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Pitted against two capsules \u2013 SpaceX\u2019s Dragon and Boeing\u2019s CST-100 \u2013 Dream Chaser is the only option that is a lifting body vehicle, derived from the NASA Langley HL-20 spaceplane concept from the 1980s. Being different is a positive angle for SNC, who have previously cited Dream Chaser\u2019s \u201cdissimilar redundancy\u201d when compared to its competitors.<\/p>\n
However, its similarities to the world-famous Space Shuttle orbiters, via its appearance as a \u201cbaby\u201d version of the iconic spacecraft, has also won it a fair share of admirers, not least because the \u201cwinged\u201d vehicle shape of the Dream Chaser is etched into a generation\u2019s mindset as to how a spaceship is expected to look like.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Z44.jpg\" "\\"Z4\\"")
Dream Chaser will not launch from the Shuttle launch pads at Complex 39, instead it will launch atop of an Atlas V from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral. However, out the three main commercial contenders, it will be the most active at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), utilizing the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) for its return from space, but also using the spaceport for its processing needs.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are basing the Dream Chaser out of KSC. That is where the fleet will be head-quartered,\u201d noted Mark Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President and head of SNC\u2019s Space Systems to NASASpaceFlight.com. \u201cThat\u2019s where we will be returning it to for refurbishing for its next flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/A411.jpg\" "\\"A411\\"")
With KSC busy with its efforts to attract commercial companies to the spaceport as part of its post-Shuttle \u201cmulti-user\u201d brief, the hope is that more companies will follow last year\u2019s NASA agreement with Space Florida \u2013 the State\u2019s aerospace economic development agency \u2013 that resulted in Boeing\u2019s CST-100 agreeing to take over OPF-3 as its processing facility.<\/p>\nSpaceX
<\/path>NASA mission updates <\/path>Technology News <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in discussions with the Kennedy Space Center and Space Florida about facilities (at the spaceport),\u201d noted Jim Voss, SNC director of advanced programs and program executive for Dream Chaser to NASASpaceFlight.com.<\/p>\n
Click here for other SNC Dream Chaser Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/?s=SNC<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Z3141.jpg\" "\\"Z3141\\"")
However, what appeared to be the most obvious option for Dream Chaser\u2019s processing needs, one of two remaining OPFs, may not be the facility of choice at this time.<\/p>\n\u201cAn OPF may not be the ideal facility for our vehicle, because they have all the structures that were specific to the shuttle that would have to be removed. We need a large open area, because our vehicle is much more accessible than the Shuttle was, and we don\u2019t need hazardous operations because of our non toxic propellants we have on-board.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are looking at using a facility at KSC for our processing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Z64.jpg\" "\\"Z6\\"")
Taking into account Dream Chaser\u2019s less demanding flow requirements, a number of facilities could handle the spacecraft\u2019s processing needs. These include the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) hangar, located ideally next to the SLF where Dream Chaser will land.<\/p>\nHowever, this hangar already has a tenant via an agreement with Starfighters Inc.<\/p>\n
It is unlikely the RLV hangar will welcome several tenants, based on the Stratolaunch team apparently opting against basing their large carrier aircraft in the building. Sources note they are expected to build a brand new hangar in the area of the SLF for their needs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Z34.jpg\" "\\"Z3\\"")
Also, KSC planners have made no secret about their wish to host Dream Chaser inside an OPF, with documentation (via L2 \u2013 LINK) showing a fleet of four Dream Chasers being processed inside a \u201cClean Floor\u201d OPF \u2013 a reference to an OPF that has seen all of its Shuttle gantry platforms removed, a process that is currently underway in OPF-3 for CST-100\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\nDocumentation has also shown that KSC\u2019s \u201cwish list\u201d is for all three OPFs to house new vehicles, namely CST-100, as already agreed, Dream Chaser in OPF-2 and the US Air Force\u2019s X-37B in OPF-1.<\/p>\n
Another clear sign KSC expects to gain a second commercial vehicle in one of the two remaining OPFs was seen via information cited during the recent Transition and Retirement (T&R) flow, where it was noted the continued rotation of the two remaining orbiters at KSC \u2013 Atlantis and Endeavour \u2013 for stays inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) would initiated in the event a second OPF was soon to be handed over to a new customer.<\/p>\n
As seen with Atlantis\u2019 last move to the VAB, while Endeavour is prepared for her flight to California inside OPF-1, that plan was approved.<\/p>\n
It is likely none of the associated parties wish to show their hand at this stage of planning, ahead of the expected negotiations that will finalize where the Dream Chasers will call home later this decade.<\/p>\n
(Images via L2 \u2013 via the impressive DC section, *L2 members click here* \u2013 with additional images via NASA, SNC and Brian Papke, MaxQ\/NASASpaceflight.com)<\/p>\n
(With the shuttle fleet retired, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS\/CRS\/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. <\/p>\n
(Click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/ \u2013 to view how you can access the best space flight content on the entire internet and directly support NSF\u2019s running costs)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) have stepped up their evaluations into finding a suitable facility to house the Dream Chaser fleet in Florida. With the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) confirmed as their fleet\u2019s HQ, several buildings \u2013 ranging from an Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to other available buildings at the famous spaceport \u2013 may become viable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30338,"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":[970,7766,9032,8894],"class_list":["post-40051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dream-chaser","tag-ksc","tag-opf","tag-snc"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40051"}],"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=40051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}