Spacecraft Systems
RCS thrusters, docking ports, solar arrays, and life support — the subsystems that keep spacecraft alive.
Explore every spacecraft subsystem tracked on Space Launch Live. From reaction control systems (RCS) that provide attitude control, to the International Docking System Standard (IDSS) that connects spacecraft, to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) that keep crews breathing — browse specifications, operating principles, manufacturers, and the vehicles that use each system. Space Launch Live tracks mass, power consumption, redundancy levels, and technical standards for every spacecraft component.
Explore the critical systems that power, propel, point, and protect crewed and uncrewed spacecraft — from reaction control thrusters to ECLSS life support — and how they keep a vehicle working far from any repair crew.
Once a spacecraft separates from its rocket it has to fend for itself. Attitude control keeps it pointed: small RCS thrusters (often hypergolic or hydrazine) nudge its orientation, while spinning reaction wheels and control-moment gyroscopes turn it precisely without spending propellant — the technique that lets Hubble hold steady on a distant galaxy. Docking systems, increasingly built to the international IDSS standard, let vehicles like Crew Dragon mate with the Space Station and transfer crew.
Power and survival are just as relentless. Solar arrays charge lithium-ion batteries for flight through Earth’s shadow, while deep-space probes beyond the reach of useful sunlight carry radioisotope thermoelectric generators fueled by plutonium-238 — the power source behind Voyager and Perseverance. Thermal control balances scorching sun against the cold of space using radiators, multi-layer insulation, and heaters, and on crewed ships an environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) generates oxygen, scrubs out carbon dioxide, and manages humidity and pressure to keep astronauts alive.