Space 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 This is not a static list, but one that will require many updates as capsules are replaced, withdrawn from display or newly brought into museums.
| 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)
[…] today I published the space bucket list, containing all flown manned spaceflight vehicles on public display around the world. Reason for […]
Hi Remco,
My compliments for this extensive and informative list!
Rolf Schoevaart, Diemen (The Netherlands).
The Sojus 29 capsule is now at the “Militärhistorisches Museum” in Dresden, Germany on display
http://www.sojus-29.de/page3.php
[…] also published the Space Tourist Bucket List, listing all manned space craft on public display, anywhere in the world. Of course it includes the […]
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