| Dream Chaser orbital spacecraft | ||
|---|---|---|
CG rendering of DreamChaser docked at ISS |
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| Description | ||
| Role: | Under development to be used to supply the International Space Station after Space Shuttle retirement | |
| Crew: | Up to 7[1][2][3] | |
| Dimensions[4] | ||
| Height: | ?? m | ?? ft |
| Length: | 9.00 m | 29.50 ft |
| Wing Span: | 7.00 m | 22.90 ft |
| Volume: | 16.00 m3 | 565 cu ft |
| Mass: | 11,340 kg | 25,000 lb[5] |
| Payload: | ?? kg | ?? lb |
| Performance | ||
| Endurance: | At least 210 days[6] | |
| Re-entry: | Less than 1.5 g's[5] | |
The Dream Chaser is a crewed suborbital and orbital[7] vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) lifting-body spaceplane being developed by SpaceDev, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The Dream Chaser design is planned to carry seven people to and from low earth orbit. The vehicle would launch vertically on an Atlas V and land horizontally on conventional runways.[2]
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DreamChaser is composite spacecraft designed to carry from two to seven people and/or cargo to orbital destinations such as the International Space Station[8] It will have a built-in launch escape system and can fly autonomously if needed to.[5] It can use any suitable launch vehicle but is planned to be launched on a man-rated Atlas V 402 rocket.[5][9] The vehicle will be able to return from space by gliding (typically experiencing less than 1.5 g on re-entry) and landing on any airport runway that handles commercial air traffic.[10] Its reaction control system thrusters burn ethanol, since it is not an explosively volatile material, allows the DreamChaser to be handled immediately after landing, unlike the Space Shuttle.[5] Its thermal protection system (TPS) is an ablative tile created by NASA's Ames center that would be replaced as a large group rather than tile by tile, and would only need to be replaced after several flights.[5]
The Dream Chaser was originally planned in 2004 to be a suborbital vehicle modeled after the X-34. The design was revised in 2005 and is now based on NASA's HL-20 lifting body design.[11]
The Dream Chaser was publicly announced on September 20, 2004[12] as candidate for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and later Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program (COTS).
When the Dream Chaser was not selected under Phase 1 of the COTS Program, SpaceDev founder Jim Benson stepped down[13] as Chairman of SpaceDev and started Benson Space Company to pursue the development of the Dream Chaser. In April 2007, SpaceDev announced that it had partnered with the United Launch Alliance to pursue the possibility of utilizing the Atlas V booster rocket as the Dream Chaser's launch vehicle.[14] In June 2011, SpaceDev signed a Space Act agreement with NASA.[15] In August 2011, ULA announced that the Atlas V would be used to launch the Dream Chaser spaceplane.[16]
SpaceDev was acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation in December 2008.[17] On February 1, 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded[18][19] $20 million in seed money under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) phase 1 program for the development of the Dream Chaser. Of the $50 million awarded by the CCDev program, Dream Chaser's award represented the largest share of the funds.
For the CCDev phase 2 solicitation by NASA in October 2010, Sierra Nevada proposed extensions of Dream Chaser spaceplane technology.[20] Similar to the Orbital Sciences phase 2 proposal, the Dream Chaser is also a lifting body design.[21] Sierra Nevada will utilize Virgin Galactic to market Dream Chaser commercial services and will also use "Virgin’s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft as a platform for drop trials of the Dream Chaser atmospheric test vehicle" in 2012.[8][20][22] According to head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems Mark Sirangelo,[23] the cost of completing the Dream Chaser should be less than $1 billion.[24] On April 18, 2011, NASA awarded nearly $270 million in funding for CCDev 2, including $80 million to Sierra Nevada for Dream Chaser.[25]
On October 11, 2010 SNC announced it had achieved two critical milestones for NASA's CCDev program. The first consisted of three successful test firings of a single hybrid rocket motor in one day. The second milestone was the completion of the primary tooling necessary to build the composite structure of the Dream Chaser vehicle.[26][27]
As of October 2011, Sierra Nevada Corp have completed four of the 13 of the milestones set out in the CCDev Agreement.[28] The most recent milestones accomplished include: a System Requirements Review, a new cockpit simulator, finalising the tip fin airfoil design and most recently,[29] an Vehicle Avionics Integration Laboratory (VAIL), which will be used to test Dream Chaser computers and electronics in simulated space mission scenarios.[28]
The following organisations have been named as technology partners:[10]
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