What vehicles carry crews to orbit today?

Three crewed orbital vehicles are in service: SpaceX Crew Dragon and Roscosmos Soyuz, both flying to the International Space Station, and China's Shenzhou, flying to Tiangong. Boeing Starliner is intended as a second American provider, and Orion is built for missions beyond low Earth orbit.

Human Spaceflight: Crews, Stations, Vehicles and Programmes

Q: What is human spaceflight?

Human spaceflight is any flight that carries people beyond the boundary of space, whether that is a few minutes on a suborbital hop, six months aboard an orbiting station, or a journey to the Moon. It began with Yuri Gagarin's single orbit in April 1961 and has since carried more than 780 people above the 80 km boundary used by the United States.

Q: Which countries can launch people into space?

Three countries have launched humans on their own vehicles: Russia and the former Soviet Union since 1961, the United States since 1961, and China since 2003. Many other nations have flown citizens as guests aboard those vehicles, or more recently by buying seats on commercial missions.

Human spaceflight is any flight that carries people past the boundary of space: a few minutes on a suborbital hop, half a year aboard an orbiting station, or the journey to the Moon and back. It began with a single orbit by Yuri Gagarin in April 1961 and has since carried more than 780 people above the 80 km boundary used by the United States. Two stations are permanently crewed today, and for the first time the list of people who have flown is growing faster through commercial missions than through government programmes.

This hub is the entry point to that cluster. Start with the astronaut directory for who has been, the expedition list for who is aboard the ISS and when, or the live tracker for where the station is this minute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Any flight that carries people beyond the boundary of space, whether that is a few minutes on a suborbital hop, six months aboard an orbiting station, or a journey to the Moon. It began with Yuri Gagarin's single orbit in April 1961 and has since carried more than 780 people above the 80 km boundary used by the United States. See the astronaut directory for the full count and how the boundaries differ.

Two: the International Space Station, crewed continuously since November 2000, and China's Tiangong, crewed continuously since June 2022. Several commercial stations are in development to succeed the ISS.

Three have launched humans on their own vehicles: Russia and the former Soviet Union since 1961, the United States since 1961, and China since 2003. Many other nations have flown citizens as guests aboard those vehicles, or more recently by buying seats on commercial missions.

Three crewed orbital vehicles are in service: Crew Dragon and Soyuz, both flying to the ISS, and Shenzhou, flying to Tiangong. Starliner is intended as a second American provider, and Orion is built for missions beyond low Earth orbit.

Human Spaceflight

Crews and Records

Where They Live

How They Get There

Programmes and History

Frequently Asked Questions