Comparison of space station cargo vehicles


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A number of different spacecraft have been used to carry cargo to and from space stations.

The four currently active space station cargo vehicles. Clockwise from top left: Progress, Cargo Dragon 2, Cygnus, Tianzhou.

Table code key
Spacecraft under development
Spacecraft is operational or inactive
Retired or cancelled spacecraft
§ Pressurized / Unpressurized payload capacity
  1. ^ With optional Raduga capsule.
  2. ^ 4,200kg dry mass + 6,000 kg up mass
  3. ^ In any combination of pressurized or unpressurized.
  4. ^ 34 unpressurized with extended trunk
  5. ^ Capsule return.
  6. ^ With optional HSRC.
  7. ^ Including propellant.
  8. ^ Including propellant.
  9. ^ 10 with cargo module, 6.2 without.
  10. ^ Combined.
  11. ^ Technology trial of an automated IDSS docking port fitted in place of unpressurised cargo module being planned.
  1. ^ "Progress M". Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Cygnus Fast Sheet" (PDF). Orbital Sciences Co. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  3. ^ "The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2012" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  4. ^ "SpaceX Brochure v7" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Audit of Commercial Resupply Services to the International Space Station Archived 30 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Overall Dragon Capabilities" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  7. ^ "Falcon 9 launches Dragon on CRS-1 mission to the ISS". 7 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Dragonlab Datasheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  9. ^ Clark, Stephen. "With successful splashdown, SpaceX retires first version of Dragon spacecraft – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  10. ^ a b c "ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle". ESA. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  11. ^ "ATV Utilization Relevant Data" (PDF). Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d "JAXA transition examination of the new space station supply machine (HTV-X)" (PDF). JAXA. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  13. ^ "HTV 搭載小型回収カプセルの開発" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  14. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (10 May 2023). "Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft reaches China's Tiangong space station". spacenews.com. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Upgraded Progress MS docks with the ISS". NASASpaceflight.com. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Cygnus Spacecraft Information". Spaceflight101. Archived from the original on 2015-09-09.
  17. ^ Meredith Garofalo (February 2, 2024). "Sierra Space unveils Dream Chaser space plane ahead of 1st flight to ISS (video)". Space.com.
  18. ^ a b Brian Wang (January 22, 2024). "Sierra Space Spaceplane and Space Stations". Next Big Future.
  19. ^ "H3,H-IIA/Bのミッション割当て(案)" (PDF) (in Japanese). MEXT. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  20. ^ "HTV-X, the new unmanned spacecraft now being developed by JAXA". JAXA. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  21. ^ Funding for HTV-X development was included in the FY 2016 JAXA budget
  22. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (2024-05-14). "Thales Alenia Space Delivers Pressurized Module for 21st Cygnus Spacecraft". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  23. ^ a b "NASA picks SpaceX to deliver cargo to Gateway station in lunar orbit – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  24. ^ Foust, Jeff (2023-02-24). "NASA plans to start work this year on first Gateway logistics mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  25. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (20 September 2023). "RFA-Led Consortium Submit Argo for ESA Commercial Cargo Initiative". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  26. ^ Rocket Factory Augsburg. "One (c)argo capsule, tons of possibilities!". Twitter. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  27. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (23 February 2022). "The Exploration Company aims to offer Europe independent access to space". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  28. ^ The Exploration Company. "Missions". Retrieved 22 September 2023.