List of heaviest spacecraft

List of heaviest spacecraft is a listing of selected spacecraft by mass. Spacecraft may change mass over time such as by loss of coolant. The heaviest artificial objects to reach space include the space stations, various upper stages, and discarded Space Shuttle external tanks.

The STS program brought 134 external tanks into space. The tanks were improved and lightened throughout the program, but the original, heaviest version could weigh 78,100 lb (35,426 kg) empty, and the tanks were not necessarily completely depleted when discarded.[1]

Between 1994 and 1998 the Shuttle-Mir complex of docked spacecraft was the heaviest artificial object in orbit (when docked), growing heavier from its start as Mir continued to be expanded.[2] It weighed at least 250 tonnes (250 long tons; 280 short tons) in a 1995 configuration.[3]

Currently the heaviest spacecraft is the International Space Station, nearly doubling Shuttle-Mir's mass in orbit.

Selected spacecraft (by mass)

Name Mass Notes Orbit State In service from
ISS 419,455 kg (924,740 lb) International Space Station LEO In Service 1998– (at present size: 2011–)
Mir-Shuttle complex 200,000–250,000 kg
(440,925–551,156 lb)[2][4] 		Russian-U.S. project LEO Completed 1994–1998
Mir 129,700 kg (285,940 lb) Russian Space Station LEO Deorbited 2001 1986–2001
Skylab 77,111 kg (170,001 lb) U.S. Space Station; largest station orbited in one launch LEO Deorbited 1979 1973–1979
Salyut 7 19,824 kg (43,704 lb) USSR Space Station LEO Deorbited 1991 1982–1991
Salyut 1 18,425 kg (40,620 lb) USSR Space Station LEO Deorbited 1971 1971
Proton satellite 17,000 kg (37,479 lb) Space research satellite LEO Deorbited 1969 1965-1969
Compton Gamma Ray Obs. 16,329 kg (35,999 lb) Sister telescope to Hubble LEO Deorbited 2000 1991–2000[5]
Hubble Space Telescope 11,110 kg (24,493 lb) Space observatory[6] (launch mass) LEO In Service 1990–
Tiangong-2 8,600 kg (18,960 lb) Chinese Space Station LEO In Service 2016–
Tiangong-1 8,506 kg (18,753 lb) Chinese Space Station, reentry anticipated in 2017 LEO In Orbit, Retired 2011–2016
Envisat 8,211 kg (18,102 lb) Earth observing satellite[7][8] Kessler syndrome threat[9] LEO In Orbit, Retired 2002–2012
TerreStar-1 6,910 kg (15,234 lb) Communications satellite GEO In Service 2009–
EchoStar XXI 6,871 kg (15,148 lb)[10] Communications satellite GEO In Service 2017–
EchoStar G1 6,634 kg (14,625 lb) Communications satellite GEO In Service 2008–
Inmarsat-5 F4 6,070 kg (13,382 lb) Communications satellite[11] GEO In Service 2017–
UARS[12] 5,900 kg (13,007 lb) Earth science LEO Deorbited 2011 1991–2005
Chandra X-ray Obs. 5,866 kg (12,932 lb) Space observatory[13] (launch mass) HEO In Service 1999–
SkyTerra1 5,400 kg (11,905 lb) Communications satellite GEO In Service 2010–
Terra 4,864 kg (10,723 lb) Earth observing satellite GEO In Service 1999–
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter 4,332 kg (9,550 lb) Mars orbiter (including Schiaparelli EDM lander)[14] Mars In Service 2016–
Spektr-R (RadioAstron) 3,660 kg (8,069 lb) Space observatory[15] (launch mass) HEO In Service 2011–
INTEGRAL 3,414 kg (7,527 lb) Space observatory[16] HEO In Service 2002–
EUVE 3,280 kg (7,231 lb) Space observatory[17] LEO Deorbited 2002 1992–2001
Rossi 2,955 kg (6,515 lb) Space observatory[17] Reentry anticipated by 2023 LEO In Orbit, Retired 1995–2012
ERBS 2,449 kg (5,399 lb) Earth observation satellite LEO In Orbit, Retired 1984–2005
Galileo 2,380 kg (5,247 lb) Jupiter orbiter Jupiter Deorbited 2003 1989–2003
COBE 2,206 kg (4,863 lb) Space observatory[17][18] SSO In Orbit, Retried 1989–1993
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 2,180 kg (4,806 lb) Mars orbiter[19] (launch mass) Mars In Service 2005–
Cassini 2,150 kg (4,740 lb) Saturn orbiter Reentry expected September 2017 Saturn In Service 1997–
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 1,846 kg (4,070 lb) Lunar orbiter Moon In Service 2009–
GPS Block IIF SV-1 1,630 kg (3,594 lb) Current GPS Satellite series MEO In Service 2010–
Juno 1,600 kg (3,527 lb) Jupiter orbiter Jupiter In Service 2011–
Venus Express 1,270 kg (2,800 lb) Venus orbiter Venus Deorbited 2015 2005–2014
Kepler 1,052 kg (2,319 lb) Space observatory Solar In Service, Degraded 2013 2009–
Spitzer Space Telescope 950 kg (2,094 lb) Infrared space telescope[20] Solar In Service, Degraded 2009 2003–
MAVEN 903 kg (1,991 lb) Mars orbiter Mars In Service 2013–
Voyager 1 / Voyager 2 815 kg (1,797 lb) Outer planets / interstellar space[21] (launch mass) Solar Escape In Service 1977–
Messenger 485 kg (1,069 lb) Mercury orbiter Mercury Deorbited 2015 2011–2015
New Horizons 465 kg (1,025 lb) Pluto/Kuiper belt probe[22] Solar Escape In Service 2006–
Pioneer 10 259 kg (571 lb) Jupiter flyby probe Solar Escape Retired 1972–2003
Pioneer 11 259 kg (571 lb) Jupiter/Saturn flyby probe Solar Escape Retired 1973–1995

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2
  3. ↑ David S. F. Portree (March 1995). "Mir Hardware Heritage" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ NASA – CRGO
  6. ↑ Hubble Fact Sheet
  7. ↑ Envisat
  8. ↑ http://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=27386
  9. ↑ Gini, Andrea (25 April 2012). "Don Kessler on Envisat and the Kessler Syndrome". Space Safety Magazine. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  10. ↑ "EchoStar 21". Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ Justin Mullins, Paul Marks (20 September 2011). "Hardy 6-tonne satellite falls to Earth". New Scientist. Retrieved 25 September 2014. "This is the largest NASA satellite to come back uncontrolled for quite a while," says Nick Johnson, chief scientist for NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
  13. ↑ Chandra X-ray Observatory Quick Facts
  14. ↑ Elizabeth Gibney (11 March 2016). "Mars launch to test collaboration between Europe and Russia". Nature News. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  15. ↑ RA
  16. ↑ http://satellites.findthedata.org/l/426/INTErnational-Gamma-Ray-Astrophysics-Laboratory-INTEGRAL INTEGRAL
  17. 1 2 3 Explorers
  18. ↑ http://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=20322
  19. ↑ MRO
  20. ↑ Spitzer fast facts
  21. ↑ Voyager facts
  22. ↑ New Horizons
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