swap_horiz Space Shuttle Atlantis Alternatives

1

Explorer 1

Explorer 1 was the first artificial satellite successfully placed in Earth orbit by the United States. Launched in 1958,...

Cold War Satellite Nasa Earth Orbit

9.2 Excellent

2

Vostok 6

The Vostok 6 was a Soviet crewed spacecraft responsible for carrying cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova into Earth orbit on...

Cold War Soviet First Woman Crewed

9.2 Excellent

3

Mercury Friendship 7

The Mercury Friendship 7 was a single-seat capsule designed for crewed orbital missions during the Cold War. It carried...

Cold War Nasa First Us Orbit Crewed

9.2 Excellent

4

Apollo Command/Service Module

The Apollo Command/Service Module was a critical component of NASA’s manned lunar missions during the Cold War era. It c...

Cold War Nasa Moon Crewed

9.2 Excellent

5

Apollo Lunar Module

The Apollo Lunar Module was a specialized spacecraft developed by NASA to enable crewed landings on the Moon. This two-s...

Cold War Nasa Moon Crewed

9.2 Excellent

6

SpaceX Crew Dragon

The SpaceX Crew Dragon is a spacecraft designed for transporting cargo and astronauts to Earth orbit. Notably, it repres...

Commercial Spacex Current Crewed

9.1 Excellent

7

Mercury Freedom 7

American spacecraft that carried Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961, making him the first American in space during a suborbital...

Cold War Nasa Suborbital Crewed

8.7 Great

8

Gemini 12

Final Gemini mission, launched November 1966 with Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin, who successfully demonstrated productive e...

Cold War Nasa Crewed Earth Orbit

8.6 Great

9

Soyuz-TM

Soviet crewed spacecraft introduced in 1986 with improved docking and propulsion systems, serving as the primary transpo...

Soviet Transport Crewed Earth Orbit

8.6 Great

10

Vanguard 1

American satellite launched March 17, 1958, the oldest human-made object still orbiting Earth and the first satellite po...

Cold War Solar Powered Satellite Nasa

8.5 Great

11

Soyuz-TMA

Russian crewed spacecraft introduced in 2002, modified to accommodate taller crew members and serving as the primary Int...

Russian Transport Crewed Earth Orbit

8.4 Great

12

Soyuz-MS

Russian crewed spacecraft introduced in 2016, featuring upgraded communications, navigation systems, and docking equipme...

Russian Transport Current Crewed

8.4 Great

13

Shenzhou

China's crewed spacecraft series that in 2003 carried the first Chinese astronaut to orbit, making China the third natio...

Chinese Transport Crewed Earth Orbit

8.4 Great

14

MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission)

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, launched in 2015, uses four identical spacecraft flying in close formation to...

Nasa Current Magnetosphere Probe

8.3 Great

15

Space Shuttle Endeavour

NASA's fifth and youngest Space Shuttle orbiter, built to replace Challenger and completing 25 spaceflights between 1992...

Reusable Nasa Shuttle Crewed

8.2 Great

16

Gemini 3

First crewed Gemini mission, launched March 23, 1965 with Gus Grissom and John Young, demonstrating the first manual orb...

Cold War Two Person Nasa Crewed

8.0 Great

17

Space Shuttle Columbia

First Space Shuttle orbiter to reach space, making its debut April 12, 1981, and later lost along with its seven-person...

Reusable Nasa Shuttle Crewed

7.7 Good

18

Buran

Soviet reusable spaceplane that made one uncrewed orbital flight in November 1988 before the program was cancelled follo...

Reusable Soviet Shuttle Crewed

7.6 Good

19

Space Shuttle Enterprise

NASA's first Space Shuttle orbiter, built solely for atmospheric approach-and-landing tests in 1977 and never intended f...

Atmospheric Reusable Nasa Shuttle

7.1 Good

20

Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle orbiter that first flew in 1983 and was destroyed 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, killing all...

Reusable Nasa Shuttle Crewed

6.6 Fair