Dream Chaser Recovery Project Information Posted by the FAA

The FAA has developed a project website for the public to learn more about Sierra Space Corporation’s proposed plan for Dream Chaser recovery at the Space Florida Shuttle Landing Facility in Titusville, Florida.

People interested in the project can subscribe to receive project updates and information about opportunities for public involvement.

The Dream Chaser is a reusable reentry vehicle and would be launched as payload on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from a different site. Sierra Space has a contract with NASA to carry supplies to and from the International Space Station.

This proposed Dream Chaser recovery project is currently in the pre-application consultation phase. Once the FAA receives Sierra Space’s license application, the agency will begin its license evaluation process. This includes reviews on safety, environmental impacts, airspace integration, policy, payload and financial responsibility in accordance with FAA regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act. The FAA will make a license determination only after it completes all reviews.

Space Florida is the state-chartered spaceport authority and received an FAA-issued Launch and Reentry Site Operator License (ROSL) for the Shuttle Landing Facility in January 2021.

Sierra Space and Space Florida entered into an agreement in May making SNC the first commercial user of Space Florida’s FAA Re-entry Site Operator License and providing the runway and support facilities needed during testing and landing. Dream Chaser has the potential to land at any FAA licensed landing site that has a suitable 10,000 ft runway capable of handling a typical commercial jet. Its low-g entry and runway landing protects sensitive payloads and provides immediate access to payloads upon landing, according to the company.

Space Florida and SNC worked closely on the FAA application for the RSOL. The application process included demonstrating through analysis that a reentry vehicle could land at the site while maintaining public safety. The license allows the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to support Dream Chaser reentries as well as other orbital reentry vehicles.

(Sources: FAA, Sierra Nevada Corp, Space Florida. Image from file)