The ultimate space bucket list

SpaceBucketList_30Space inspires. Space unites. Every kid wants to be an astronaut. Space is humanity’s final frontier. The people flying into space are modern explorers, their space ships the exploration vessels. Visiting these space ships is an awesome experience. The great story of human space exploration really comes to life when seeing these impressive machines. Very worth taking your children to see and help them imagine the long way we have to go before we become an interplanetary species. Check out the ultimate space bucket list:

Most space geeks reading this blog post have probably already seen one or more flown space capsules, that are scattered over museums in the world. Some of these capsules made world headlines during and after their flights. Think about the first man in space, the first Moon landing, Apollo 13 and the Space Shuttles.

The real space bucket list is to visit ALL publicly displayed manned spacecraft. An almost impossible and very geeky task, that I don’t think anyone has ever even attempted. The biggest challenge is perhaps not even the trip, but compiling the bucket list itself. Without the intention to visit them all (although you never know) this blog post attempts to be a comprehensive list of all manned space vehicles that returned to Earth, on public display. This is not a static list, but one that will require many updates as capsules are replaced, withdrawn from display or newly brought into museums.

All Manned Spacecraft on Public Display
Spacecraft Launch Date Crew (launch) Display Location City Country
Big Joe 1 (BJ-1 – Mercury Boilerplate) 9-9-1959 unmanned National Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy) Chantilly VA USA
Little Joe 2 (LJ-2 – Mercury Boilerplate) 4-12-1959 Sam (rhesus monkey) Airpower Park and Museum Hampton VA USA
Beach Abort (Mercury Boilerplate) 9-5-1960 unmanned New York Hall of Science Corona Park NY USA
Mercury Atlas 1 (MA-1) 29-7-1960 unmanned Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Hutchinson KS USA
Mercury Redstone 1/1A (MR-1/MR-1A) 19-12-1960 unmanned NASA Ames Visitor Center Moffett Field CA USA
Mercury Redstone 2 (MR-2) 31-1-1961 Ham (chimpanzee) California Science Center Los Angeles CA USA
Mercury Atlas 2 (MA-2) 21-2-1961 unmanned Houston Museum of Natural Science Houston TX USA
Little Joe 5A/5B (LJ-5A/LJ-5) 28-4-1961 unmanned Virginia Air and Space Center Hampton VA USA
Mercury Atlas 5 (MA-5) 29-11-1961 Enos (chimpanzee) North Carolina Museum of Life and Science Durham NC USA
Mercury Redstone 3 (MR-3 – Freedom 7) 5-5-1961 Shepard JFK Presidential Library and Museum Boston MA USA
Mercury Redstone 4 (MR-4 – Liberty Bell 7) 21-7-1961 Grissom Bundeskunsthalle Bonn Germany
Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6 – Friendship 7) 20-2-1962 Glenn National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA
Mercury Atlas 7 (MA-7 – Aurora 7) 24-5-1962 Carpenter Museum of Science and Industry Chicago IL USA
Mercury Atlas 8 (MA-8 – Sigma 7) 3-10-1962 Schirra US Astronaut Hall of Fame Titusville FL USA
Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9 – Faith 7) 15-5-1963 Cooper Space Center Houston Houston TX USA
Gemini 2 (GLV-2 12557) 19-1-1965 unmanned AF Space and Missile Museum Cape Canaveral FL USA
Gemini 3 (GLV-3 12558 – Molly Brown) 23-5-1965 Grissom, Young Grissom Memorial Mitchell IN USA
Gemini IV (GLV-4 12559) 3-7-1965 McDivitt, White National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA
Gemini V (GLV-5 12560) 21-8-1965 Cooper, Conrad Space Center Houston Houston TX USA
