{"id":297,"date":"2021-11-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-14T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=101289"},"modified":"2021-11-14T12:18:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-14T11:18:13","slug":"top-10-heaviest-spacecraft","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10: Heaviest spacecraft"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Thomas Ling\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 14 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Getting to space: it ain\u2019t easy \u2013 each kilogram needs an estimated 32,900,000 joules of energy just to reach low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

The cost associated with this energy is enormous, so every kilogram counts. Costs have been dropping over time \u2013 2020\u2019s Falcon Heavy launch cost $950\/kg (\u00a3685\/kg)<\/a>, whereas the 1981 Space Shuttle launch cost a whopping $85,216\/kg (\u00a361,467\/kg approx) \u2013 but space agencies still work hard to keep the mass of their spacecraft to an absolute minimum.<\/p>\n

Despite this hurdle, humans have launched vehicle after vehicle through the atmosphere and into space.<\/p>\n

But which is heaviest? These are the spacecraft with the largest mass to have flown in Earth\u2019s orbit and beyond.<\/p>\n

10. Salyut 1<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Russian space station<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1971<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>18,900kg<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
9. ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle)<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
European Space Agency cargo spacecraft<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 2008\u20132014<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>19,357kg<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
8. Salyut 7<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Russian space station<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1982\u20131991<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>19,824kg<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
7. Tianhe core module<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Cornerstone of Chinese Tiangong space station<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> April 2021-present<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>22,000kg<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Apollo Command and Service Module<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
US lunar spacecraft<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1968\u20131975<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>28,800kg<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
5. Skylab<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
US space station<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1973\u20131979<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>77,000kg<\/a><\/p>\n
4. Buran<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Russian uncrewed spaceplane<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1988<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>105,000kg<\/a>\u00a0(Orbiter vehicle mass)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
3. Space Shuttle<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
US\u00a0orbiter vehicle<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1981-2011<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>110,000kg<\/a>\u00a0(Gross lift-off mass of\u00a0Endeavour)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. Mir<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Russian space station<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1986-2001<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>140,000kg<\/a><\/p>\n
1. International Space Station<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Top\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Space station, made of 16 pressurised modules<\/p>\n
In service:<\/strong> 1998-present<\/p>\n
Weight: <\/strong>419,725kg<\/a>\u00a0(2011 size)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Top 10: What are the top 10 most expensive space missions?<\/a><\/li>\n
Top 10: Tallest mountains in the Solar System<\/a><\/li>\n
Top 10 largest stars in the Milky Way<\/a><\/li>\n
Top 10: What are the fastest rollercoasters?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
\u00a0<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Thomas Ling Published: Sunday, 14 November 2021 at 12:00 am Getting to space: it ain\u2019t easy \u2013 each kilogram needs an estimated 32,900,000 joules of energy just to reach low Earth orbit. The cost associated with this energy is enormous, so every kilogram counts. Costs have been dropping over time \u2013 2020\u2019s Falcon Heavy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":298,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft.jpg",1200,675,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft.jpg",1200,675,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2021\/11\/top-10-heaviest-spacecraft.jpg",1200,675,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Thomas Ling Published: Sunday, 14 November 2021 at 12:00 am Getting to space: it ain\u2019t easy \u2013 each kilogram needs an estimated 32,900,000 joules of energy just to reach low Earth orbit. The cost associated with this energy is enormous, so every kilogram counts. Costs have been dropping over time \u2013 2020\u2019s Falcon Heavy…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}