List of space programs of the United States
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United States Space Program |
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The United States has seen several space programs since the beginnings of spaceflight. The criteria for what constitutes spaceflight vary. In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) are awarded astronaut wings. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale defines spaceflight as any flight over 62 miles (100 km). This article follows the US definition of spaceflight.
Government programs[]
National[]
Program | Timeline | Organization(s) | Successful flight(s) above 50 miles (80 km) |
---|---|---|---|
X-15 program | 1957–1968 |
|
13 |
Battlefield Aeronautics and Space Organization | 1956–1959 | Wake Island | 3 |
Explorers Program | 1958–present |
|
91 |
Pioneer program | 1958–1992 |
|
10 |
Project Mercury | 1958–1963 | NASA | 11 |
Apollo program | 1961–1972 | NASA | 33 |
Ranger program | 1961–1965 | NASA | 4 |
Project Gemini | 1961–1966 | NASA | 10 |
Mariner program | 1962–1973 | NASA | 7 |
Manned Orbiting Laboratory program | 1962–1969 | US Air Force | 1 |
Lunar Orbiter program | 1963–1967 | NASA | 5 |
Space Shuttle program | 1972–2011 | NASA | 134 |
Skylab program | 1973–1974 | NASA | 4 |
Viking program | 1975–1982 | NASA | 2 |
Voyager program | 1977–present | NASA | 2 |
Mars Exploration Program | 1993–present | NASA | 8 |
Constellation program | 2000s–2010 | NASA | 0 |
X-37B program | 2006–present |
|
6 |
Journey to Mars program | 2010–2017 | NASA | 1 |
International[]
Program | Timeline | Organizations | Successful flight(s) above 50 miles (80 km) |
---|---|---|---|
Spacelab program | 1973–2000 |
|
32 |
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project | 1975 | 2 | |
International Space Station program | 1984–present |
| |
Shuttle–Mir program | 1993–1998 | 11 | |
Lunar Gateway program | 2017–present | 0 |
Private programs[]
Program | Timeline | Organization(s) | Successful flight(s) above 50 miles (80 km) |
---|---|---|---|
SpaceShipOne | 2003–2004 | Scaled Composites | 3 |
SpaceShipTwo | 2010–present | Virgin Galactic | 2 |
Space tourism program of Axiom Space | 2020–present | 0 |
Public-private partnership programs[]
Program | Timeline | Organizations | Successful flight(s) above 50 miles (80 km) |
---|---|---|---|
Space tourism program of Space Adventures | 1998–present | 7 | |
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services | 2006–2013 | 3 | |
Commercial Resupply Services |
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|
Commercial Crew Program | 2011–present | 2 | |
Artemis program | 2017–present | 0 | |
Commercial Lunar Payload Services | 2018–present | 0 |
See also[]
- British space programme – British government effort to develop British space capabilities
- Chinese space program – Space program of the People's Republic of China
- Soviet space program – Space exploration program conducted by the Soviet Union from the 1950s to 1991.
Categories:
- Space program of the United States
- Space programs by country
- Space lists