Tag: Dream Chaser

NASA RFI Suggests Support for Orion May Be Slipping

NASA RFI Suggests Support for Orion May Be Slipping

As it prepares for possible changes to U.S. space policy with the election of a new president, NASA has quietly opened the door to what could be a major revision to its flagship Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The story, written at Ars Technica by veteran space reporter Eric Berger, concerns a Request for […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
Dream Chaser to Fly First U.N. Space Mission

Dream Chaser to Fly First U.N. Space Mission

Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced an agreement to conduct the first ever United Nations sponsored space mission, which it plans to launch in 2021 using the Dream Chaser space plane. The flight, for which SNC and the U.N. are seeking sponsors, will be aimed at making space research opportunities available to non space-faring nations, many […]

Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced that it is preparing to ship its Dream Chaser test article to California for a renewed round of flight tests as it works towards a 2019 debut under NASA’s CRS-2 resupply contract. SNC’s press release, included below, highlights the fact that the flight test article will include components and systems of […]

Sweet Home Alabama: Dream Chaser Aims for Huntsville Landings

Sweet Home Alabama: Dream Chaser Aims for Huntsville Landings

The “Rocket City” may be taking a big step in seeing some of its storied history coming home, literally, in the form of a descending Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser space plane. Yesterday, officials in Huntsville, Al held an industry session to promote Dream Chaser landings in the city that helped launch America into the space […]

NASA’s Green Propellant Mission Passes Key Milestone

NASA’s Green Propellant Mission Passes Key Milestone

NASA’s Green Propellant Green Propulsion Infusion Mission (GPIM) has passed a critical flight readiness milestone in anticipation of launch in early 2017, completing functional and equipment testing of its systems and software. The mission which will provide on-orbit demonstration of a new, less toxic “green” propellant will be tested aboard a Ball Aerospace Configurable Platform 100 satellite, […]

Catching a Dream: NASA’s CRS-2 Awards

Catching a Dream: NASA’s CRS-2 Awards

Perhaps it is time to change the plucky little spacecraft’s name. In a press conference held Thursday afternoon at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to announce the CRS-2 contract awards, Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser space plane finally caught up with its ambitions, becoming for a day at least, Dream Catcher. In fact, the second Commercial Resupply […]

CRS 2 Award Deadline Drawing Near, SpaceX Landing Attempt Confirmed

CRS 2 Award Deadline Drawing Near, SpaceX Landing Attempt Confirmed

It could be an exciting second half of the week for several aerospace companies. After three delays for unspecified reasons, NASA may finally be ready to announce the winners of its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract for ongoing supply of the International Space Station. Industry analyst Charles Lurio is suggesting the awards could come as […]

Stratolaunching to Nowhere : Update

Stratolaunching to Nowhere : Update

  To loosely paraphrase Khan Noonien Sing (the real one) Stratolaunch may no as wounded as the Wall Street Journal led us to believe. Here is a statement sent to Spacenews from Vulcan Aerospace made in response to yesterday’s story : Vulcan Aerospace remains steadfast in its mission to transform space transportation to low-Earth orbit […]

Posted in: Stratolaunch
NASA’s Boeing Bounce Lifts Dream Chaser, Sets the Stage for ISS Budget Battles

NASA’s Boeing Bounce Lifts Dream Chaser, Sets the Stage for ISS Budget Battles

After media speculation that an announcement could have been forthcoming on Thursday, NASA’s oft delayed Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract has been pushed back once again. The new deadline, according to the story in Space News, is now no later than January 30th, 2016, and comes because the space agency needed “to allow additional time […]

SNC To Resume Testing Dream Chaser in 2016

SNC To Resume Testing Dream Chaser in 2016

Last week, we reported that Lockheed Martin has apparently been quietly eliminated from NASA’s CRS-2 resupply contract competition, speculating that it could be a development which opened the crack a little wider for Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser space plane. The following press release from SNC does nothing to dispel that line of thought. Sierra […]

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