Gemini VII (GLV-7 12562) 4-12-1965 Borman, Lovell National Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy) Chantilly VA USA
Gemini VI (GLV-6 12561) 15-12-1962 Schirra, Stafford Oklahoma History Center Oklahoma City OK USA
Gemini VIII (GLV-8 12563) 16-3-1966 Armstrong, Scott Armstrong Air and Space Museum Wapakoneta OH USA
Gemini IX (GLV-9 12564) 3-6-1966 Stafford, Cernan Kennedy Space Center (VC) Merritt Island FL USA
Gemini X (GLV-10 12565) 18-7-1966 Young, Collins Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Hutchinson KS USA
Gemini XI (GLV-11 12566) 12-9-1966 Conrad, Gordon California Science Center Los Angeles CA USA
Gemini XIII (GLV-12 12567) 11-11-1966 Lovell, Aldrin Adler Planetarium Chicago IL USA
Apollo A-004 (CSM-002) 20-1-1966 unmanned Cradle of Aviation Long Island NY USA
Apollo AS-201 (CSM-009) 26-2-1966 unmanned Strategic Air and Space Museum Ashland NE USA
Apollo AS-202 (CSM-011) 25-8-1966 unmanned USS Hornet Museum Alameda CA USA
Apollo 4 (CSM-017) 9-11-1967 unmanned Stennis Space Center Bay St. Louis MS USA
Apollo 6 (CSM-020) 4-12-1968 unmanned Fernbank Science Center Atlanta GA USA
Apollo 7 (CSM-101) 11-10-1968 Schirra, Cunningham, Eisele Frontiers of Flight Museum Dallas TX USA
Apollo 8 (CSM-103) 21-12-1968 Borman, Lovell, Anders Museum of Science and Industry Chicago IL USA
Apollo 9 (CSM-104 – Gumdrop) 3-3-1969 McDivitt, Scott, Schweigart San Diego Air and Space Museum San Diego CA USA
Apollo 10 (CSM-106 – Charlie Brown) 18-5-1969 Stafford, Young, Cernan Science Museum London UK
Apollo 11 (CSM-107 – Columbia) 16-7-1969 Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA
Apollo 12 (CSM-108 – Yankee Clipper) 14-11-1969 Conrad, Gordon, Bean Virginia Air and Space Center Hampton VA USA
Apollo 13 (CSM-109 – Odyssey) 11-4-1970 Lovell, Swigert, Haise Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Hutchinson KS USA
Apollo 14 (CSM-110 – Kitty Hawk) 31-1-1971 Shepard, Roosa, Mitchell Kennedy Space Center (Saturn V) Merritt Island FL USA
Apollo 15 (CSM-112 – Endeavour) 26-7-1971 Scott, Worden, Irwin National Museum of the US Air Force Dayton OH USA
Apollo 16 (CSM-113 – Casper) 16-4-1972 Young, Mattingly, Duke US Space and Rocket Center Huntsville AL USA
Apollo 17 (CSM-114 – America) 7-12-1972 Cernan, Evans, Schmitt Space Center Houston Houston TX USA
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (CSM-111) 15-7-1975 Stafford, Brand, Slayton California Science Center Los Angeles CA USA
Skylab 2 (CSM-116) 25-5-1973 Conrad, Weitz, Kerwin National Museum of Naval Aviation Pensacola FL USA
Skylab 3 (CSM-117) 28-7-1973 Bean, Lousma, Garriott Great Lakes Science Center Cleveland OH USA
Skylab 4 (CSM-118) 16-11-1973 Carr, Pogue, Gibson National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA
Space Shuttle (OV-101 – Enterprise) N/A Atmospheric test flights only Intrepid Air and Space Museum New York City NY USA
Space Shuttle (OV-103 – Discovery) 30-8-1984 Multiple Crews National Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy) Chantilly VA USA
Space Shuttle (OV-104 – Atlantis) 3-10-1985 Multiple Crews Kennedy Space Center (VC) Merritt Island FL USA
Space Shuttle (OV-105 – Endeavour) 7-5-1992 Multiple Crews California Science Center Los Angeles CA USA
Korabl-Sputnik-2 (1K #2) 19-8-1960 Belka and Strelka (dogs) RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Korabl-Sputnik-5 (3KA #2) 25-3-1961 Ivan Ivanovich (dummy), Zvezdochka (dog) Moscow Planetarium Moscow Russia
Vostok (3KA #3) 12-4-1961 Gagarin RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Vostok-3 (3KA #5) 11-8-1962 Nikolayev Space Exploration Museum Shorshely Russia
