This is a list of fictional spacecraft, starships and exo-atmospheric vessels that have been identified by name in notable published works of fiction. The term "spacecraft" is mainly used to refer to spacecraft that are real or conceived using present technology. The terms "spaceship" and "starship" are generally applied only to fictional space vehicles, usually those capable of transporting people.
Spaceships are often one of the key plot devices in science fiction. Numerous short stories and novels are built up around various ideas for spacecraft, and spacecraft have featured in many films and television series. Some hard science fiction books focus on the technical details of the craft. Some fictional spaceships have been referenced in the real world, notably Starship Enterprise from Star Trek which gave its name to Space Shuttle Enterprise and to the VSS Enterprise. For other ships from Star Wars, Star Trek, Robotech, and other major franchises, see the separate lists linked below.
Space stations
Shuttles (Planetary surface to orbit) Altair 8 – A suborbital passenger liner that suffers catastrophic damage in the opening of Planetes, a series with a focus on hazardous space debris Betty Boop – Intership shuttle used by the protagonists in Gemina, the second book in the Illuminae series, to prevent timeline collapse by returning the corpses of the respective timelines' protagonist to their own universe. Kingfisher – A craft that docks with an unnamed modular Mars cycler spacecraft for a two-year Mars mission in the 2021 film Stowaway. Moonrakers – Drax Industries NASA-style Space Shuttles featured in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker and in the 2012 video game 007 Legends. Orion III ("Pan Am Space Clipper") – A shuttle used to transport Heywood Floyd into space, in 2001: A Space Odyssey SSTO-TAV-37B Space Shuttlecraft – Used in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar Pathfinder (OV-201) - NERVA powered second-generation Space Shuttle orbiter from season 2 of TV series For All Mankind, capable of cislunar flight with orbital refuelling; the series features another fictional shuttles Shuttle unnamed Earth Alliance in Gundam seed 73 Ova (2006) Shuttle unnamed film Voyager 2021 Shuttle unnamed geostorm
Space Shuttle orbiters Atlantis II - In the 2010 anime film Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader, a dual finned space shuttle inspired by Atlantis is used to launch into space and destroy asteroid Adonis. Churchill – A joint British-US shuttle from the 1985 film, Lifeforce Daedalus – Space Cowboys Explorer – From the 2013 film Gravity Excalibur – Hank Henshaw's shuttle in Superman comics. Excursion – In the 1998 film Species II goes on the first trip to Mars with detachable docking station. Intrepid – In Payne Harrison's novel Storming IntrepidHarrison, Payne. Storming Intrepid. Ivy Books, 1990. Lancet - In the German TV series Raumpatrouille, in English, Space Patrol - Orion. Messiah – In the 1997 film Deep Impact with modified Space Shuttle-section and landing craft. Navigator – A NASA shuttle that experiences a serious accident in the 2025 novel Atmosphere. Odyssey – Odyssey 5 OV-165 - An orbiter from the second generation of NASA orbiters, in Star Trek: Enterprise Pleiades – In David Brin's novel EarthBrin, David. Earth. Bantam Books, 1990. R-352 Sepia – A shuttle developed by Neucom Incorporated for orbital satellite interception in Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere R-808 Phoca – A transport shuttle used by Neucom Incorporated in Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Roger – An anthropomorphic NASCA (a play on "NASA", "car" and "NASCAR") Space Shuttle orbiter in the Cars Toons episode "Moon Mater" X-71 shuttles (Freedom and Independence) – Specialized USAF Space Shuttle orbiters with separable rocket booster from the 1998 film Armageddon Lupin special 5 Voyage to Danger
Lunar
Aries Ib – Passenger lunar lander in 2001: A Space Odyssey Eagle Transporter – Moonbase Alpha's modular service craft in Space: 1999 Friede – Moon rocket in 1929 German film Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) Mark IX Hawk – A space fighter similar to the Eagle in Space: 1999 Mayflower One – Airplane II: The Sequel Unnamed "projectile" – From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon by Jules Verne (1865)
Interplanetary (Planetary on other)
Aether – A large modular crewed spacecraft returning from a two-year mission in the ongoing colonization of the fictional habitable Jovian moon X-13 in the 2020 film The Midnight Sky Anastasia – Dan Dare's personal ship Bebop – The titular ship of the series Cowboy Bebop Bilkis – An experimental spaceship in the anime series GeneshaftGeneshaft at THEM Anime Reviews.Geneshaft: Ring (Volume 1), review at DVD Verdict, by Mike Pinsky, May 20th, 2003. Cepheus – A ship made for transport between different bases and colonies in the deep Solar System in the film Ad Astra. Democratic Circus – An interplanetary cruiser used for defensive and policing actions within the Epsilon Eridani system seen in the Revelation Space series. Discovery One – A scientific research spacecraft sent to Jupiter in the novels: 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey Two and the corresponding films: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). Europa One – A scientific research spacecraft made to send astronauts to Jupiter's moon Europa to find extraterrestrial life under the moons surface in Europa Report. Lander – A ship used as a way to transport the crew of Europa One to the surface of Europa. It contains mining and recording materials to search for alien life under the surface of the moon. Excelsior – From the 1918 Danish film Himmelskibet (A Trip to Mars), "The film that marked the beginning of the space opera subgenre of science fiction." – Phil HardyPhil Hardy. