1957 onwards – Miscellaneous Space Tugs with Manipulator Arms (Illustrations)

1974 Japanese Sci-Fi image of a Space Tug by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. Whilst it looks aggressive and attacking, it appears to be a rescue vehicle. Space Tugs by Sokolov and Leonov c1965. A depiction of an Unmanned Orbital Free-Flyer, similar to the 1982-4 Telepresence Servicer Unit (TSU) concept. Image source: projectrho.com Detail: Image source: projectrho.com Artwork …

1955 – Space Tug (Illustration) – Nikolay Kolchitsky (Soviet)

Illustrations from the book “Travel To Distant Worlds” written by Karl Gilzen. The illustrations are dated 1955 and are by Nikolay Kolchitsky (Николай Кольчицкий) .  The Space Tugs are manned and have what appears to be simple mechanical arms. The covers to both the Soviet version and the English version of the book. Another similar illustration …

1949 – Space Tug (Illustration) – Klaus Bürgle (German)

Space Tug – 1949 The above image from a 2010 calendar with Bürgle's illustrations. I don't know if the Space Station illustration was previously published and if so, where? The caption suggests it was unpublished at the time. The Space Tugs are being used to hold and manoeuvre large panels during construction. Klaus Bürgle – …

1971 – Space Tug (Concept) – MSFC/Boeing (American)

American space tug. Study 1971. The original Boeing Space Tug design of the early 1970's was sized to be flown either in a single shuttle mission or as a Saturn V payload. Optimum mass was found to be 20.6 metric tons regardless. The Tug could be outfitted with a variety of kits to serve in …

1970 – Space Tug (Concept) – MSFC/Boeing (American)

Re-useable Space Tug Concept Report dated 1970 Manipulator Kit only for manned space tug. The initial operational capability (IOC) date for the unmanned earth-orbit tug was Jan 1980, the manned earth-orbit tug for December 1980 (includes Manipulator Kit), and the manned lunar tug for April 1983. The Space Tug is modular in design. Space Tug …