Vostok-5 (3KA #7) 14-6-1963 Bykovski Tsiolkovski Museum Kaluga Russia
Vostok-6 (3KA #8) 16-6-1963 Tereshkova RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Voshkod (3KV #2) 12-10-1964 Komarov, Feoktistov, Egorov RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Voshkod-2 (3KD #4) 18-3-1965 Leonov, Belyayev RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz 2 (11F615 #11L) 25-10-1968 unmanned Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK) Star City Russia
Soyuz 3 (11F615 #10L) 26-10-1968 Beregovoy RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz 4 (11F615A #12L) 14-1-1969 Shatalov TsPK Museum Star City Russia
Soyuz 8 (11F615A #13L) 13-10-1969 Shatalov, Yeliseyev Historical Museum Sochi Russia
Soyuz 9 (11F615A #17L) 1-6-1970 Nikolayev, Sevastyanov RVSN Academy Museum Moscow Russia
Soyuz 16 (11F615A12 #73) 2-12-1974 Filipchenko, Rukavishnikov Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocketry St. Petersburg Russia
Soyuz 19 (11F615A12 #75 – Soyuz Apollo) 15-7-1975 Leonov, Kubasov RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz 21 (11F615A8 #41) 6-7-1976 Volynov, Zhobolov RVSN Academy Museum Moscow Russia
Soyuz 22 (11F615A12 #74) 15-9-1976 Bykovsky, Aksyonov Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics Izhevsk Russia
Soyuz 24 (11F615A9 #66) 7-2-1977 Gorbatko, Glazkov Mozhaiski Academy St. Petersburg Russia
Soyuz 25 (11F615A8 #42) 9-10-1977 Kovalyonok, Ryumin Saratov State Museum of Military Glory Saratov Russia
Soyuz 27 (11F615A8 #44) 10-1-1978 Dzhanibekov, Makarov Museum of Cosmonautics S.P. Korolyova Zhytomyr Ukraine
Soyuz 28 (11F615A8 #45) 2-3-1978 Gubarev, Remek (CZ) Letecké Muzeum Kbely Prague Czech Republic
Soyuz 29 (11F615A8 #46) 15-6-1978 Kovalyonok, Ivanchenkov, Jähn (DE – Landing) Militärhistorisches Museum Dresden Germany
Soyuz 30 (11F615A9 #67) 27-6-1978 Klimuk, Hermaszweski (PL) Muzeum Polskiej Techniki Wojskowej Warsaw Poland
Soyuz 31 (11F615A8 #47) 26-8-1978 Bykovsky, Jähn (DE) RVSN Museum of Strategic Missile Forces Vlasikha Russia
Soyuz 33 (11F615A8 #49) 10-4-1979 Rukavishnikov, Ivanov (BG) Museum of Aviation Plovdiv Krumovo Bulgaria
Soyuz 34 (11F615A8 #50) 6-6-1979 unmanned launch, Soyuz-32 crew landing Tsiolkovski Museum Kaluga Russia
Soyuz 35 (11F615A8 #51) 9-4-1980 Popov, Ryumin, Farkas (HU – landing) Közlekedési Múzeum Budapest Hungary
Soyuz 36 (11F615A8 #52) 26-5-1980 Kubasov, Farkas (HU) Vietnamese People’s Air Force Museum Hanoi Vietnam
Soyuz 37 (11F615A8 #53) 23-7-1980 Gorbatko, Pham (VI) Museum of Cosmonautics Moscow Russia
Soyuz 38 (11F615A8 #54) 18-9-1980 Romanenko, Tamayo (CU) Museo Provincial Guantánamo Guantánamo Cuba
Soyuz 40 (11F615A8 #56) 14-5-1981 Popov, Prunariu (RO) Muzeul Militar Bucharest Romania
Soyuz T-2 (11F732 #7L) 5-6-1980 Aksyonov, Malyshev Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics Kirov Russia
Soyuz T-3 (11F732 #8L) 27-11-1980 Kizim, Makarov, Strekalov RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz T-6 (11F732 #9L) 24-6-1982 Dzhanibekov, Ivanchenkov, Chrétien (FR) Musée de l’air et de l’espace Paris France
Soyuz T-10 (11F732 #15L) 8-2-1984 Kizim, Solovyov, Atkov, Sharma (IN – landing) Nehru Planetarium New Delhi India
Soyuz TM-2 (11F732 #52) 5-2-1987 Romanenko, Laveykin, Faris (SY – landing) Military Museum Damascus Syria
Soyuz TM-7 (11F732 #57) 26-11-1988 Volkov, Krikalev, Chrétien (FR) Museum of Cosmonautics Moscow Russia
Soyuz TM-10 (11F732 #61A) 1-8-1990 Manakov, Strekalov, Akayima (JP – landing) National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA