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction. New York: The Overlook Press, 1994, pp. 56–57 F-302 Mongoose – Air/space/hyperdrive strike craft in Stargate SG-1 Hermes – A reusable NASA spacecraft manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Ares program to Mars in Andy Weir's and Ridley Scott's The Martian Iris Resupply Probe – Resupply probe, designed to give Mark Watney enough food to survive until Ares 4. The probe exploded during launch due to a rushed design and manufacturing stage. MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) and MDV (Mars Descent Vehicle) landers – Non-reusable landers used during the Ares missions Hunter IV – Personal fighter of Samus Aran from the Metroid series Icarus I and Icarus II – Spaceships from the 2007 film Sunshine LCAM-01XA Archangel – a state-of-the-art warship from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny. The first of its class, which it also takes its name from Archangel. She has a nearly identical sister-ship known as the Dominion. Both ships are named after the hierarchy of angels. Lewis & Clark – Rescue ship sent to retrieve the Event Horizon Mars I and Mars II – from the 2000 film Mission to Mars Messiah – an Orion spacecraft designed to prevent a comet hitting Earth in the 1998 film Deep Impact Nightflyer – craft from the American horror science fiction television series Nightflyers Nile-class – A class of battleship in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer Odyssey – spacecraft designed to visit Saturn's moon Titan in the 2013 film Oblivion Orbit Jet – United Worlds XV-2 Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, 1954 TV series Rocinante – Martian corvette, centerpiece of The Expanse (TV series and novel series) Rocket – From Little Einsteins Ryvius – The title spacecraft from the anime series Infinite RyviusInfinite Ryvius – DVD 1: Lost in Space review by Zac Bertschy, Anime News Network, September 27, 2003. SA-43 Hammerhead Mk 1 – U.S.M.C. VTOL atmosphere/space fighter in 2063 Space: Above and Beyond, 1995 TV series Scorpio E-X-1 – It's About Time Serenity – A transport spacecraft from the TV series Firefly and the 2005 science fiction film SerenityHowStuffWorks Inside 'Serenity' by Gerri Miller, HowStuffWorks.Serenity, Review by Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com, September 29, 2005. Turtle – An interplanetary spaceship, named after its carapace-like shape in Cobra SCV-70 White Base – The mothership of the makeshift Earth Federation crew and the RX-78-2 Gundam in Mobile Suit Gundam. USS Cygnus – from The Black Hole Valley Forge – American Airlines space freighter, outfitted with geodesic dome greenhouses preserving the last forests in the 1972 film Silent Running Zero-X – A spacecraft from Thunderbirds Are Go
Interstellar Military or exploration Access Ark - A planet-sized spacecraft owned by the Haltmann Works Company, who invade Popstar and mechanize its landscape in Kirby: Planet Robobot. It eventually merges with Star Dream, acting as the final boss of the game. Alexander 78v – A United Terrain Authority (UTA) Battlecarrier, which helped evacuate rescuees from the battle on Kerenza IV in the Illuminae Files. Amaterasu (天照) – The third Freedom Guard Ship of the Kibi Planetary Nation (Starship Operators)Semi-Essentials: Starship Operators by Mike Ferreira, Anime Herald, January 28, 2012.Starship Operators Collection – Review by Luke Carroll, Anime News Network, December 10, 2008. Arcadia (アルカディア号) – The most powerful space battleship in the Captain Harlock universe, created by Tochiro Oyama as his final gift to his friend Harlock before his inevitable death. Argonaut – The most advanced starship of the Iron Tribe in the anime series Heroic Age"Heroic Age Part 1" Forges Myths And Legends In Deep Space, Toon Zone News, June 16, 2009. Ark – A flagship commanded by Optimus Prime in several Transformers series."Transformers: an adult primer // Here's help understanding toy robots, the latest rage", Chicago Sun-Times; December 16, 1986; by Patricia Smith The ship's computer, Teletraan I, provides intelligence to the Autobots for their various missions.High on sci-fi. Star Tribune, March 2, 2007, by Salas, Randy A. Aurora – Private starship owned by Alterra in Subnautica. It was intended to terraform planets, but was shot down when attempting a slingshot maneuver around planet 4546B. Athena – A starship which transports humans to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris in the 2002 film Solaris Avalon – The Homestead Company (also using Sony hardware) starliner in the film Passengers, which transports emigrants from the Earth to Homestead II Axalon – A Maximal exploration ship in the Beast Wars: Transformers series Axiom – The Buy n' Large starliner in the films WALL-E and BURN-E, which is used, together with other starships, to provide a temporary home for humanity. Its originally planned five-year mission ended up lasting 700 years. Basroil – A starship commanded by Lafiel in the anime series Banner of the StarsBanner of the Stars – DVD 1: No Turning Back, Review by Zac Bertschy, Anime News Network, February 7, 2003.Banner of the Stars – DVD 2: Basroil Unleashed!, Review by Jonathan Mays, Anime News Network, May 23, 2003. Battlestars – Actually Spacecraft carriers, all destroyed except Galactica and Pegasus. the capital ships in Battlestar Galactica Basestar – The Cylon capital ships in the Battlestar Galactica universe Bellerophon – The ship that took colonists to Altair IV in Forbidden Planet Black Boa (MXOV-801) - A spacecraft featured in the 2001 film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Blip-A – A light-propelled ship built and crewed by Eridians in Project Hail Mary. C-57D – The United Planets cruiser that was sent to the planet Altair IV in Forbidden Planet Conquistador – The largest battleship of the Henrietta Planetary Alliance (Starship Operators)Starship Operators Vol. #3 by Christopher Homer, Mania.com, January 5, 2009.