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26th January 2014, 16:34
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24 January 2014 Last updated at 10:14
Dream Chaser mini-shuttle given 2016 launch dateBy Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72493000/jpg/_72493987_dc.jpg
An artist's impression of the Dream Chaser atop its Atlas rocket, ready for launch An
artist's impression of the Dream Chaser atop its Atlas rocket, ready for launch
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Cygnus freighter reaches station
US firms target astronaut flights
Nasa names post-shuttle shortlist
The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has set 1 November, 2016, for the debut flight of
its space shuttle replacement.Known as the Dream Chaser, the winged vehicle will
launch atop an Atlas V from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.Though smaller than Nasa's
famous orbiters, the Dream Chaser has still been designed to carry up to seven
astronauts into low-Earth orbit.
The maiden voyage, however, will be an unmanned, autonomous flight.
The re-usable "lifting body" will spend about a day in orbit before returning to a landing
strip on the US West Coast.
If all goes well, SNC hopes to mount its first manned mission in 2017.
And, ultimately, the Dream Chaser will land back at Kennedy on the same runway as
used by the shuttles, and be serviced in Kennedy's processing facilities.
The date for the demonstration flight was announced in a joint media conference that
included representatives from SNC, the US space agency (Nasa), and United Launch
Alliance (ULA), which operates the Atlas rocket.
The 9m-long Dream Chaser is one of the three commercial human transportation
systems currently being developed with the financial and technical support of Nasa.
The other two are more traditional capsule designs known as CST-100 and Dragon,
from the Boeing and SpaceX companies respectively.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72493000/jpg/_72493983_72493982.jpg
Artist's impression of Dream Chaser and shuttle This impression gives a sense of the
difference in scale between Dream Chaser and the shuttle
Nasa is likely to concentrate its resources on two, perhaps even only one, of these
systems from late this year as it seeks to restore America's capability to launch its own
astronauts into space. This capability was lost when the shuttles were retired in 2011
and sent to museums.
Today, all US personnel travel to the International Space Station in Russian Soyuz
capsules, with each seat costing US taxpayers about $60m.
The three American companies say their indigenous vehicles will be much cheaper to
operate.SNC is insistent that development of the Dream Chaser will continue even if it
misses out on Nasa's next round of seed funding.
"We are building the vehicle to be launched, and we have made a commitment to the
launch," said SNC's Mark Sirangelo.
"[This first launch] is a direct relationship between Sierra Nevada and ULA, and Sierra
Nevada is paying for the efforts of this; it's unconnected to the Nasa programme - the
purchase of the launch was something done from company to company."
Two weeks ago, SNC announced tie-ups with the European and German space agencies
that may lead to certain components and materials on future vehicles being sourced
from across the Atlantic.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72160000/jpg/_72160725_72160724.jpg
Dream Chaser A full-sized model of the Dream Chaser has begun flight tests
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25878042
======================================================
Private Dream Chaser Space Plane to Launch 1st Orbital Flight in 2016
Not in English.
pM6_wGz_q40
Published on 24 Jan 2014
A commercial spaceflight company will launch the first orbital test flight of its private
space plane Dream Chaser in 2016, a unmanned debut mission to prove the spaceship
is capable of flying astronauts on round-trip flights into space.The Dream Chaser space
plane, built by Sierra Nevada Corp., is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on
Nov. 1, 2016, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the company announced
Thursday (Jan. 23). While the spacecraft — which looks like a minature version of
NASA's retired space shuttles — is expected to ferry people and cargo into orbit
eventually, its first flight will be without a crew, Sierra Nevada officials said. The test
flight is expected to pave the way for manned missions to low-Earth orbit by 2017, they
added.
To watch latest news videos, subscribe to 6TV News' official Catch all warroom Exclusive
storys on youtubechannel https://www.youtube.com/6tv
24 January 2014 Last updated at 10:14
Dream Chaser mini-shuttle given 2016 launch dateBy Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72493000/jpg/_72493987_dc.jpg
An artist's impression of the Dream Chaser atop its Atlas rocket, ready for launch An
artist's impression of the Dream Chaser atop its Atlas rocket, ready for launch
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Cygnus freighter reaches station
US firms target astronaut flights
Nasa names post-shuttle shortlist
The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has set 1 November, 2016, for the debut flight of
its space shuttle replacement.Known as the Dream Chaser, the winged vehicle will
launch atop an Atlas V from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.Though smaller than Nasa's
famous orbiters, the Dream Chaser has still been designed to carry up to seven
astronauts into low-Earth orbit.
The maiden voyage, however, will be an unmanned, autonomous flight.
The re-usable "lifting body" will spend about a day in orbit before returning to a landing
strip on the US West Coast.
If all goes well, SNC hopes to mount its first manned mission in 2017.
And, ultimately, the Dream Chaser will land back at Kennedy on the same runway as
used by the shuttles, and be serviced in Kennedy's processing facilities.
The date for the demonstration flight was announced in a joint media conference that
included representatives from SNC, the US space agency (Nasa), and United Launch
Alliance (ULA), which operates the Atlas rocket.
The 9m-long Dream Chaser is one of the three commercial human transportation
systems currently being developed with the financial and technical support of Nasa.
The other two are more traditional capsule designs known as CST-100 and Dragon,
from the Boeing and SpaceX companies respectively.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72493000/jpg/_72493983_72493982.jpg
Artist's impression of Dream Chaser and shuttle This impression gives a sense of the
difference in scale between Dream Chaser and the shuttle
Nasa is likely to concentrate its resources on two, perhaps even only one, of these
systems from late this year as it seeks to restore America's capability to launch its own
astronauts into space. This capability was lost when the shuttles were retired in 2011
and sent to museums.
Today, all US personnel travel to the International Space Station in Russian Soyuz
capsules, with each seat costing US taxpayers about $60m.
The three American companies say their indigenous vehicles will be much cheaper to
operate.SNC is insistent that development of the Dream Chaser will continue even if it
misses out on Nasa's next round of seed funding.
"We are building the vehicle to be launched, and we have made a commitment to the
launch," said SNC's Mark Sirangelo.
"[This first launch] is a direct relationship between Sierra Nevada and ULA, and Sierra
Nevada is paying for the efforts of this; it's unconnected to the Nasa programme - the
purchase of the launch was something done from company to company."
Two weeks ago, SNC announced tie-ups with the European and German space agencies
that may lead to certain components and materials on future vehicles being sourced
from across the Atlantic.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72160000/jpg/_72160725_72160724.jpg
Dream Chaser A full-sized model of the Dream Chaser has begun flight tests
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25878042
======================================================
Private Dream Chaser Space Plane to Launch 1st Orbital Flight in 2016
Not in English.
pM6_wGz_q40
Published on 24 Jan 2014
A commercial spaceflight company will launch the first orbital test flight of its private
space plane Dream Chaser in 2016, a unmanned debut mission to prove the spaceship
is capable of flying astronauts on round-trip flights into space.The Dream Chaser space
plane, built by Sierra Nevada Corp., is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on
Nov. 1, 2016, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the company announced
Thursday (Jan. 23). While the spacecraft — which looks like a minature version of
NASA's retired space shuttles — is expected to ferry people and cargo into orbit
eventually, its first flight will be without a crew, Sierra Nevada officials said. The test
flight is expected to pave the way for manned missions to low-Earth orbit by 2017, they
added.
To watch latest news videos, subscribe to 6TV News' official Catch all warroom Exclusive
storys on youtubechannel https://www.youtube.com/6tv