World’s first commercial spaceplane one step closer to launch

By Dean Murray via SWNS

The world's first commercial spaceplane is a step closer to launch.

The Dream Chaser Tenacity craft has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its first flight to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled for later this year.

Sierra Space's partially reusable transportation system will perform at least seven cargo missions to the ISS as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services in low Earth orbit.

The spaceplane arrived at Kennedy on 18 May inside a climate-controlled transportation container from NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, and joined its companion Shooting Star cargo module.

Upon arrival, teams moved the vehicle to the high bay inside the Space Systems Processing Facility, where it will undergo final testing and prelaunch processing ahead of its launch scheduled for later this year.

The spaceplane will lift off aboard a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and is set to deliver 7,800 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

The remaining pre-flight activities at Kennedy include acoustic and electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing, completion of work on the spaceplane’s thermal protection system, and final payload integration.

Dream Chaser is a lifting body design spaceplane that measures 30 feet long by 15 feet wide. The unique winged design allows it to transport cargo to and from low Earth orbit and maintain the ability to land on a runway in the style of NASA’s space shuttle.

Future missions may last as long as 75 days and deliver as much as 11,500 pounds of cargo.

The 15-foot Shooting Star module can carry up to 7,000 pounds of cargo internally and features three unpressurized external payload mounts.

While the Dream Chaser spacecraft is reusable and can return up to 3,500 pounds of cargo to Earth, the Shooting Star module is designed to be jettisoned and burn up during reentry, creating the opportunity to dispose of up to 8,500 pounds of waste with each mission.

Dream Chaser Tenacity is the first in a planned fleet of Sierra Space spaceplanes to help carry out these missions.