The Surprising Fate Of History's Most Famous Spacecrafts revealed

What happened to the most famous spacecraft ever

Have you ever wondered where the most famous rockets, satellites, probes, manned craft and space stations end up once they've served their purpose? From museums here on Earth to infinity and beyond, read on to discover the final destinations of some of the most iconic spacecraft in history.

Sputnik 1: Earth's atmosphere

The world's very first artificial satellite, the USSR launched Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957. The pioneering spacecraft remained in orbit for three months before it fell to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

Explorer 1: Earth's atmosphere

Hot on the heels of the Soviets, the USA launched its debut satellite on 31 January 1958. Explorer 1 was the first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt. It remained in orbit until 1970, vaporizing on re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.

Vanguard 1: Earth's orbit

Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial satellite and the first to boast solar power. Launched on 17 March 1958, the American spacecraft is also the oldest satellite still in orbit. A 'derelict object,' it's expected to stay there for several hundred years.

Luna 2: Autolycus crater, Mare Imbrium, Moon

The first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, the Soviet Luna 2 craft landed just east of the Mare Imbrium plain near the crater of Autolycus on 13 September 1959, and remains there to this day.

Vostok 1: RKK Energiya museum, Korolyov, Russia

The Soviet Vostok spacecraft carrying cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched at 06.07 UT on 12 April 1961 and reached Earth's orbit, making Gagarin the first human in space. The craft re-entered the atmosphere at 07.35 UT and landed in Engels, USSR. It is now on display at Korolyov's RKK Energiya museum.

Freedom 7: John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, USA

Only just lagging behind its Cold War adversary, the US launched the nation's first manned spacecraft more or less a month later on 5 May 1961. Piloted by Alan Shepard, Freedom 7 ended up in the Atlantic Ocean not far from the Bahamas and now lives at the JFK Library in Boston.

Mariner 2: Sun's inner orbit

The first space probe to fly by a planet, Mariner 2 passed as close as 21,607 miles to Venus on 14 December 1962. The trailblazing American craft is in orbit around the Sun and will remain circling the star until it breaks up.

Telstar 1: Earth's orbit

The world's first communications satellite and privately-funded launch, Telstar 1 rocketed into Earth's orbit on 10 July 1962 and changed the world. Now out of action, the obsolete craft is still revolving around our planet.

Ariel 1: Earth's atmosphere

Ariel 1, which was named after a spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest, was the UK's first satellite and the first that wasn't American or Soviet. Launched on 26 April 1962, the British spacecraft remained in orbit until 24 April 1976 when it came crashing down to Earth.

Mariner 4: Sun's outer orbit

Dismaying the Soviets, America's Mariner 4 performed the first flyby of Mars in July 1965 and beamed back the first detailed images of the Red Planet's surface. The craft is in perpetual heliocentric orbit somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.

Gemini 3: Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, USA

Nicknamed the Molly Brown by its crew Gus Grissom and John Young, Gemini 3 flew three Earth orbits on 23 March 1965 and came down safely by parachute in the Atlantic. The spacecraft is on display at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana.

Saturn V: Kennedy Space Center, Florida and Johnson Space Center, Houston

The rocket launcher that made that first lunar mission so successful was the Saturn V. On 16 July 1969, one of the huge 363-foot-tall, 6.2 million-pound rocket launchers sent Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and pilot Michael Collins into space on their mission to set foot on the moon. You can see one at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and one at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. As Armstrong himself said: “This Saturn gave us a magnificent ride... It was beautiful!”

Columbia: National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, USA

But perhaps the most famous spacecraft of all time, the Columbia, actually transported the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon. They landed on Mare Tranquillitatis plain on 24 July 1969 in the Lunar Excursion Module known as Eagle. Eagle was left in space but Columbia returned to Earth safely and the command module can be seen at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Odyssey: Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, USA

Against all the odds, the crew of Apollo 13 mission craft the Odyssey managed to get back to Earth in one piece following a catastrophic oxygen tank explosion. The US craft splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean on 17 April 1970, and now resides at the Cosmosphere and Space Center in Kansas.

Venera 7: Guinevere Planitia, Venus

The first spacecraft to land on another planet, the USSR's Venera 7 touched down on Venus on 15 December 1970. The lander didn't last long at all on the planet's sizzling surface, which is hot enough to melt aluminum and lead.

Skylab: Western Australia

America's first space station was in orbit from 1973 to 1979, when the out of control 77-ton spacecraft came hurtling back to Earth. A huge media event at the time, the demise of Skylab had the world on tenterhooks. Thankfully, it disintegrated over Western Australia with no casualties.

Mir: Point Nemo, South Pacific Ocean

In contrast, Russia was able to control the re-entry of the Mir Space Station, which was launched by the USSR in 1986. Mir came down on 23 March 2001 at Point Nemo. The so-called 'spacecraft cemetery' in the South Pacific, Point Nemo is the furthest spot away from any land on the planet and is the final resting place of around 300 spent spacecraft.

Pioneer 10: Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri)

After completing its mission to Jupiter in 1974, America's Pioneer 10 probe became the first of five artificial objects to leave the Solar System, passing Neptune in 1983. The spacecraft is heading towards Aldebaran, aka Alpha Tauri, a star 68 light years away. If undisturbed, it'll get there in two million years' time.

Pioneer 11: Scutum constellation

The first probe to encounter Saturn and its rings, Pioneer 11 was launched on 6 April 1973 and left the solar system on 23 February 1990. The US spacecraft is moving towards the center of our galaxy towards the Scutum constellation.

Viking 1: Chryse Planitia, Mars

NASA's Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to land on Mars, touching down on the Red Planet on 20 July 1976, and remains where it landed, on the Chryse Planitia (Golden Plain) in the northern equatorial region of the planet.

Voyager 2: Interstellar space

Launched 16 days before its twin Voyager 1, the Voyager 2 probe has explored the outer planets and is expected to reach interstellar space next year. If it stays intact, the American craft will pass the stars Ross 248 and Sirius, but is destined to roam interstellar space for infinity.

Voyager 1: Interstellar space

The most distant object built by humans, Voyager 1 was launched on 5 September 1977 and made it to interstellar space on 25 August 2012. Like its twin, Voyager 1 is poised to wander the Milky Way, whizzing by the star Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years from now. 

Giotto: Sun's inner orbit

European spacecraft Giotto was the first to have a close encounter with a comet, flying close by Halley's Comet on 13 March 1986. The probe remains in heliocentric orbit, roughly parallel to the Earth's.

New Horizons: Sagittarius constellation

The fifth artificial object to make it past the Solar System, the New Horizons probe was launched by NASA in 2006 and is currently on its way to the Kuiper belt object, having passed Pluto. The craft's final destination is the constellation of Sagittarius, if it survives the unimaginably long journey.

Rosetta: Ma'at region, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe carried out a detailed analysis of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and ended its mission in spectacular fashion on 30 September 2016 by crash-landing in the comet's Ma'at region.

 

Tiangong-1: South Pacific Ocean

China's out of control space station, Tiangong-1 finally fell to Earth in April 2018. To the relief of the millions of people in the potential crash zone, the runaway spacecraft met its end in the South Pacific Ocean, around 1,900 miles from Point Nemo.

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