space tug

A space tug is a type of spacecraft used to transfer spaceborne cargo from one orbit to another orbit with different energy characteristics. The term can include expendable upper stages or spacecraft that are not necessarily a part of their launch vehicle. However, it can also refer to a spacecraft that transports payload already in space to another location in outer space, such as in the Space Transportation System concept. An example would be moving a spacecraft from a low Earth orbit (LEO) to a higher-energy orbit like a geostationary transfer orbit, a lunar transfer, or an escape trajectory.

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upper stage
rocket stage, spacecraft, 
spacecraft, H10, H10, H8, Ikar, Inertial Upper Stage, KVRB, MAGE, Mission Extension Vehicle, Payload Assist Module, satellite dispenser, Shuttle-Centaur, H10, STAR, Transfer Orbit Stage, Transtage, Vigoride, Volga, Yuanzheng, Saman-1, Blue Ring, Astris, ULPM H30, Burner 2, Altair, Blok DM-03, Blok DM-2M, Blok DM-2, Blok-DM, Blok-DM-SLB, Blok-DM-SL, Blok D, Briz, Burner 2A, Agena D, Centaur, Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, Dong Fang Hong 2, Ekran, EPS L9.7, EPS-V L10, ESC-A H14.4, ESC-D H14.7, Fregat, H10-3, 

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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,

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  Agena D ⓘ
  American rocket upper stage

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  Altair ⓘ
  family of American solid-propellant upper stages

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  Astris ⓘ
  European upper stage

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  Blok D ⓘ
  upper stage used on Soviet and later Russian expendable launch systems

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  Blok DM-03 ⓘ
  variant of the Blok D upper stage

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  Blok DM-2 ⓘ
  variant of the Blok D upper stage

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  Blok DM-2M ⓘ
  variant of the Blok D upper stage

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  Blok-DM ⓘ
  Russian upper stage and space tug

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  Blok-DM-SL ⓘ
  Russian upper stage and space tug

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  Blok-DM-SLB ⓘ
  Russian upper stage and space tug

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  Blue Ring ⓘ
  space tug and satellite platform

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  Briz ⓘ
  family of Russian rocket upper stages

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  Burner 2 ⓘ
  American upper rocket stage

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  Burner 2A ⓘ
  American upper rocket stage

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  Delta Cryogenic Second Stage ⓘ
  rocket stage used in Delta rockets

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  EPS L9.7 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage used on Ariane 5

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  EPS-V L10 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage used on Ariane 5

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  ESC-A H14.4 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage used on Ariane 5

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  ESC-D H14.7 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage used on Ariane 5

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  Fregat ⓘ
  family of Russian rocket upper stages

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  H10 ⓘ
  family of upper rocket stages built by Aérospatiale

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  Ikar ⓘ
  used as the upper stage for Soyuz-Ikar

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  Mission Extension Vehicle ⓘ
  type of space tug

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  Saman-1 ⓘ
  Iranian space tug

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  satellite dispenser ⓘ
  spacecraft designed to release smaller payloads into their designated orbit

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  Shuttle-Centaur ⓘ
  proposed Space Shuttle upper stage

• 

  ULPM H30 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage used by Ariane 6

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  Vigoride ⓘ
  space tug by Momentus Space

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  Volga ⓘ
  rocket upper stage designed in Russia

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  Centaur ⓘ
  family of rocket stages which can be used as a space tug

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  Transtage ⓘ
  American upper rocket stage used on Titan III

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  MAGE ⓘ
  European rocket upper stage

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  H8 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage built by Aérospatiale

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  Inertial Upper Stage ⓘ
  two-stage solid-fueled booster rocket developed by the U.S. Air Force

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  H10 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage built by Aérospatiale

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  KVRB ⓘ
  proposed Proton cryogenic upper stage

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  H10 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage built by Aérospatiale

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  Transfer Orbit Stage ⓘ
  single-stage solid-fueled booster rocket

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  H10-3 ⓘ
  upper rocket stage built by Aérospatiale

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  Yuanzheng ⓘ
  series of Chinese launch vehicle upper stages

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  Payload Assist Module ⓘ
  single-stage solid-fueled booster stage

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  STAR ⓘ
  family of American rocket stages developed by Thiokol

Frameless

Tsyklon-3 S5M upper stage

Comparison of Block D variants

Comparison of Block D variants

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
class	rocket		Agena D	RM-81 Agena, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Altair	solid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Astris	liquid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok D	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok DM-03	Blok D	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok DM-2	Blok D	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok DM-2M	Blok D	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok-DM	Blok D, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok-DM-SL	Blok D	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blok-DM-SLB	Blok D	Wikidata
class	rocket		Blue Ring	spacecraft bus, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Briz	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Burner 2	solid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Burner 2A	solid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Delta Cryogenic Second Stage	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		EPS L9.7	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		EPS-V L10	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		ESC-A H14.4	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		ESC-D H14.7	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Fregat	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		H10	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Ikar	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Mission Extension Vehicle	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Saman-1	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		satellite dispenser	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Shuttle-Centaur	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		ULPM H30	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Vigoride	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket		Volga	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1962	Centaur	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1968	Transtage	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1977	MAGE	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1979	H8	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1982	Inertial Upper Stage	solid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1988	H10	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1990	KVRB	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1992	H10	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1992	Transfer Orbit Stage	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	1994	H10-3	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket	2015	Yuanzheng	space tug	Wikidata
class	rocket engine		Payload Assist Module	space tug, apogee kick motor	Wikidata
class	rocket engine		STAR	apogee kick motor, solid-propellant rocket, space tug	Wikidata
commons	image		Tsyklon-3 S5M upper stage		Commons
commons	image		Comparison of Block D variants		Commons
commons	image		Comparison of Block D variants		Commons