Tag: Dream Chaser
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News from the Press Site: New SpaceX spacesuits and China’s Chang’e 6 reaches orbit around the Moon
In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Jeff Foust, senior writer at Space News, and Bill Harwood, space consultant for CBS News. The panel discusses the upcoming valve work being done to ready ULA’s Atlas V rocket for the Starliner Crew Flight Test, China’s Chang’e…
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First Dream Chaser spaceplane needs more work when it gets to launch site
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 International Space Station will soon ship to its launch site in Florida. The Dream Chaser will take off on top of a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket…
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News from the Press Site: Eclipse preview, spacecraft testing and space junk hitting a Florida home
The opportunity to see a total solar eclipse is capturing the attention of millions across the country, spacecraft are going through key environmental testing and a Florida resident is dealing with an out-of-this-world garbage problem. These are just some of the topics on deck for this week’s edition of News from the Press Site.…
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Dream Chaser undergoes NASA testing ahead of first flight
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser vehicle is one step closer to launching no earlier than the first half of 2024 following testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility, formerly known as Plum Brook Station, in Ohio. NSF was among a select group of media members that received access to the vibration testing chamber where the vehicle…
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Sierra Space unveils fully integrated Dream Chaser spaceplane amid testing campaign
For the first time, Sierra Space mated its Dream Chaser spaceplane to the Shooting Star module amid shake table testing at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now An orbital-class spaceplane is one step closer to returning to the International Space Station. As part of an on-going test campaign, Sierra Space mated…
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First Dream Chaser Vehicle Ready for Final Testing
After years of work, Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane is almost ready to fly. The vehicle’s next step is a trip to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio ahead of its first launch at the Kennedy Space Center currently scheduled for no earlier than March 2024. NSF was invited as part…
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After decades of dreams, a commercial spaceplane is almost ready to fly
LOUISVILLE, Colorado—The first Dream Chaser spaceplane built to go into orbit is starting to look the part. Its foldable wings and fuselage are covered in custom-fitted ceramic tiles to shield the spacecraft’s composite structure from the scorching heat of atmospheric reentry as it flies back to Earth. It has its landing gear, and technicians buzz…
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How Sierra Space Protects America’s Next Space Plane, Dream Chaser
Dream Chaser, the so-called “mini shuttle”, is set to bring back the capability of returning experiments and equipment from the International Space Station (ISS) through Earth’s atmosphere for an eventual runway landing. As much as the vehicle resembles NASA’s Space Transportation System, better known as the space shuttle, it’s actually based on a different NASA…
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Blue Origin, Sierra Space, and Boeing announce Orbital Reef
Amid a year of momentous developments in commercial spaceflight, including the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission and the first feature film to be shot in space, a consortium led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space has announced a commercial space station project known as Orbital Reef. The project is billed as a “mixed-use business park” that would…
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Dream Chaser receives thermal protection system, on track for 2021 debut
The Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced its Louisville, Colorado production center has received the Thermal Protection System tiles for Tenacity, the first space-worthy Dream Chaser, and has started bonding them to the vehicle. This is another major milestone Tenacity has reached as she walks down the path to her first launch to the International Space…