Carrying People: Rockets and Crew Vehicles From Saturn V to Starship

Standing 111 meters tall, it remains the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status. It flew thirteen times with no loss of a primary mission and was retired after the Apollo and Skylab programs.

Built by Grumman, this two-stage craft carried astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface and back. It flew ten times, six of them to the lunar surface, and its descent stage stayed behind as a launch platform for the ascent stage.

Designated CM-107, this was the command module of Apollo 11, the mission that first landed humans on the Moon. It is the only spacecraft from that 1969 mission that returned to Earth.

This Russian crewed family has flown since 1967, longer than any other crewed spacecraft design. Since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011 it has also carried astronauts of other nations to and from the International Space Station.

Built by Rockwell International and named after a nineteenth-century research vessel, it was the second orbiter to fly, launching in April 1983. It completed ten missions before it was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch, killing all seven crew members.

Delivered to Kennedy Space Center in April 1985, Atlantis was the fourth operational orbiter and the second-to-last built. It flew its first mission in October 1985 and its last in July 2011.

The fifth and final operational orbiter, it flew its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and last, STS-134, in May 2011, before being decommissioned.

This two-stage SpaceX rocket was the first orbital-class vehicle capable of routine reflight, landing its first stage for reuse. Its record lists it as the most frequently launched orbital rocket family in the world as of the mid-2020s.

Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Starliner pairs a reusable crew capsule with an expendable service module. Its role is to carry crew to and from the International Space Station and other low Earth orbit destinations.

Also spelled Oryol and formerly called Federation and PPTS, Orel is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft under development by Roscosmos. It is meant to succeed the long-serving Soyuz.

This Indian crewed spacecraft is the formative vehicle of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme and is designed to carry three people into low Earth orbit. As of November 2024 it was expected to launch no earlier than 2027.

Developed by SpaceX, Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch vehicle made of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, both burning liquid methane and liquid oxygen. It is designed to have the highest payload capacity of any launch vehicle to date.

This lunar lander variant of Starship is being built by SpaceX under a Human Landing System contract with NASA to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface and back. It is a critical element of the Artemis program, and its uncrewed landing demonstration has been delayed.