Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser

[selvaarchi]

Could not find a thread dedicated to Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser.

Starting this as they have just successfully done a test.

https://spaceflight101.com/dream-cha...light-testing/

Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser took to the skies over California’s Edwards Air Force Base on Wednesday for the first captive carry flight in the craft’s current round of testing that will ultimately see the space plane fly freely for approach and landing tests as part of its flight qualification for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 contracts.

The winged space plane spent over one and a half hours in the air on Wednesday, suspended under a 234-UT lifting helicopter to gather data on the craft’s aerodynamic behavior and guidance & control system before the craft was gently set down on its main gear and nose skid to end the day’s operation. Another captive carry test is expected to follow before upgrading to free flight tests that will be the ultimate test for the craft’s autonomous control system and clear the way for the initial cargo-delivery mission to the International Space Station in 2020.

[selvaarchi]

This week's Space Review takes a look at Dream Chaser.

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3319/1

The high desert, at sunrise, is peaceful. The temperature is comfortably cool and the air is calm, a far cry from the heat that will soon bake the desert floor. A good time to take in the stark beauty of the landscape.

It’s also a good time for a flight test. As the Sun edged higher into the sky, the twin rotors of a Columbia 234UT helicopter—the civilian version of the military’s Chinook—started up. The helicopter took off, trailing a cable that, on the other end, was connected to the engineering test article of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC’s) Dream Chaser vehicle. The helicopter hovered as the cable became taut to perform some final tests, and then flew higher, lifting the Dream Chaser off its cradle and into the air. For the first time in nearly four years, Dream Chaser was airborne.

For more than 90 minutes, the helicopter carried Dream Chaser in the skies above Edwards Air Force Base in California. To the untrained observer it looked like the vehicles were simply flying in circles, but SNC used the flight to test out various Dream Chaser systems, all to the company’s satisfaction.

[selvaarchi]

Now it has done a glide test successfully

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/1...e-test-flight/

An atmospheric test article of Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser spaceship made a successful runway landing Saturday at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a glide test flight performed to verify the craft’s handling qualities and guidance systems before future resupply missions to the International Space Station.

The unpiloted spacecraft was dropped from a helicopter and landed on Runway 22L at Edwards, the same landing strip that returning space shuttles once used.

Sierra Nevada celebrated the accomplishment on Twitter, releasing four photos of the Dream Chaser’s flight test, which was expected and long planned, but not publicly announced in advance. More information and imagery of the landing will be released Monday, the company said.

[selvaarchi]

Now it has done a glide test successfully

Now watch the video.

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/snc-sh...t-flight-test/

Today SNC shared a video of Saturday’s test flight as well as its basic statistics: The uncrewed plane was lofted 12,400 feet into the air by a Columbia 234-UT helicopter, then released at 9:51 a.m. PT Saturday for a gliding flight that reached a maximum speed of 330 mph. The prototype flew for a minute, touched down on the runway traveling at 191 mph, and rolled for 4,200 feet before braking to a stop.

[geonuc]

Thanks for posting, even if you're not getting a lot of reaction.

Interesting front landing gear on the craft. Wonder why they went that route?

[CJSF]

Thanks for posting, even if you're not getting a lot of reaction.

Interesting front landing gear on the craft. Wonder why they went that route?

Simpler, lighter, cheaper.

CJSF

[selvaarchi]

Thanks for posting, even if you're not getting a lot of reaction.

No problems my mantra is - if it looks interesting to me, it will also be be of interest to others - post it.

[Darrell]

It may be just a video artifact, though I don't think so, but there seems to be a worrisome oscillation of the rear landing gear. It starts at about the 2:00 mark. It is easily noticeable at regular speed but if you slow it down it is much clearer. Is that kind of thing normal? I wouldn't think so.

[CJSF]

It looks like it picked up a shimmy, causing the struts and even the gear doors to start oscillating. It didn't look like a video artifact to me.

CJSF

[selvaarchi]

NASA has given Dream Chaser a vote of confidence.

http://spacenews.com/sierra-nevada-g...cargo-mission/

NASA has given Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) formal approval for the company’s first cargo mission to the International Space Station in late 2020.

SNC announced Feb. 7 that it had received “authority to proceed” on that mission using the company’s Dream Chaser vehicle. The mission will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in late 2020.

The mission is the first of six in the company’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contract it won in 2016 to transport cargo to and from the ISS. SNC received a CRS-2 contract along with current CRS providers Orbital ATK and SpaceX.

“While we won the contract a couple of years ago, the contract still needed to be validated by a task order,” said Mark Sirangelo, executive vice president of SNC’s Space Systems business area, in a Feb. 7 speech at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Conference here. That order, he said, is the “biggest step” to date on the program.

