Dream Chaser Stacked and Shaken at NASA Test Facility
Dream Chaser Stacked and Shaken at NASA Test Facility
First Uncrewed Flight to ISS Planned for Later This Year
The Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane is undergoing testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, and for the first time, the media was given access to the testing.
“The most significant industrial revolution in history is underway in space."
Tom Vice, Sierra Space
Using the world’s most powerful spacecraft shaker system, NASA exposed Dream Chaser and its cargo module Shooting Star to vibrations like those it will experience during launch and re-entry into the atmosphere.
Next up, Dream Chaser will move to a huge, in-ground vacuum chamber that will continue to simulate the space environment Dream Chaser will encounter on its mission. The spaceplane will be put through its paces, experiencing low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating.
“The Armstrong Test Facility is one of NASA Glenn Research Center’s most critical assets,” said Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, center director of NASA Glenn in Cleveland, during a media event. “Here, we have some of the world’s largest and most capable simulation and test facilities to test the harsh conditions that spacecraft will experience during launch and in flight.”
This testing marks progress toward Dream Chaser’s first uncrewed demonstration flight to the International Space Station later this year as part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Program. On its first flight, Dream Chaser is scheduled to deliver over 7,800 pounds of cargo.
NASA’s work with commercial industry is leading to more people, science, and commercial opportunities in space.
“We collectively, NASA and Sierra Space, go to space to benefit life on Earth,” said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “The most significant industrial revolution in history is underway in space. You have to kind of step back and inhale everything you’re witnessing, the magnitude of what you’re witnessing; the signs are all around us that we are now living in the orbital age.”