Dream Chaser takes another step in the development of NASA

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Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spacecraft has taken another step in its development: to become the ISS's third commercial freighter.

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The Sierra Nevada Corporation's Chaser cargo space plane, Dream Chaser, has just reached a new stage in its development: to become the third commercial freighter on the International Space Station.

Nevada-based Dream Chaser, which has been in development for more than 10 years, in one form or another, has completed the fifth step of NASA's integrated review (IR5), which essentially tests the status of many operations. on the ground and in flight prior to the first satellite resupply mission under CRS-2 (Commercial Resupply Services 2).

"This milestone is a great achievement for the team focusing on the development and demonstration of operations," said John Curry, director of CRS-2 in SNC's Space Systems Division, in a press release. of the society. "This shows that we can use Dream Chaser from the ground, including by integrating critical scientific data into and out of the vehicle."

Dream Chaser is a space aircraft based, in part, on the design of NASA's HL-20 Lifting Body concept, which was studied as a crew transport vehicle for Space Station Freedom, a space station 1980s that evolved to become the International Space Station. It was about 9 meters long and had squat wings.

In Sierra Nevada Corporation's vehicle version, it was initially planned to take up to seven people to the ISS while competing in NASA's commercial flight crew development programs. However, in 2014, the design was not ultimately chosen primarily because of a "lack of maturity", according to Aviation Week of the time. The space agency has instead chosen SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100, which are expected to make their first crewed flight in the second half of 2019.

At the time, Sierra Nevada Corporation was starting the fall tests of the prototype spacecraft. The first glide, which took place at Edwards Air Force Base in California, went well, with the exception of a landing gear stuck at the end of the flight, which tipped the item the test during landing.

The company said the test had been successful despite the landing gear problem, which was not the design that would have been used for the space-indexed version because it had been taken from a military aircraft .

Following the non-selection of NASA, the company continued its development, seeking supporters and organizations that can use the crewed version, including a European company and the United Nations.

However, it is NASA's choice of a cargo variant of the design, called the Dream Chaser cargo system, which ultimately breathed new life into the program in January 2016.

The cargo variant is essentially a lifting body spacecraft, with foldable wings for stowing a rocket with a payload fairing of 5 meters (16.5 feet), and a small disposable module at the rear of the vehicle that can carry pressurized and unpressurized cargoes.

This cargo module would also contain solar panels to increase flight time in space and support powered payloads, Sierra Nevada Corporation said.

Overall, the design is expected to deliver up to 5,500 kilograms of cargo under pressure and pressure.

Critically, he could also return freight on an airport runway. The freight module would be eliminated with any unnecessary equipment before the new entry.

The spacecraft is designed to launch at the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V or Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. However, it is likely that ULA's Vulcan rocket, designed to replace the Atlas V, could also take care of Dream Chaser flights.

In the end, it is hoped that each space plane can be used 15 times or more, with a future crewed variant to fly at least 25 times.

For IR5, the company stated that NASA's review included the development of the spacecraft's flight computers and flight software, its mission simulator and mission control center, as well as demonstrations using high-level models. fidelity of the vehicle and the non-pressurized cargo module.

The review took place at Sierra Nevada Corporation's Louisville, Colorado facility and at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The data was also used in the 2017 free flight test, also at Edwards Air Force Air Force Base. The landing gear worked as planned for this landing.

"Our Dream Chaser team continues to successfully complete the milestones as we approach the trajectory of this spacecraft," said Fatih Ozmen, owner and CEO of SNC, in a company news release on March 21. 2019. "The orbital spacecraft is under construction and this step shows that the vehicle continues to pass key exams and is making great progress."

According to the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Dream Chaser is scheduled to make its first test flight in the spring of 2021 and complete at least six orbital flights to and from the International Space Station to deliver and return supplies and experiments.

As part of the CRS-2 contract, the SpaceX Dragon capsule, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus shuttle and Dream Chaser are expected to complete a minimum of six launches, each with a potential global value of $ 14 billion.

CRS-2 follows the CRS-1 contract, whose first SpaceX operational flight took place in October 2012. The first operational flight with Cygnus took place in January 2014.

The first CRS-2 flights by Northrop Grumman and SpaceX are expected in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The contract should last at least 2024.

Video provided by Sierra Nevada Corporation

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