As it waits for Boeing's first crewed ISS mission, NASA is making stead progress with an un-crewed cargo space plane. Sierra Space has been making slow and steady progress with the Dream Chaser spacecraft. A NASA release shared details of the spacecraft moments back, adding that the Dream Chaser's arrival at the KSC in Florida was part of preparations for a flight to the ISS.
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser Spacecraft Makes Its Way To KSC Ahead Of Flight Later This Year
While SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner are the only two spacecraft designed to fly humans to space from U.S. soil, NASA has also relied on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and SpaceX's Cargo Dragon to make supply runs to the station. Now, with its delivery to KSC, the Dream Chaser aims to become not only the only spacecraft capable of using a runway to land and taking cargo to ISS.
Managing the ISS requires tons of cargo deliveries to and from Earth. In addition to the steady stream of science experiments taking place on the station, other activities such as refurbishment and crew habitability place a large burden on cargo deliveries. Dream Chaser's addition to the station will give NASA greater flexibility at a time when the space agency has had to regularly work with at least four U.S. crew members with their meals and other essential cargo.
Dream Chaser's inaugural flight will rely on ULA's brand new Vulcan rocket and send nearly eight thousand pounds of cargo to ISS. Since it's the first flight, the tonnage is lower as future flights can see the ship fly a whopping 11,500 pounds of cargo and remain docked to the ISS for more than three months according to NASA.
The processing at KSC will involve the ship's electronics, heat protection systems and sound endurance before it can be cleared to lift off. As has been the case with NASA's Orion, the moon ship with worrying heat shield cavitation, Dream Chaser's test flight will also be the first time that its heat shield will be tested at temperatures it has been designed to withstand.
Since the ship will return from low Earth orbit (LEO), the shield will face somewhat lighter forces than the Orion. Dream Chaser uses an external cargo module to deliver its heavy payloads, and during the return portion of the journey, this module will be jettisoned from the spacecraft.
NASA has also tested the ship for its ability to withstand the vibrations of a rocket launch, the vacuum of space and temperatures up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The final two tests involve placing the ship inside a cylindrical chamber called the In-Space Propulsion Facility. This is the only chamber of its kind in the world, and it is NASA's best attempt to simulate some of the conditions that a ship might encounter during the different phases of its journey to and from Earth.
The spaceplane has arrived!
@SierraSpaceCo's Dream Chaser spaceplane, named Tenacity, has arrived from @NASAArmstrong. Tenacity will undergo final testing and prelaunch processing at the SSPF ahead of its first flight to @Space_Station.More: https://t.co/01QeNKrQns pic.twitter.com/GlvL2DT4UA
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) May 20, 2024
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