Early Program Development

Managed by Marshall Space Flight Center, the Space Tug was a reusable multipurpose space vehicle designed to transport payloads to different orbital inclinations. Utilizing mission-specific combinations of its three primary modules (crew, propulsion, and cargo) and a variety of supplementary kits, the Space Tug was capable of numerous space applications. This 1970 artist's concept depicts the Space Tug during a satellite repair mission with the contact and de-spin attachment kit in place. An astronaut can be seen tethered to the Tug.