{"id":18740,"date":"2017-11-11T17:24:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T09:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/sierra-nevada-corp-s-dream-chaser-space-plane-glides-successfully-through-a-big-test\/"},"modified":"2017-11-11T17:24:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-11T09:24:03","slug":"sierra-nevada-corp-s-dream-chaser-space-plane-glides-successfully-through-a-big-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/sierra-nevada-corp-s-dream-chaser-space-plane-glides-successfully-through-a-big-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Nevada Corp.\u2019s Dream Chaser space plane glides successfully through a big test"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_376324\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-376324\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-376324\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/171111-dreamchaser-630x406.jpg\" alt=\"Dream Chaser landing\" width=\"630\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/171111-dreamchaser-630x406.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/171111-dreamchaser.jpg 730w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-376324\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sierra Nevada Corp.\u2019s prototype Dream Chaser space plane lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a drop test. (NASA Photo via Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sierra Nevada Corp. said its Dream Chaser prototype space plane glided to a successful landing in California\u2019s Mojave Desert today after being dropped from a helicopter.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s uncrewed test at Edwards Air Force Base marked the first time the Dream Chaser flew freely through the air since 2013. That earlier flight was also judged successful, but the landing gear failed to deploy correctly, which caused the winged vehicle to skid off the runway and crash.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years that followed, SNC repaired and upgraded the aerodynamic test vehicle in preparation for a new series of flight tests at NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center, within Edwards\u2019 property.<\/p>\n<p>During a captive-carry test in August, the Dream Chaser was flown through the air while tethered to a helicopter for nearly two hours.<\/p>\n<p>Like the test in 2013, today\u2019s approach and landing test involved dropping the Dream Chaser from a helicopter, then having it glide autonomously to an airplane-like landing on Edwards\u2019 runway.<\/p>\n<p>In a tweet, SNC said the free-flying test was successful. \u201cThe Dream Chaser had a beautiful flight and landing!\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=929525013274923008&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2017%2Fsierra-nevada-corp-s-dream-chaser-space-plane-glides-test-flight%2F&amp;sessionId=1f622782bc67a7def1fd23a701db922f05c30d73&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"929525013274923008\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801864910534567=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SNC is proud to announce the Dream Chaser\u00ae spacecraft had a successful free-flight test today @EdwardsAFB, with support of @NASAArmstrong. The Dream Chaser had a beautiful flight and landing! pic.twitter.com\/lAn0n7FPsg<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sierra Nevada Corporation (@SierraNevCorp) November 12, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If NASA accepts the results of the flight test, that would mark the final milestone for a&nbsp;$227.5 million contract&nbsp;awarded to SNC in 2012 as part of the space agency\u2019s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability program, or CCICap.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, SNC won a different contract to develop the Dream Chaser as an uncrewed vehicle for transferring cargo to and from the International Space Station. If the company sticks to its schedule, a space-worthy version of the Dream Chaser could start making deliveries in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>SNC also has an agreement with the United Nations to fly international payloads into orbit and back on the Dream Chaser.<\/p>\n<p>The 30-foot-long Dream Chaser is based on a 1990s-era NASA lifting-body design known as the HL-20, and has a look reminiscent of NASA\u2019s space shuttles. The crewed version could carry seven astronauts and their gear, and the uncrewed version could lift 12,000 pounds of cargo.<\/p>\n<p>Both versions are designed to be sent into orbit atop a rocket such as United Launch Alliance\u2019s Atlas 5 or the European Space Agency\u2019s Ariane 5, and glide back to Earth for a runway landing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sierra Nevada Corp.\u2019s prototype Dream Chaser space plane lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a drop test. (NASA Photo via Twitter) Sierra Nevada Corp. said its Dream Chaser prototype space plane glided to a successful landing in California\u2019s Mojave Desert today after being dropped from a helicopter. Today\u2019s uncrewed test at Edwards [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,970,4703],"class_list":["post-18740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-dream-chaser","tag-sierra-nevada-corp"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}