Soyuz TM-12 (11F732 #62) 18-5-1991 Artsebarsky, Krikalev, Sharman (UK) ZEM Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz TM-14 (11F732 #64) 17-3-1992 Viktorenko, Kaleri, Flade (DE) RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz TM-19 (11F732 #68) 1-7-1994 Malenchenko, Musabayev, Merbold (DE) Technik Museum Speyer Germany
Soyuz TMA-1 (11F732 #211) 30-10-2002 Zalyotin, Lonchakov, De Winne (BE) Space Exploration Museum Shorshely Russia
Soyuz TMA-2 (11F732 #212) 26-4-2003 Malenchenko, LU (US), Duque (ES) National Museum of Rocket and Space Technology Peresvet Russia
Soyuz TMA-4 (11F732 #214) 19-12-2004 Padalka, Fincke (US), Kuipers (NL) Museum of Cosmonautics Moscow Russia
Soyuz TMA-6 (11F732 #216) 15-4-2005 Krikalev, Phillips (US), Vittori (IT) Intrepid Air and Space Museum New York City NY USA
Soyuz TMA-10 (11F732 #220) 7-4-2007 Kotov, Yurchikhin, Simyoni (US) Cosmonautics Museum Rostov-on-Don Russia
Soyuz TMA-13 (11F732 #223) 12-10-2008 Lonchakov, Fincke (US), Garriott (US) Zhukovsky Town Museum Zhukovski Russia
Soyuz TMA-14 (11F732 #224) 26-3-2009 Padalka, Barratt (US), Simyoni (US) Museum of Flight Seattle USA
Soyuz TMA-15 (11F732 #225) 27-5-2009 Romanenko, De Winne (BE), Thirsk (CA) RKK Energia Museum Korolov Russia
Soyuz TMA-18 (11F732 #228) 2-4-2010 Skvortsov, Korniyenko, Caldwell (US) Prokopievsk Municipal Regional Studies Museum Prokopievsk Russia
Soyuz TMA-20 (11F732 #230) 15-12-2010 Kondratyev, Coleman (US), Nespoli (IT) TsNII RTK Museum St. Petersburg Russia
Soyuz TMA-21 (11F732 #231) 4-4-2011 Samokutyayev, Borisenko, Garan (US) Titov Museum of Space Exploration Polkovnikovo Russia
Soyuz TMA-22 (11F732 #232) 14-11-2011 Shkaplerov, Ivanishin, Burbank (US) Museum Astronaut A.A. Leonova Kemerovo Russia
Soyuz TMA-07M (11F732 #708) 19-12-2012 Romanenko, Marshburn (US), Hadfield (CA) Vostochny Cosmodrome Vostochny Russia
Soyuz TMA-10M (11F732 #711) 25-9-2013 Kotov, Ryazanski, Hopkins (US) Lomonosov University Moscow Russia
Shuttle Buran (OK-GLI – Flight Prototype) N/A Atmospheric test flights only Technik Museum Speyer Germany
Shuttle Buran (OK-TVA – Thermal test model) N/A N/A VDNH Park (via Gorki Park) Moscow Russia
Shuttle Buran (OK-M/OK – ML1 – Thermal test model) N/A N/A Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum (site 2) Baikonur Kazakhstan
Shuttle Buran (OK-MT – Test model) N/A N/A Baikonur Cosmodrome MZK Building (Area 112A) Baikonur Kazakhstan
Shuttle Buran (OK-1.02 – Ptichka) N/A N/A Baikonur Cosmodrome MZK Building (Area 112A) Baikonur Kazakhstan
Kosmos 1443 (TKS 164-01 – VA 0103/1) 2-3-1983 unmanned, docked Salyut-7 National Air and Space Museum (DC) Washington DC USA

Please help me maintain this list by sending me updates below!

Sources: Wikipedia, Kosmonavtica.com, Live555.com, A Field Guide to American Spacecraft (website by Jim Gerard), Heather Archuletta, Robert Pearlman, Jane MacArthur, Amjad Zaidi, “The Soyuz Launch Vehicle” (book by Christian Lardier and Stefan Barensky)

6 thoughts on “The ultimate space bucket list

    • Hi Remco,
      My compliments for this extensive and informative list!
      Rolf Schoevaart, Diemen (The Netherlands).

  1. The Sojus 29 capsule is now at the “Militärhistorisches Museum” in Dresden, Germany on display

  2. Very inspiring!! I found out your blog during my work research, and found out it’s really helpful for my task. Then when I read through the other blogs, I was inspired by the way you are living and working. Thanks!
    – A visitor from Beijing, China

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