That flight will be a “full scale, fully operational mission,” he said, even though it will represent the first orbital flight of the Dream Chaser. Orbital ATK and SpaceX, who developed their Cygnus and Dragon spacecraft, respectively, under earlier NASA Space Act Agreements, flew demonstration missions before starting their operational CRS cargo flights.

[selvaarchi]

Dream Chaser is going into production mode. Well done, as they did not give up after losing the initial contract for cargo deliveries to the ISS.

https://spacenews.com/dream-chaser-c...le-production/

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has won NASA approval to begin full-scale production of its Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft scheduled to make its first flight in about two years.

The company announced Dec. 18 that it completed a milestone in its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contract called Integrated Review 4. With that milestone, the company is cleared to move ahead into assembly of the Dream Chaser vehicle that will deliver cargo to the station.

“NASA’s acknowledgement that SNC has completed this critical milestone and its approval of full production of the first Dream Chaser spacecraft is a major indication we are on the right path toward increasing vital science return for the industry,” John Curry, CRS-2 program director at the company, said in a statement announcing the milestone.

[Roger E. Moore]

Could the Dream Chaser financially ruin Northrop-Grumman?


https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/...ome-a-nig.aspx

How Sierra Nevada's "Dream Chaser" Could Become a Nightmare for Northrop Grumman
And how it could end up helping SpaceX even more.

Rich Smith , Jan 6, 2019 at 9:07AM

Six months ago, defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) became a bona fide "space stock." Acquiring space launch company Orbital ATK in an all-cash $7.8 billion merger, Northrop took possession of Orbital's Minotaur and Antares medium-lift rocket families. It acquired Orbital's ongoing project to build a new "OmegA" class heavy lift rocket as well, with which to compete against the likes of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for large commercial and military satellite launches.

Northrop Grumman also inherited Orbital's ongoing NASA contract to resupply crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with needed consumables under the agency's CRS-1 and CRS-2 "Commercial Resupply Services" contracts -- missions valued at as much as $14 billion across the three companies hired to run them.

Hold up. There were three winners? Yes, you read that right. I said three companies won CRS-2 contracts to conduct supply runs to ISS: Orbital ATK (now owned by Northrop), SpaceX, and privately held Sierra Nevada Corporation, or "SNC." It's this latter company I want to talk about today, because it's the CRS-2 contract awarded to SNC that I think holds the most danger for Northrop Grumman shareholders. (article goes on to detail problems)

[selvaarchi]

"Dream Chaser passes latest NASA review"

http://www.dailycamera.com/science_e...-passes-latest

Sierra Nevada Corporation announced Thursday that its Dream Chaser spacecraft had passed the latest in a series of NASA milestone tests, likely setting the stage for the aerospace firm to launch the first of its unmanned supply missions in early 2021.

Heralded as the successor to NASA's space shuttle, the Louisville-born vehicle will bring supplies, science experiments and other cargo to the International Space Station without any crew on board. After several years of design and development, the project was given the official go-ahead from NASA in December.

The latest test, described in a news release as NASA's Integrated Review Milestone 5, included demonstrations of the vehicle's flight computers and software, mission simulator and mission control center. The company also was tested on its cargo capabilities using "high fidelity mock-ups of the vehicle and its cargo module, showing loading and unloading time and efficiency."

In a statement, Sierra Nevada's CRS-2 Program Director John Curry said, "This milestone is a great accomplishment for the team focused on operations development and demonstration. It shows we can operate the Dream Chaser from the ground, including getting critical science in and out of the vehicle."

[selvaarchi]

While all eyes are on SpaceX Dragon and Boeing's Starliner, Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser. continues to make steady progress.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019...version-alive/

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser is quietly making progress towards her latest goal of carrying out resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS), starting in 2021. The Cargo variant of the spaceplane – also sporting an updated “color” scheme – is now deep into construction ahead of flying on NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2) missions.

The company also made a rare reference to the crew version of the vehicle, which continues to be an active program – if without any NASA missions – under a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with the agency.

Dream Chaser will be flying at least six missions to the ISS in the 2020s, following NASA’s contract award to SNC – along with SpaceX and Orbital ATK for the CRS2 missions.

The addition of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to the list of commercial cargo resupply companies will now see the Dream Chaser mini-Shuttle fly in a cargo configuration for Station resupply runs.

[docmordrid]

SNC is also continuing with the Crew Dream Chaser, but of course at a lower funding level than Crew Dragon and Starliner.

