Illustration of Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser, titled DC#1 (Tenacity). Credit: Sierra Space
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Tenacity, part NASA‘s initiative to increase commercial supply missions to International Space Station, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for its first mission. After rigorous pre-launch testing, it is scheduled to deliver 7,800 pounds of cargo using a ULA Vulcan rocket.
As part of NASA’s efforts to expand commercial supplies in low Earth orbit, the Sierra Space unmanned aircraft has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its maiden flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dream Chaser spacecraft, named Tenacity, arrived at Kennedy on May 18 inside a climate-controlled shipping container from NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, and joined its companion Shooting Star cargo module, which arrived on May 11.
Pre-launch testing and preparation
Before arriving at Kennedy, the space shuttle and its cargo module underwent vibration testing in the world’s highest-capacity and most powerful spacecraft shaker system inside the agency’s space complex, which exposed the pod to the vibrations it would experience during launch and re-entry to the spacecraft. Earth’s atmosphere. After the vibration tests, the duo moved into NASA’s Space Propulsion Facility and were exposed to low ambient pressures and temperatures ranging from -150 to 300 degrees. Fahrenheit.
Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s unmanned cargo spacecraft, is processed inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Monday, May 20, 2024. The spacecraft arrived in a climate-controlled shipping container from the Neil agency. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Final testing and pre-launch processing will be completed in the SSPF high bay before the Dream Chaser’s inaugural launch atop a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Final preparations at Kennedy
Upon arrival at Kennedy, the teams moved Dream Chaser Tenacity into a high bay inside the Space Systems Processing Facility, where it will undergo final testing and pre-launch processing before its launch scheduled for later this year.
The spacecraft will lift off aboard a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and is scheduled to deliver 7,800 pounds of cargo to an orbiting laboratory.
Remaining preflight activities at Kennedy include acoustic and electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing, completion of work on the spacecraft’s thermal protection system, and final payload integration.
Dream Chaser design and capabilities
The Dream Chaser is a lifting body space plane that measures 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. The unique winged design allows it to transport cargo to and from low Earth orbit and retain the ability to land on a NASA space shuttle-style runway. The 15-foot Shooting Star module can carry up to 7,000 pounds of cargo internally and includes three unpressurized external payload mounts.
The partially reusable transport system will carry out at least seven cargo missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services in low Earth orbit. Future missions could last up to 75 days and deliver up to 11,500 pounds of cargo.
While the Dream Chaser spacecraft is reusable and can return up to 3,500 pounds of cargo to Earth, the Shooting Star module is designed to be jettisoned and incinerated during reentry, creating the opportunity to get rid of up to 8,500 pounds of waste on each mission.
Dream Chaser Tenacity is the first of Sierra Space’s planned fleet of spaceplanes to help accomplish these missions.
Certification and in-orbit operations
As part of the vehicle system certification process for future resupply missions, NASA and Sierra Space will test the space plane once it is in orbit. As Dream Chaser Tenacity approaches the space station, it will perform a series of demonstrations demonstrating attitude control, translational maneuvers and abort capabilities. After the maneuverability demonstration is complete, space station astronauts will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grab the spacecraft and dock it in the Earth-facing port.
After remaining in the orbiting lab for about 45 days, the spacecraft will be released from the station and return to land at the Kennedy Launch and Landing Facility. After landing, the Dream Chaser is powered down and the Sierra Space team will transfer it back to the processing facility to perform necessary inspections, unload the remaining NASA payload, and begin the process of preparing for the next mission.