Top 10: Heaviest spacecraft

Heading into space isn’t easy but who has the heaviest spacecraft for the job – Russia, the US or European Space Agency?

Getting to space: it ain’t easy – 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 – 2020's Falcon Heavy launch cost $950/kg (£685/kg), whereas the 1981 Space Shuttle launch cost a whopping $85,216/kg (£61,467/kg approx) – but space agencies still work hard to keep the mass of their spacecraft to an absolute minimum.

Despite this hurdle, humans have launched vehicle after vehicle through the atmosphere and into space.

But which is heaviest? These are the spacecraft with the largest mass to have flown in Earth’s orbit and beyond.

10. Salyut 1

In service: 1971

Weight: 18,900kg

9. ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle)

European Space Agency cargo spacecraft

In service: 2008–2014

Weight: 19,357kg

8. Salyut 7

In service: 1982–1991

Weight: 19,824kg

7. Tianhe core module

Cornerstone of Chinese Tiangong space station

In service: April 2021-present

Weight: 22,000kg

6. Apollo Command and Service Module

In service: 1968–1975

Weight: 28,800kg

5. Skylab

In service: 1973–1979

Weight: 77,000kg

4. Buran

Russian uncrewed spaceplane

In service: 1988

Weight: 105,000kg(Orbiter vehicle mass)

3. Space Shuttle

In service: 1981-2011

Weight: 110,000kg(Gross lift-off mass ofEndeavour)

2. Mir

In service: 1986-2001

Weight: 140,000kg

1. International Space Station

Space station, made of 16 pressurised modules

In service: 1998-present

Weight: 419,725kg(2011 size)

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