Image: Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spacecraft is being prepared for its first test flights as part of NASA’s commercial space program, and it’s a design that wouldn’t look out of place on a poster stuck to a 10-year-old’s wall.
The Dream Chaser is one of three vehicles competing for NASA contracts to replace the space shuttle orbiters for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station and elsewhere in low Earth orbit. Unlike its capsule competitors from Boeing and SpaceX, the Dream Chaser is a flying, lifting body design that could land on a runway, much closer in concept to the orbiters that were retired in 2011.
Sierra Nevada announced that it will be partnering with veteran space vehicle maker and aerospace juggernaut Lockheed Martin to build the second Dream Chaser vehicle. The two companies will also collaborate on ongoing parts of NASA’s commercial crew program, which is currently in the Certification Products Contract phase. Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and Boeing are developing versions of their space vehicles that will meet NASA certification for safety and performance.
“The SNC team is thrilled that Lockheed Martin will be joining our expanding world-class team of partner organizations,” said Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada’s space system group.
Lockheed Martin will build the next Dream Chaser at the facility in Michaud, Louisiana where the external tanks for the space shuttles were made. The company is no stranger to the current commercial space programs as it builds the Atlas V rocket (in a joint venture with Boeing) to be used by the Dream Chaser as well as Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft.
Sierra Nevada says the first Dream Chaser spacecraft is currently bring prepared for transport at the company’s facility in Colorado. In the next few weeks SNC expects to transport the vehicle to Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert where flight testing will take place.
The Dream Chaser will be dropped from a helicopter at 12,000 feet and and is expected to reach speeds of around 300 knots (345 mph) before landing at a touchdown speed of around 180 knots (207 mph). For the initial test flights, the Dream Chaser will glide to the ground autonomously without a pilot. The glide flights are scheduled to begin within the next two months and Sierra Nevada says the flight test vehicle will make just a few flights to gather the data necessary to further refine the flight characteristics of the design.
The second Dream Chaser – built by Lockheed Martin – will be the vehicle used for sub-orbital flight testing that the company hopes will begin in the next two years. NASA is expected announce at least two companies to fly astronauts to low earth orbit by 2017.
Via FlowingData: http://flowingdata.com/