Sierra Space’s ‘Dream Chaser’ spacecraft for NASA sees significant progress for its first flight, demonstration launch mission scheduled for 2024

Sierra Space’s ‘Dream Chaser’ Spacecraft for NASA will soon have its first flight. The Dream Chaser is a cargo spaceplane, which will see the launch of its demonstration mission in 2024. The mission is part of NASA’s commercial resupply services.

In the latest developments, NASA and Sierra Space are making significant progress on the first flight of the Dream Chaser aircraft, which means the launch for the same can be expected soon in the coming year.

The Spacecraft: The Dream Chaser spacecraft is manufactured by Sierra Space in Louisville Colorado. The spacecraft comprises two major elements, which are the Dream Chaser spacecraft and the Shooting Star cargo module.

Dream Chaser holds the capability to be reused up to 15 times. The spacecraft has been designed with modifications from the HL-20 spacecraft.

On the other hand, the Shooting Star cargo module will support the delivery and disposal of both pressurized and unpressurized cargo. However, unlike the Dream Chaser spacecraft, the Shooting Star can be used only once.

The mission: As part of the first flight of the Dream Chaser spacecraft, Sierra Space will conduct in-orbit demonstrations to make sure that the spacecraft is ready for future missions. The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver over 7,800 pounds of cargo on its first flight to the International Space Station. Subsequently, on future missions, the spacecraft will stay attached to the station for up to 75 days and deliver about 11,500 pounds of cargo.

Check out more about the spacecraft and the mission here.