Sierra Space showed off its first flight ready Dream Chaser spaceplane this week before it heads off for launch testing at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. While there’s still some time before it launches, after years of delays it finally has launch in site.
Tenacity getting buttoned up for transport
The employees of Sierra Space, a spin off of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s space sector, gathered Monday to celebrate a milestone moment for its Dream Chaser spaceplane. This week teams at Sierra Space are finishing up getting the spaceplane packaged up and sent over to NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. There, the vehicle will undergo testing to ensure it can survive in space.
Today we have arrived at a profound milestone in both our company’s journey and our industry’s future – one that has been years in the making and is shaped by audacious dreaming and tenacious doing.
Tom vice, CEO of Sierra space
Dream Chaser is a reusable spaceplane that has been under development by Sierra Nevada/Sierra Space for over a decade. Initially designed to be a crewed rated vehicle, the company pivoted to make it cargo only to compete for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. In 2016 Dream Chaser was awarded six flights plus a demo mission.
All seven flights will be launched using ULA’s new Vulcan rocket which is slated to make its debut as soon as Christmas Eve. Dream Chaser’s demo mission is set to launch on Vulcan’s second flight.
Where Dream Chaser differs from all other cargo and crew options to the ISS is that it will land horizontally rather than a controlled descent into the ocean or wide open desert. While Dream Chaser will launch vertically on a rocket, it lands like an air plane using a runway. If any of you are old enough, you might remember hearing that a lot when referring to the Space Shuttle.
This allows for a smoother descent from space, maxing out at only 1.5g’s, and quicker handover of experiments to researchers. Dream Chaser can also land at different runways depending on the need of the researchers, as long as it meets its requirements.
Join our Discord Server: Join the community with forums and chatrooms about space! Also, directly support us via a Server Subscription!
When might Dream Chaser actually launch?
Dream Chaser has been deployed for several years. Originally stated it would launch on Vulcan in 2021, the next date given was January of 2023. Now it looks like a launch date is set tentatively for April 2024.
A lot still has to happen for Dream Chaser to meet that launch date. First Vulcan will have to launch its first mission, Peregrine Mission One for Astrobotic – a NASA CLPS mission to land on the Moon. That mission only has a three day window to launch in December, which for a new rocket feels destined to be delayed until its next window in January.
The Dream Chaser spaceplane, named Tenacity, still had a few tiles and coverings that still needed to be installed, However, Sierra Space stated that those are being purposefully left off for the tests at Armstrong.
Right now, I wouldn’t be making any Dream Chaser related plans for April of next year. But it might not be that far off.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments