List Of Heaviest Spacecraft on:
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The most massive artificial objects to reach space include space stations, various upper stages, and discarded
The most massive artificial objects to reach space include space stations, various upper stages, and discarded Space Shuttle external tank
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the ...
s. Spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
may change mass over time such as by use of propellant.
During the Shuttle–''Mir'' program between 1994 and 1998, the complex formed by the docking of a visiting Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
with ''Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
'' would temporarily make it heaviest artificial object in orbit with a combined mass of in a 1995 configuration.
Currently the heaviest spacecraft is the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
, nearly double Shuttle-Mir's mass in orbit. It began assembly with a first launch in 1998, however it only attained its full weight in the 2020s, due to its modular nature and gradual additions. Its mass can change significantly depending on what modules are added or removed.
Selected spacecraft (by mass)
The following are a list ofspacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
with a mass greater than , or the top three to any other orbit including a planetary orbit, or the top three of a specific category of vehicle, or the heaviest vehicle from a specific nation. All numbers listed below for satellites use their mass at launch, if not otherwise stated.
Spacecraft design families (by mass)
List of spacecraft families (by mass) with 3 or more flights into space and over 7000kg.See also
* List of large reentering space debris *Lists of spacecraft
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.
Space exploration – use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space.
Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spac ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaviest spacecraft Lists of spacecraft Heaviest or most massive things