Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a vehicle that travels through space. Spacecraft include robotic or unmanned space probes as well as manned vehicles.

The term spaceship is generally applied only to spacecraft capable of transporting people.

A spacesuit has at times been called a miniature spacecraft or spaceship, emphasizing its purpose of keeping its wearer alive while traveling in the vacuum of outer space.

The spacecraft is one of the primal elements in science fiction. Numerous short stories and novels are built up around various ideas for spacecraft. Some books focus on the technical details of the crafts, while others treat the spacecraft as a given and delve little into its actual implementation.

Real-World Spacecraft

• WMAP
• Voyager I and II
• Stardust
• Shenzhou
• Cassini
• Pioneer 10
• Genesis
• SOHO

Fictional Spacecraft

• C-57D (Forbidden Planet)
• Galasphere 347 (Space Patrol - puppet series)
• Fireball XL5
• TARDIS (Doctor Who) - an unconventional time/space vessel
• Starship Enterprise (Star Trek)
• Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)
• Liberator (Blake's 7)
• Nostromo (Alien)
• White Star (Babylon 5)
• Lexx - a living spaceship
• Moya (Farscape) - another living spaceship
• Battlestar Galactica from the television series of the same name.

See also: attitude control, expendable launch systems, space shuttle, starship, spacecraft propulsion, thruster, UFO