What's your favorite Spacecraft, both real and fictional?
It would be impossible to choose a favorite real spacecraft but my favorite fictional spacecraft is probably the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
Partly because I love the TNG technical manual and partly because it's just gorgeous. Easily the best looking ship to carry the name.
Some candidates for my favorite real spacecrafts:
The Space Shuttle Orbiters (Space Transportation System)
(1981-2011). Truly horrendous design. Unsafe, inefficient, but unquestionably gorgeous and utterly iconic, having defined human spaceflight for at least two generations.
You may have a death toll but I can't stay mad at you...
The Apollo Lunar Modules (1969-1972). These babies have a negative death toll, being instrumental in the rescue of the Apollo 13 astronauts and being uninvolved in the Apollo 1 fire. They are also one of two unquestionably iconic U.S. government vehicles designed and built by Grumman with "L" in the name--the other is the USPS Long Life Vehicle.
Skylab. They really did just say "what if we emptied out a rocket tank and turn it into a space station." and it has the dubious honor of being the only space station with a spacious enough volume to test cold-gas EVA-jetpacks and to have a shower. All while having its sun shield and one of its solar panels torn off. It's even large enough that you can run along the outside, and the centrifugal force of your own circular motion is enough to keep you on the walls/floor.
New Horizons (launch 2006, arrival at Pluto 2015, arrival at Arrokoth 2019).
Cassini (launch 1997, arrival 2004, destroyed at end of mission 2017)
and the Voyagers (especially Voyager 2)
Launch: 1977
Jupiter: 1979
Saturn: 1980 and 1981
Uranus: 1986
Neptune: 1989
Heliopause: 2012 & 2018
Current status: transmitting from Interstellar space (in terms of heliophysics. Still well within the sun's gravitational sphere of influence)
Robotic spacecrafts are the fuckin' best.
