[Grammar] ‘IN a spaceship’ VS ‘ON a spaceship’

[northpath]

Is it true that the usage of prepositions with the word ‘spaceship’ depends on the size of a spaceship and the comfort inside it.
If a spaceship is rather small and astronauts cannot walk inside it, thеn the preposition ‘in’ shout be used (similar to a car):
There were five astronauts in the spaceship.
But if a spaceship is huge and astronauts can walk inside using an artificial gravitation (like in the movies ‘Aliens’, ‘Star track’, ‘Moonraker’), then the preposition ‘on’ should be used (similar to a bus or a train):
There were 50 astronauts on the spaceship.

 

[Tdol]

Is it true that the usage of prepositions with the word ‘spaceship’ depends on the size of a spaceship and the comfort inside it.

I don't think that comfort has much to do with it.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

The use of in or on goes back to the origin of the word itself (spaceship) and has nothing to do with the size. Since we use the word ship, and we generally say we are on a ship, the preposition comes along with that word, even though in is much more descriptive. I would go to the moon in a spaceship, I wouldn't want to ride on one!

Similarly, we are on a bus, which is a shortened version of the archaic omnibus- an open, horse-drawn vehicle for carrying multiple passengers.

We still use the word omnibus, but the meaning has evolved to a more figurative usage.