A spaceship is a crewed vehicle designed to sustain human life while traveling through the vacuum of space. While engineers typically prefer the term spacecraft for any orbital vehicle, this word specifically implies a human crew and often a vehicle capable of sustained independent flight or interplanetary travel. It requires complex life support, thermal control, and propulsion systems to keep astronauts alive.
The capsule design proved reliable, but building a true reusable spaceship requires solving serious thermal and structural problems.
Engineers rarely use this word in formal documentation, preferring terms like crewed spacecraft, crew module, or specific vehicle designations.
Also heard as
- crewed spacecraft
- manned spacecraft
Do not mix it up with
- Spacecraft: A spacecraft can be crewed or uncrewed, whereas a spaceship specifically carries humans.
Related terms
Spacecraft
Any vehicle designed to fly and operate in outer space.
Capsule
A pressurized spacecraft module designed to carry a crew and return them to Earth safely.
Space probe
An uncrewed robotic spacecraft sent to explore deep space.
Launch vehicle
A rocket or other system used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into space.