Dream Chaser spaceplane approved for shuttle-type landing at Kennedy Space Center in 2022

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Dream Chaser spaceplane approved for shuttle-type landing at Kennedy Space Center in 2022

The winged spaceplane brings back memories of NASA's Space Shuttle era.

www.wtsp.com

Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane, which looks like a mini space shuttle, is cleared for landing at Kennedy Space Center starting next year.

The spaceplane will call NASA's Launch & Landing Facility at the Sunshine State-based center home and is under a Commerical Resupply Services 2 contract for six cargo flights to the International Space Station.

But the company also has its eye on getting the chance to carry astronauts into low-Earth orbit in the future.
“You will someday see this vehicle land on this runway and people walk right off of it and that will be a wonderful day indeed," Executive Vice President of Space Systems for Sierra Nevada Corporation Dr. Janet Kavandi said.
Sierra Space is an independent company derived from the Sierra Nevada Corporation in an effort to keep up with the commercialization of space, according to Kavandi.

ICYMI: today we announced the landing site for our Dream Chaser spaceplane next year, the first runway to be licensed for commercial spaceplane use! So excited for the first runway landing for @NASA since the space shuttle retirement nearly a decade ago. pic.twitter.com/RfQtSwp8Q0
— Sierra Nevada Corporation (@SierraNevCorp) May 4, 2021

Dream Chaser will be processed in Florida ahead of its cargo missions and won't be the first winged spacecraft to touchdown on the landing site. The strip of runway actually has a rich history of being the same location that served NASA's Space Shuttle era for 30 years.

“It’s a truly exciting time for America’s space program. This is the future. It’s this government, commercial partnership, this cooperation that we have where it’s not one or the other but it’s both of us locked together as we move forward that has turned this into what it is," Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said.

The first vehicle is currently being built and is expected to be ready to be shipped to Ohio for further testing next spring. Once it clears all its checkpoints, Dream Chaser will be shipped to Florida in time for its first launch.

Dream Chaser is a multi-mission space utility vehicle that was designed to take both crew and cargo into low-Earth orbit. According to the company, the spaceplane is capable of flying at least 15 missions and carrying up to 12,125-pound payloads.

 

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Exclusive: Sierra Space taps Boeing veteran as CFO after hefty capital raise -sources

Months after receiving a major infusion of capital, Sierra Nevada Corp's space unit, Sierra Space, has tapped a veteran Boeing Co executive to helm its finances as it races to develop its flagship space plane and studies a public offering, two people familiar with the matter said.

www.reuters.com

SEATTLE, March 25 (Reuters) - Months after receiving a major infusion of capital, Sierra Nevada Corp's space unit, Sierra Space, has tapped a veteran Boeing Co (BA.N) executive to helm its finances as it races to develop its flagship space plane and studies a public offering, two people familiar with the matter said.

Outgoing Sierra Space CFO Robert Rodgers pitched investors and led due diligence efforts for around a year leading up to the landmark $1.4 billion capital round it announced in November, according to his LinkedIn profile. Sierra said it was the second-largest private capital infusion ever in the aerospace and defense sector and boosted Sierra's value to $4.5 billion.

Replacing Rodgers will be 10-year Boeing Co (BA.N) veteran Troy Lahr, who departed as CFO of the aerospace company's defense, space and security unit in recent weeks.

A Boeing spokesperson confirmed Lahr had left the company in recent weeks but declined further comment.

A Sierra Space spokesperson confirmed in a statement that Lahr would join the company soon.

"Sierra Space is assembling a world class management team, including Troy, that sees many lucrative opportunities in the marketplace for investors, while at the same time driving innovation and fueling our mission to explore space and benefit life on Earth," the Sierra Space spokesperson said.


The spokesperson declined further comment.

The reason for Rodgers' departure was not immediately clear. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Industry sources say Sierra is exploring a potential public offering among other options in the next two to three years but say that no decision has been made.

The financial leadership change comes as the Louisville, Colorado-based company races to develop a reusable space plane dubbed Dream Chaser to handle cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) starting in early 2023.

Sierra Space says Dream Chaser's ability to land on a traditional runway gives it an edge over rival solutions for delicate scientific research cargo. Rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX are already carrying people and cargo to the ISS.

Sierra envisions a future where a fleet of its space planes - similar to the Space Shuttle, but much smaller - ferry humans and cargo from space ports across the world to a bustling new space economy.


"We are building the next generation of space transportation systems and in-space infrastructures and destinations that will enable humanity to build and sustain thriving civilizations beyond Earth," Sierra Space Chief Executive Officer Tom Vice said last year.

Sierra Space has also forged a partnership with billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to develop and operate a commercial space station in low earth orbit. Backers for the so-called orbital reef project include Boeing and Redwire Space.