posted 05-06-2022 05:56 PM               

Dream Chaser, Tenacity, has undergone aeroshell and wing deployment system installation. Under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract, Dream Chaser will provide a minimum of six cargo service missions to and from the International Space Station.

posted 08-30-2022 04:41 PM               

And then there were two...

posted 08-30-2022 06:02 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mode1charlie:
I hope that with several successful cargo launches, some entity will decide to fund, and become an anchor customer for, a crewed version in the future.

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posted 08-31-2022 08:25 AM               

The Dream Chaser is directly based on NASA's HL-20 lifting body, which itself was reverse engineered from Russia's BOR-4 unpiloted orbital rocket plane of the 1980s. But the lifting body concept was developed in parallel with capsules, with the M2-F1 first flying in 1962 and the HL-10 in 1966 (for example).

posted 09-08-2023 10:36 PM               

Learn how the world's only commercial spaceplane flies from launch to landing for its upcoming NASA CRS-2 [Commercial Resupply Services-2] mission to resupply the International Space Station. With its unique design, Dream Chaser incurs a 1.5g re-entry before landing at NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility [today, Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility] at Kennedy Space Center, making critical cargo accessible faster.

posted 02-02-2024 09:29 AM               

We're putting the Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane and its Shooting Star cargo module through the paces at NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Facility.

First stop, the world's most powerful spacecraft shaker system in our Mechanical Vibration Facility. We exposed Dream Chaser and Shooting Star to the vibrations they'll experience during launch and reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

Next, we'll move the spaceplane to our In-Space Propulsion Facility. In this huge, in-ground vacuum chamber, we'll simulate the space environment Dream Chaser will encounter on its mission — including low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating.

This testing marks progress toward Dream Chaser's first uncrewed demonstration flight to the International Space Station later this year as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Program.

posted 02-13-2024 09:07 PM               

Dream Chaser's journey has been meticulously documented over the last few years to create a time-lapse consisting of over 1 million still images. Our team is proud to share this journey as we prepare for launch this year.

posted 02-26-2024 02:15 PM               

Now, as part of NASA's goal of sending supplies to the International Space Station aboard a reusable spacecraft that can reenter the atmosphere and land safely without having to plunge into the ocean, such a new spaceplane is expected to launch itself into the spotlight this year.

Designed and built by Sierra Space at the company's headquarters in Louisville, Colorado, the first Dream Chaser spaceplane – called Tenacity – has undergone rigorous environmental testing at NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio since November.

posted 03-15-2024 11:44 AM               

Dream Chaser has arrived at NASA's Armstrong In-Space Propulsion facility in Ohio for thermal vacuum testing. This will be its last testing phase in Ohio before it makes its way to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

posted 03-15-2024 01:38 PM               

For example, look at the opening credits of Star Trek "Enterprise". You'll see a progression of ships, first nautical then space related, that have the name of Enterprise. The USN had a corvette in WWII named USS Tenacity.

posted 03-15-2024 02:01 PM               

NASA filed a trademark for Orion (which is, incidentally, how this site learned of the name before anyone else and broke the news of the spacecraft's name) in 2006. The space agency did the same with Ares.

NASA let each trademark expire in 2009.

posted 06-26-2024 09:40 AM               

We have been informed by Sierra Space that they feel they have significant risk towards making the flight date.

We are working with Sierra Space to put the Dream Chaser back onto the manifest when they are ready to go. I don't have a date for you yet because we're still working on that together as a team.

posted 09-25-2025 01:11 PM               

After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Sierra Space have mutually agreed to modify the contract as the company determined Dream Chaser development is best served by a free flight demonstration, targeted in late 2026. Sierra Space will continue providing insight to NASA into the development of Dream Chaser, including through the flight demonstration. NASA will provide minimal support through the remainder of the development and the flight demonstration.

As part of the modification, NASA is no longer obligated for a specific number of resupply missions; however, the agency may order Dream Chaser resupply flights to the space station from Sierra Space following a successful free flight as part of its current contract.

posted 09-25-2025 06:02 PM               

My opinion for the last 3ish years was that the DC would "learn how to fly" on cargo missions to the ISS, and then (hopefully) prove a useful crew and cargo transport to proposed LEO space stations.

Clearly things are much further away in the development cycle than we have been led to believe, if now the first launch of the DC is targeted for late 2026. Given how things tend to work in space developmental programs, and given NASA's changing of the contract, we can assume even this tentative time frame will shift to the right. Also, without a contract, how much money will Sierra Space be able to commit to the project?

posted 09-26-2025 11:50 PM               

In its own statement on the announcement, Sierra Space said the new approach will provide it with more "flexibility" as the company seeks to attract national defense contracts.

"Dream Chaser represents the future of versatile space transportation and mission flexibility,” said Fatih Ozmen, executive chair at Sierra Space, in the statement. "This transition provides unique capabilities to meet the needs of diverse mission profiles, including emerging and existential threats and national security priorities that align with our acceleration into the Defense Tech market."

Although the NASA news release does not detail the space agency's concerns about allowing Dream Chaser to approach the station, sources have told Ars the space agency has yet to certify the spacecraft's propulsion system. The spacecraft is powered by more than two dozen small rocket engines, each capable of operating at three discrete levels of thrust for fine control or more significant orbit adjustments. Certification is a necessary precursor for allowing a vehicle to approach the orbiting laboratory.

posted 09-27-2025 09:37 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by issman1:
Probably sidelined in favour of Starliner, which could fly ISS cargo resupply missions as well as crew rotation.

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Not at all.