Image: Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation’s
Dream Chaser spacecraft is being prepared for its first test
flights as part of NASA’s commercial space program, and it’s a
design that wouldn’t look out of place on a poster stuck to a
10-year-old’s wall. The Dream Chaser is one of three vehicles
competing for NASA contracts to replace the space shuttle
orbiters for transporting astronauts to the International Space
Station and elsewhere in low Earth orbit. Unlike its capsule
competitors from Boeing and SpaceX, the Dream Chaser is a
flying, lifting body design that could land on a runway, much
closer in concept to the orbiters that were retired in 2011.
Sierra Nevada announced that it will be partnering with veteran
space vehicle maker and aerospace juggernaut Lockheed Martin to
build the second Dream Chaser vehicle. The two companies will
also collaborate on ongoing parts of NASA’s commercial crew
program, which is currently in the Certification Products
Contract phase. Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and B