Crewed capsule · Pressurized crew vehicles that launch on rockets and return through re-entry.
Icons are not always the best sellers — they are the ones that stuck in culture, engineering lore or both.
Use the comparison lab on this page to weigh their stats side by side.
The original uploader was HPH at German Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0
Vostok stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1961 placed Vostok in USSR's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Apollo CSM stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1968–1975 placed Apollo CSM in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
CactiStaccingCrane · CC0
Soyuz spacecraft stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1967– placed Soyuz spacecraft in Russia's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA; edited by jjron (tilt corrected) · Public domain
Space Shuttle orbiter stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1981–2011 placed Space Shuttle orbiter in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA Johnson Space Center · Public domain
Crew Dragon stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2020– placed Crew Dragon in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
中国新闻网 · CC BY 4.0
Shenzhou stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2003– placed Shenzhou in China's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Orion stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2022– placed Orion in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Starliner stands among the reference crewed capsule designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2010s– placed Starliner in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
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Should a crewed capsule be judged by passenger-km and uptime, or by how completely it owns the public imagination?
Some legends dominate one corridor; others become templates copied worldwide.