SpaceDev Dream Chaser
Encyclopedia
| Dream Chaser orbital spacecraft | ||
|---|---|---|
CG rendering of DreamChaser docked at ISS |
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| Description | ||
| Role: | Under development to be used to supply the International Space Station after Space Shuttle retirement | |
| Crew: | Up to 7 | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Height: | ?? m | ?? ft |
| Length: | 9.00 m | 29.50 ft |
| Wing Span: | 7.00 m | 22.90 ft |
| Volume: | | 16.00 m3 | 565 cu ft |
| Mass: | 11,340 kg | 25,000 lb |
| Payload: | ?? kg | ?? lb |
| Performance | ||
| Endurance: | At least 210 days | |
| Re-entry: | Less than 1.5 g's G-force The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and... |
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The Dream Chaser is a crewed
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
suborbital and orbital
Orbital spaceflight
An orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altitude at perigee above...
vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) lifting-body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
being developed by SpaceDev
SpaceDev
SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...
, a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy, telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company...
(SNC). The Dream Chaser design is planned to carry seven people to and from low earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. The vehicle would launch vertically on an Atlas V
Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
and land horizontally on conventional runways.
Design
DreamChaser is composite spacecraft designed to carry from two to seven people and/or cargo to orbital destinations such as the International Space StationInternational Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
It will have a built-in launch escape system
Launch escape system
A Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency. Since the escape rockets are above the crew module, an LES typically uses separate nozzles which are...
and can fly autonomously if needed to. It can use any suitable launch vehicle but is planned to be launched on a man-rated Atlas V
Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
402 rocket.The vehicle will be able to return from space
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
by gliding (typically experiencing less than 1.5 g on re-entry) and landing on any airport runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
that handles commercial air traffic. Its reaction control system
Reaction control system
A reaction control system is a subsystem of a spacecraft whose purpose is attitude control and steering by the use of thrusters. An RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow...
thrusters burn ethanol, since it is not an explosively volatile material, allows the DreamChaser to be handled immediately after landing, unlike the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. Its thermal protection system (TPS) is an ablative tile created by NASA's Ames center that would be replaced as a large group rather than tile by tile, and would only need to be replaced after several flights.
History
The Dream Chaser was originally planned in 2004 to be a suborbital vehicle modeled after the X-34. The design was revised in 2005 and is now based on NASA's HL-20HL-20 Personnel Launch System
The HL-20 Personnel Launch System was a circa 1990 NASA spaceplane concept for manned orbital missions studied by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. HL-20 was envisaged as a lifting body re-entry vehicle based on the Soviet BOR-4 spaceplane design featuring low operational costs,...
lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
design.
The Dream Chaser was publicly announced on September 20, 2004 as candidate for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration
Vision for Space Exploration
The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy which was announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space...
and later Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services is a NASA program to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The program was announced on January 18, 2006...
Program (COTS).
When the Dream Chaser was not selected under Phase 1 of the COTS Program, SpaceDev founder Jim Benson
James Benson
James William Benson , also known as Jim Benson, was the founder of SpaceDev, a commercial satellite and satellite component development company, and Benson Space Company, a civilian spaceflight venture focused on commercial space tourism.-Biography:Benson spent thirty years associated with the...
stepped down as Chairman of SpaceDev
SpaceDev
SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...
and started Benson Space Company to pursue the development of the Dream Chaser. In April 2007, SpaceDev announced that it had partnered with the United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. U.S...
to pursue the possibility of utilizing the Atlas V
Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
booster rocket as the Dream Chaser's launch vehicle.
In June of 2011, SpaceDev signed a Space Act agreement with NASA.
In August 2011, ULA announced that the Atlas V
Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
would be used to launch the Dream Chaser spaceplane.
SpaceDev was acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy, telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company...
in December 2008. On February 1, 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy, telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company...
was awarded $20 million in seed money under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development
Commercial Crew Development
Commercial Crew Development is a multiphase space technology development program, funded by the U.S. government, and administered by NASA. The program is intended to stimulate development of privately operated crew vehicles to low Earth orbit. It is run by the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program...
(CCDev) program for the development of the Dream Chaser. Of the $50 million awarded by the CCDev program, Dream Chaser's award represented the largest share of the funds.
For the CCDev solicitation by NASA in October 2010, Sierra Nevada proposed extensions of Dream Chaser spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
technology. Similar to the Orbital Sciences proposal, the Dream Chaser is also a lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
design. Sierra Nevada will utilize Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...
to market Dream Chaser commercial services and will also use "Virgin’s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft as a platform for drop trials of the Dream Chaser atmospheric test vehicle" in 2012. According to head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems Mark Sirangelo, the cost of completing the Dream Chaser should be less than $1 billion. On April 18, 2011, NASA awarded nearly $270 million in funding For CCDev 2, including $80 million to Sierra Nevada for Dream Chaser.
Development progress
On October 11, 2010 SNC announced it had achieved two critical milestones for NASA's CCDev program. The first consisted of three successful test firings of a single hybrid rocketHybrid rocket
A hybrid rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor which uses propellants in two different states of matter - one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The Hybrid rocket concept can be traced back at least 75 years....
motor in one day. The second milestone was the completion of the primary tooling necessary to build the composite structure of the Dream Chaser vehicle.
