Dream Chaser comes to life

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 04 June 2023 05:55

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Louisville CO (SPX) Jun 02, 2023

In an important milestone for space travel technology, Sierra Space announced the successful power-up of its revolutionary Dream Chaser spaceplane. The test conducted by the company signifies the activation of the spacecraft's integrated systems and demonstrates the culmination of several years of meticulous engineering, design, and testing efforts. The Dream Chaser, with its unique liftin

Commercial UAV Expo | Sept 5-7, 2023 | Las Vegas

Dream Chaser comes to life
by Staff Writers
Louisville CO (SPX) Jun 02, 2023

In an important milestone for space travel technology, Sierra Space announced the successful power-up of its revolutionary Dream Chaser spaceplane. The test conducted by the company signifies the activation of the spacecraft's integrated systems and demonstrates the culmination of several years of meticulous engineering, design, and testing efforts.

The Dream Chaser, with its unique lifting body design, stands at the frontier of space transportation technology, promising reliable and cost-effective access to space for diverse applications. This vehicle merges the agility of an aircraft with the capabilities of a spacecraft, promising to overhaul the present understanding of space travel.

To simulate the conditions that the Dream Chaser would encounter on orbit, Sierra Space replicated the power that will be harnessed from the spacecraft's solar arrays. This power was subsequently channeled into the Dream Chaser, which saw systems gradually spring to life. The test procedure involved activating various onboard systems including flight computers, base processors, and low-voltage distribution units.

Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space, expressed his excitement about the development. "This is a milestone that points to the future and is a key moment in a long journey for Dream Chaser," he said. He further emphasized the significance of the achievement, saying, "With this significant achievement, our Dream Chaser spaceplane is poised to redefine commercial space travel, opening up new possibilities for scientific research, technological advancements, and economic opportunities in space."

The Dream Chaser, being a fully autonomous, reusable, and orbital spaceplane, is designed to transport cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations like the International Space Station (ISS). Remarkably, it's about a quarter the size of the Space Shuttle. It is equipped with autonomous capabilities for launch, flight, and landing and is capable of a smooth 1.5 low-G re-entry on compatible commercial runways worldwide.

The successful testing of the Dream Chaser marks a significant moment for the evolution of space technology, showcasing the tremendous progress made by the teams at Sierra Space across various disciplines ranging from system level design to final assembly and testing.