Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser
Name	Dream Chaser
Caption	Artist's rendering of the spaceplane approaching International Space Station
Manufacturer	Sierra Nevada Corporation
Country	United States
Status	In development / operational
First flight	2013
Type	Lifting-body crewed and cargo spaceplane

Dream Chaser is a reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation for low Earth orbit missions, cargo resupply, and crew transport. It has been proposed and contracted for flights to the International Space Station, and has connections to programs such as the Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Resupply Services, and partnerships with agencies like NASA and private companies including Boeing, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. The vehicle integrates heritage from aerospace projects like the HL-20, concepts from the Space Shuttle program, and design studies from Rockwell International and NASA Langley Research Center.

Overview

Dream Chaser is a lifting-body vehicle designed for runway landings and runway-derived operations involving sites such as Space Shuttle Landing Facility, Kennedy Space Center, and civil airfields used by organizations like United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration. Its operational concept overlaps with efforts by European Space Agency, Roscosmos State Corporation Roscosmos, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and commercial actors including Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin for access to low Earth orbit, microgravity research, and orbital logistics. The program has been funded through public-private partnerships involving NASA's Commercial Crew Program, NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2, and contracts with aerospace integrators like Sierra Nevada Corporation and subsidiaries such as SNC Space Systems.

Design and Development

The design lineage traces to lifting-body research conducted at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and concepts like the HL-20 Personnel Launch System and studies by Rockwell International and Boeing. Development milestones involved wind tunnel testing at facilities such as NASA Langley Research Center, computational aerodynamics using resources at Sandia National Laboratories and collaborations with corporate partners including Aerojet Rocketdyne and Ball Aerospace. Contract negotiations and milestone payments involved entities like NASA Johnson Space Center, procurement offices in Washington, D.C., and oversight from committees in United States Congress. Flight hardware manufacturing leveraged supply chains connected to General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and avionics suppliers with heritage supplying Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman systems.

Variants and Configurations

Planned variants include a crewed spaceplane intended for missions analogous to those of Soyuz (spacecraft), an unmanned cargo variant optimized under NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2 contracts, and potential derivatives for commercial space tourism akin to offerings by Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. Configurations incorporate docking systems compatible with adapters used by International Space Station modules such as Harmony (ISS module), life support influenced by designs from SpaceX Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Starliner, and cargo pallets reminiscent of Progress (spacecraft) logistics. Other proposed adaptations considered military or civil applications, referencing programs like X-37B and collaborations with contractors similar to Raytheon Technologies.

Flight Test Program

The flight test program began with atmospheric drop tests conducted at locations including Vandenberg Air Force Base and coordination with centers such as NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. Early tests included captive-carry trials with aircraft heritage resembling operations by NASA B-52 launches and unpowered landings comparable to early Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base. Associated partners in testing included aerospace firms like Sierra Nevada Corporation, avionics teams with histories at Honeywell, propulsion suppliers such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, and safety oversight by Federal Aviation Administration and NASA Flight Operations Directorate. Subsequent orbital flight tests were planned in concert with launch service providers including United Launch Alliance, SpaceX Falcon 9, and range support from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Operational Roles and Missions

Operational roles encompass cargo resupply to the International Space Station, return of scientific payloads for investigators at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley, and potential commercial crew missions similar to those served by Soyuz (spacecraft) and Boeing CST-100 Starliner. Mission profiles include rendezvous and docking or berthing with modules such as Unity (ISS module) and Node 2, on-orbit operations similar to SpaceX Dragon 2 and cargo logistics like Progress (spacecraft). Partnerships for payload integration have involved research organizations including European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Australian Space Agency, and commercial research customers such as Boeing Research & Technology and university consortia.

Safety, Certification, and Regulations

Certification efforts require coordination with NASA, regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, and compliance with standards influenced by National Transportation Safety Board findings and interagency reviews with United States Congress oversight. Safety analyses draw on lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and unmanned test failures examined by panels like the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. Certification processes involve coordination with international partners such as European Space Agency safety boards, export control reviews by United States Department of State and United States Department of Commerce, and manufacturing standards aligned with suppliers including Rolls-Royce and Honeywell.

Category:Spacecraft