Tag: Dream Chaser

Sierra Space Prepares Dream Chaser for Pre-launch Trek to KSC

Spaceflight Now reports, “Sierra Space is getting one step closer to finally seeing its Dream Chaser spaceplane reach the launch pad. The spacecraft completed its environmental testing at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility last week … Sierra Space is now preparing to load up Dream Chaser and Shooting Star for shipment down to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Once it arrives, teams will finish adding the thermal protection tiles and perform additional checkouts, like acoustic testing.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Finish Line for Dream Chaser Now in Sight

Ars Techica reports, “There is still some work to do to prepare Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane for its first mission, but the company says the winged resupply craft for the ISS will soon ship to its launch site in Florida. The Dream Chaser will take off on top of a ULA Vulcan rocket to head for the space station. A spokesperson for Sierra Space told Ars the spaceplane’s launch is scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of this year.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Sierra Space Powers Up Dream Chaser in its Assembly Facility for First Time

Space News reports Sierra Space announced May 31 that it has powered up its Dream Chaser spaceplane “in its assembly facility for the first time [in a key test], feeding electrical power into the vehicle that, in space, would be generated by its solar panels and turning on flight computers and other components.” Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice said in a statement that “this is a milestone that points to the future and is a key moment in a long journey for Dream Chaser.” According to Space News, the “test comes as the company prepares to ship the first Dream Chaser, called Tenacity, to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, the former Plum Brook Station. There, the spacecraft will go through thermal vacuum tests before shipping to Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations.”
Full Story (Space News)

Cape Canaveral Facility Could Soon Serve as Re-Entry Site for Dream Chaser Spacecraft

The Denver Post reports that on Monday, Sierra Nevada Space Systems announced that the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida has been granted a license by federal authorities to be used as a re-entry site for commercial spacecraft. As Sierra Nevada prepares the Dream Chaser commercial spacecraft “for a planned 2022 flight to the International Space Station, the company is celebrating the prospect of future landings” in Cape Canaveral. The company is still working with the FAA to “obtain licensing to operate Dream Chaser re-entries in Florida, the company said in Monday’s release.”
Full Story (Denver Post)

NASA Approves Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser Spaceplane to Land on Runway at KSC

Florida Today reports that NASA has approved Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser spaceplane to land on a runway at Kennedy Space Center. The Dream Chaser “is a reusable, space utility vehicle capable of transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit and is capable of a runway landing.” Under a NASA contract, “the plane is now slated to launch atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket from KSC and deliver cargo to the International Space Station in 2022.”
Full Story (Florida Today)

Sierra Space Bolsters Spaceplane Fleet Via In-House Mission Control

Space News reports, “The long-awaited inaugural cargo flight of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane has been delayed to no earlier than May 2025, pushing back a launch previously expected this year. In the meantime, Sierra Space is moving forward with its second cargo spaceplane, Reverence, alongside work on an array of inflatable habitats and other structures to meet growing demand for in-space infrastructure.”
Full Story (Space News)

Dream Chaser Spaceplane to be Used for ISS Cargo Mission in 2024

SPACE reports that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane “will be used for an International Space Station (ISS) cargo mission in 2024 to ferry ‘a variety of life sciences experiments’ for Yuri, a German space biotech company.” Sierra Space “will send at least six uncrewed ISS cargo missions using Dream Chaser, all lifting off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station using United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rockets.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Sierra Space, Spirit AeroSystems Partner on Dream Chaser Cargo Modules

Space News reports that Sierra Space announced Tuesday “a strategic partnership with aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for production of cargo modules for its Dream Chaser vehicles.” Spirit “will assist in the development and production of Shooting Star, the cargo module attached to the aft end of the Dream Chaser lifting body vehicle.” The Shooting Star module “will support future cargo missions to the International Space Station under Sierra Space’s contract with NASA, and for other applications.”
Full Story (Space News)

Assembly on Dream Chaser Spacecraft Continues

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports the launch of the first Dream Chaser spacecraft could take place by this time next year. The first Dream Chaser, named Tenacity, “has undergone aeroshell and wing deployment system installation at the company’s headquarters in Colorado, shown in a time-lapse video posted to the company’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.” Dream Chaser “will join SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for bringing cargo to the International Space Station, but the company is already planning to build out a human-rated version that could become one of the players to launch crew to the ISS or other private space stations, including their own, this decade.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)