Dream Chaser
US reusable automated cargo lifting-body spaceplane / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. Originally intended as a crewed vehicle, the Dream Chaser Space System is set to be produced after the Dream Chaser Cargo System cargo variant is operational. The crewed variant is planned to carry up to seven people and cargo to and from low Earth orbit.[1]
Manufacturer | Sierra Space |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Operator | NASA |
Applications | International Space Station (ISS) resupply |
Specifications | |
Spacecraft type | Robotic cargo vehicle version, also Crewed orbital spaceplane version |
Payload capacity | 5,000 kg (5.0 t; 11,000 lb) pressurized, 500 kg (0.50 t; 1,100 lb) unpressurized |
Crew capacity | 0 (cargo) 3-7 (crew) |
Regime | LEO |
Production | |
Status | Active |
Built | 3 |
Launched | 0 (4 atmospheric tests) |
Operational | 1 |
Related spacecraft | |
Derived from | HL-20 Personnel Launch System |
The Dream Chaser was originally a project of the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), but in April of 2021 the project was taken over by the Sierra Space Corporation (SSC), which at that time was spun-off of the Sierra Nevada Corporation as its own fully independent company.
The cargo Dream Chaser is designed to resupply the International Space Station with both pressurized and unpressurized cargo. It is intended to launch vertically on the Vulcan Centaur rocket[2] and autonomously land horizontally on conventional runways.[3] A proposed version to be operated by European Space Agency (ESA) would launch on an Arianespace vehicle.
The Dream Chaser concept and design is a descendant of the original NASA Space Shuttle program.