demonstration satellite deployed from the ISS in 2018 that tested space debris removal with a net, harpoon, and drag sail.
RM-81 Agena
The RM-81 Agena, also known as the Lockheed Agena, was an American upper-stage rocket and satellite bus built by Lockheed, flown with Thor, Atlas, and Titan boosters from 1959 to 1987.
Satellite bus
A satellite bus is the underlying structure and support subsystems of a satellite, carrying the payload, the antennas, sensors, or transponders that perform the mission.
Skylon (spacecraft)
Skylon, also known as Reaction Engines Skylon, is a British concept for a fully reusable, unpiloted spaceplane powered by the air-breathing SABRE engine, developed from 1989 until 2024.
Solar Maximum Mission
The Solar Maximum Mission, known as SolarMax, was a NASA solar observatory launched in February 1980 that observed solar flares and was repaired in orbit in 1984, the first such servicing.
Soyuz 7K-TG
Soyuz 7K-TG, GRAU index 11F615A15, was the first-generation Soviet Progress cargo spacecraft, flying 43 successful resupply missions to Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir from 1978 to 1990.
Space Infrastructure Servicing
Space infrastructure servicing is the practice of refueling, repairing, upgrading, relocating, or removing spacecraft in orbit, using astronauts or robotic servicer spacecraft like Northrop Grumman's MEV-1.
Space Rider
Space Rider is an uncrewed reusable spaceplane developed by the European Space Agency, planned to fly payloads to low Earth orbit and land them back on a runway, with a first launch in 2028.
Space telescope
A space telescope, also known as a space observatory, is an astronomical observatory placed above Earth's atmosphere, avoiding blurring and absorption to study the universe, as with Hubble and Webb.
Spacecraft by launch vehicle
Spacecraft by launch vehicle is a classification scheme that groups uncrewed spacecraft by rocket family rather than mission or orbit, using families like Soyuz, Atlas, Delta, and Proton.
Spaceplane
A spaceplane, also called an aerospace plane, is a vehicle that reaches space like a rocket but glides back to a runway landing like an aircraft.
SpaceX Starfall
SpaceX Starfall, also called Project Starfall, is SpaceX's uncrewed, mass-producible reentry capsule for carrying payloads to orbit and returning them to Earth, first flown in 2026.
Spektr-RG
Spektr-RG (Спектр-РГ), also written Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma or SRG, is a Russian-German X-ray observatory launched in 2019 that carries the eROSITA and ART-XC telescopes and surveys the sky from the Sun-Earth L2 point.
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite
The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, or SWAS, was a NASA Small Explorer space telescope launched in 1998 to measure water vapor and molecular oxygen in interstellar clouds.
Taiji (spacecraft)
Taiji-1 (太极一号) is a Chinese experimental satellite launched on 31 August 2019 to test key technologies for space-based gravitational wave detection, the first spacecraft of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Taiji program.
Ultraviolet Explorer
The Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) is a NASA space telescope selected in 2024 to survey the entire sky in ultraviolet light, with a planned launch in 2030 and a two-year prime mission.
Uncrewed spacecraft
An uncrewed spacecraft, also called a robotic spacecraft, is a vehicle that operates in space without people on board; the first was Sputnik 1, launched in 1957.
XRISM
XRISM (X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) is a JAXA-led X-ray observatory, developed with NASA and ESA and launched on 7 September 2023 to study energetic cosmic objects.