[publiusr]

They need their own internet billionaire

[docmordrid]

Sierra Nevada Corp Dream Chaser live webcast

They may be announcing its maiden and first operational flights under the CRS 2 ISS cargo program. Previously, they've also said a crewed Dream Chaser is still part of the SNC master plan.

At this rate there will be quite a fleet of operational spacecraft flying.

IMG_20190814_033910.jpg

Aug 14 1400 Eastern (1800 UTC)

https://youtu.be/rccd05zx9JE

[selvaarchi]

"Dream Chaser: Space Plane Advances for Space Station Supply"

https://www.leonarddavid.com/dream-c...tation-supply/

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) in Louisville, Colorado has received the largest piece of technology to make up Dream Chaser.

It’s the most advanced high-temperature composite space frame ever built, according to SNC.

Reports Eren Ozmen, chairwoman and president of SNC: “Our team has been looking forward to this day for a long time so that we can fully assemble America’s spaceplane in preparation for its first mission for NASA.”

[selvaarchi]

"Dream Chaser receives thermal protection system, on track for 2021 debut"

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020...-tps-for-2021/

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 Station — which is right now slated to occur in 2021 with a launch on ULA’s Vulcan rocket.


The Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles are one of the major hardware components used on Dream Chaser and cover nearly the entire craft to protect it from the heat of the sun and the plasma regime during atmospheric reentry. The tiles can withstand the scorching heat of 1,650°C (3,000°F) and prevent the vehicle from being destroyed during reentry.

[publiusr]

SNC just won the contract to build “Shooting Star,” an unmanned orbital outpost.
This is the discarded aft section of the returning Dream Chaser spaceplane, very like the forward section of Shenzhou.
For space force, which may also look for a moonbase as per an article featuring Cadet J P Byrne and IASPS.
Dragon tech could allow a spacehab in place of a capsule perhaps beyond Earth Orbit (BEO).

[docmordrid]

SNC just won the contract to build “Shooting Star,” an unmanned orbital outpost.
This is the discarded aft section of the returning Dream Chaser spaceplane, very like the forward section of Shenzhou.
For space force, which may also look for a moonbase as per an article featuring Cadet J P Byrne and IASPS.
Dragon tech could allow a spacehab in place of a capsule perhaps beyond Earth Orbit (BEO).

My read is an unmanned version using Shooting Star alone or docked with another module, and possibly a manned version - which ISTM could bring in SNC's inflatable LIFE module. LIFE is very similar to a Bigelow module, but it can be launched in a standard 5 meter class fairing. It's an entry in the Gateway habitat competition.

[publiusr]

Dragon XL would have been my choice, but it is nice to see other firms get bank.

[docmordrid]

Dragon XL would have been my choice, but it is nice to see other firms get bank.

Dragon XL may be a placeholder for Starship that won't needlessly upset Sen. Shelby near term (and hoping he'll retire in 2022). If Starship is ready, SpaceX will offer it as an upgrade and DXL stays in PowerPoint.

[publiusr]

I could see it or something like it launched and later retrieved by Starship after crystals are grown inside....

[selvaarchi]

"Sierra Nevada aims to complete Dream Chaser space plane in March"

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/S...March_999.html

Colorado-based Sierra Nevada Corp. aims to complete its first operational Dream Chaser space plane by March to provide cargo trips to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft, which resembles a small space shuttle, originally was proposed to carry astronauts, but Sierra Nevada so far only has NASA contracts for cargo. Company executives continue to say they believe Dream Chaser will carry people someday. The company updates designs for Dream Chaser as NASA's commercial crew program updates its requirements.

[selvaarchi]

"Inside Sierra Nevada Corp’s space plans, from the reusable ‘Dream Chaser’ to inflatable habitats"

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/10/sier...-and-more.html

Sierra Nevada Corporation is best known as a private aerospace and national security contractor – but the company is investing heavily in its space systems division, especially as it sees NASA and other companies building infrastructure in orbit.

“Our view of the future is a vibrant, commercial low Earth orbit economy,” Steve Lindsey, SNC’s senior vice president of strategy space systems, told CNBC. “We want to be the logistics and crew providers in that future, so we’re really playing the long game.”

While SNC to date has been involved in hundreds of exploration missions and more, the crown jewel of its space portfolio is Dream Chaser: A reusable spacecraft that, in appearance resembling a miniaturized NASA Space Shuttle, is built to launch atop a traditional rocket and land on a runway like an airplane.

“We view the Dream Chaser as something that eventually in low Earth orbit will be providing transportation, logistics and crew for everybody,” Lindsey said.

[Roger E. Moore]

Ozmens' SNC Dream Chaser spaceplane closer to commercial runway landing.

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/O...nding_999.html

[publiusr]

I wan't it HL-42 size...

[docmordrid]

Me too