As of October 2011, Sierra Nevada Corp have completed four of the 13 of the milestones set out in the CCDev Agreement. The most recent milestones accomplished include: a System Requirements Review, a new cockpit simulator, finalising the tip fin airfoil design and most recently, an Vehicle Avionics Integration Laboratory (VAIL), which will be used to test Dream Chaser computers and electronics in simulated space mission scenarios.
Technology partners
The following organisations have been named as technology partners:- Boeing Phantom WorksBoeing Phantom WorksThe Phantom Works division is the advanced prototyping arm of the Defense and Security side of The Boeing Company. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified, and has produced breakthroughs in defense, space and security.Founded by...
- construction of test articleTest articleA test article is a version of space craft or related vehicle or equipement, built as a platform to perform testing. Test articles are built to the same specifications to replicate conditions and behaviors of flight ready versions. Test article version are also built without the certification and...
s - Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryCharles Stark Draper LaboratoryDraper Laboratory is an American not-for-profit research and development organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Draper focuses on the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security, space exploration, health care and energy.Originally...
- Guidance, Navigation and ControlGuidance, Navigation and ControlGuidance, navigation and control is a branch of engineering dealing with the design of systems to control the movement of vehicles, especially, automobiles, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft. In many cases these functions can be performed by trained humans... - AerojetAerojetAerojet is an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, Gainesville and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet is owned by GenCorp. They are the only US propulsion company that provides both solid rocket...
- reaction control systemReaction control systemA reaction control system is a subsystem of a spacecraft whose purpose is attitude control and steering by the use of thrusters. An RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow...
technology - University of ColoradoUniversity of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
- human-ratingHuman-rating certificationHuman-rated or man-rated are terms used to describe the certification of a spacecraft, launch vehicleor airplaneas worthy of transporting humans. NASA and the U.S. GAO now uses "Human-rating" when describing requirements for these systems... - AdamWorks - compositesComposite materialComposite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
- MDAMDA Space MissionsMDA Space Missions is an operating unit of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, comprising the following wholly owned subsidiaries:* Alliance Spacesystems, a space robotics company based in Pasadena, California, Boulder, Colorado and Signal Hill, California....
- systems engineeringSystems engineeringSystems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more... - Hamilton SundstrandHamilton SundstrandHamilton Sundstrand, is a global corporation that manufactures and supports aerospace and industrial products for worldwide markets. It was formed from the merger of Hamilton Standard and Sundstrand Corporation in 1999. A subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, HS is headquartered in Windsor...
and Orbitec - life support systemLife support systemIn human spaceflight, a life support system is a group of devices that allow a human being to survive in space.US government space agency NASA,and private spaceflight companies...
s
See also
- other Human-carrying spacecraft vehicles
- CST-100 – a spacecraft being developed by BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, in collaboration with Bigelow AerospaceBigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace is a North Las Vegas, Nevada space technology startup company that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998... - SpaceX Dragon - a spacecraft being developed by SpaceXSpaceXSpace Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
- As-yet-unnamed "biconic nose cone designNose cone designGiven the problem of the aerodynamic design of the nose cone section of any vehicle or body meant to travel through a compressible fluid medium , an important problem is the determination of the nose cone geometrical shape for optimum performance...
orbital vehicle" being developed by by Jeff BezosJeff BezosJeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
's Blue OriginBlue OriginBlue Origin is a privately funded aerospace company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The company was awarded $3.7 million in funding in 2009 by NASA via a Space Act Agreement under the Commercial Crew Development program for development of concepts and technologies to support future human...
... not to be confused with the Blue Origin New ShepardBlue Origin New ShepardThe Blue Origin New Shepard reusable launch vehicle is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing , suborbital manned rocket that is being developed by Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon.com founder and businessman Jeff Bezos, as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism.The New Shepard makes...
"vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVLVTVLVertical takeoff, vertical landing is a form of takeoff and landing using rockets . Multiple VTVL craft have flown. , at least five VTVL rocket vehicles are currently under development at four different aerospace companies...
), suborbital manned rocket" also being developed by Blue Origin - Multi-Purpose Crew VehicleMulti-Purpose Crew VehicleThe Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is a planned spacecraft that is being built by Lockheed Martin for NASA, the space agency of the United States, based on designs and tests already completed for the Orion spacecraft. The MPCV was announced by NASA on May 24, 2011...
– a spacecraft which is being designed by Lockheed MartinLockheed MartinLockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
for NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research... - Prometheus (spacecraft)Prometheus (spacecraft)Prometheus was a proposed manned vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing spaceplane concept put forward by Orbital Sciences Corporation in late 2010 as part of the second phase of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program.-Design:...
- another HL-20 derived proposed spacecraft put forward by Orbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems... - Orion LiteOrion LiteThe CST-100 crew capsule is a spacecraft design proposed by Boeing in collaboration with Bigelow Aerospace as their entry for NASA's Commercial Crew Development program...
- a likely canceled privately-developedNewSpaceNewSpace, alt.space, and entrepreneurial space are umbrella terms for a movement and philosophy often affiliated with, but not synonymous with, an emergent private spaceflight industry...
vehicle by Bigelow AerospaceBigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace is a North Las Vegas, Nevada space technology startup company that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998...
in collaboration with Lockheed MartinLockheed MartinLockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
- CST-100 – a spacecraft being developed by Boeing
- Private spaceflightPrivate spaceflightPrivate spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...
- SpaceplaneSpaceplaneA spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 was a manned test vehicle to explore low-speed handling and landing.It was a visible result of a Soviet project to create an orbital spaceplane...