// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Capsule
A capsule is a small, usually conical or blunt-bodied spacecraft designed to carry astronauts or cargo, often for re-entry to Earth.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A capsule is a self-contained, often blunt-bodied spacecraft module designed for crew or cargo transport, typically featuring a heat shield for atmospheric re-entry and a parachute system for landing, forming the primary habitable volume for short-duration human spaceflight missions.
BACKGROUND
The billionaire space race is the rivalry among entrepreneurs who have entered the space industry from other industries – particularly computing. This private spaceflight race involves sending privately developed rockets and vehicles to various destinations in space, often in response to government programs or to develop the space tourism sector. Some of this competitiveness is part of the New Space Race.
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- Crew module
- Re-entry vehicle
- Spacecraft module
- Command module
USAGE NOTE
The Orion capsule is designed to carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Capsule.
Developer of the Dragon 2 spacecraft, which has two variants: Crew Dragon for transporting astronauts and Cargo Dragon for resupplying the International Space Station (ISS).
Developer of the CST-100 Starliner, a crew capsule designed to transport astronauts to the ISS as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The prime contractor for NASA's Orion spacecraft, a crew exploration vehicle designed for human missions to the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program.
Operates the New Shepard reusable suborbital launch system, which features a crew capsule designed to take tourists and researchers to the edge of space.
The Russian state space corporation that operates the Soyuz crewed spacecraft and the uncrewed Progress cargo spacecraft, both of which have a long history of servicing space stations.
Builds and operates the Cygnus spacecraft, an uncrewed cargo resupply capsule that delivers supplies, equipment, and scientific experiments to the International Space Station.
India's national space agency, currently developing the Gaganyaan spacecraft, which is an orbital vehicle capsule intended to be the basis of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
Manages China's space program, which includes the Shenzhou crewed capsule for transporting taikonauts and the Tianzhou automated cargo spacecraft for servicing the Tiangong space station.