More Astronaut Training For Dream Chaser’s First Mission
In only a few months from now, we are expecting to see the return of spaceplanes within the industry. After over a decade since the Space Shuttle’s last mission, a new type of spacecraft is preparing for its maiden flight. Named Dream Chaser, this spaceplane is quite a bit smaller than the Shuttle, but more versatile thanks to its launch options and different variants.
Recently, the first test article Tenacity has been experiencing a few different delays as both Sierra Space (the company building Dream Chaser), and the launch provider ULA need more time. Even still, comments from company officials in combination with astronaut training suggest a launch early next year is well within reach.
The uncrewed mission will bring cargo to the International Space Station before returning to Earth and attempting reentry, and a runway landing. If successful, we can expect to see a lot more Dream Chaser missions as 6 flights are required apart of NASA’s contract. Here I will go more in-depth into the recent launch progress, astronaut training, program funding, and more.
More Astronaut Training
Even though the first Dream Chaser mission is uncrewed, and nothing but cargo will be on the spacecraft, it will berth to the International Space Station. At that point, astronauts on the station need to have at least somewhat of an understanding of the vehicle and how to access cargo along with other features. For this reason, Sierra Space has been working to train astronauts in preparation for their mission to the station, with the assumption that Tenacity will dock while they are living on the ISS.
However, this process has also highlighted some of the delays Tenacity has run into. For example, earlier this year in May, Sierra Space hosted its first-ever official training for astronauts from NASA and JAXA to learn the inner workings of the Dream Chaser. Specifically, the two astronauts, at the time, were two members of the upcoming SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). In a statement, the company said, “During their planned six-month stay, Dream Chaser will make its maiden voyage to deliver cargo to the ISS as part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract.
By now, Crew-7 has already launched and has been living on the station for a while now. They lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 back on August 26th, bringing the current mission duration to over 54 days. The planned duration is 180 days meaning they will leave around late February. This cuts it close to when Tenacity is expected to launch and is part of the reason Sierra Space just trained additional astronauts.
Just over a month ago in early August, they hosted their third official training of NASA astronauts. This time, they trained members of NASA’s upcoming SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station, which is currently slated to launch no earlier than February 2024. Based on current timelines and launch dates, this crew is much more likely to interact with Dream Chaser than any other crew.
In a quote, Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice said, “We are pleased to train the crew that will be on board the International Space Station for Dream Chaser’s first cargo resupply mission. These astronauts underwent an extensive training curriculum to prepare them for how to interact with our spaceplane when it berths with the ISS. We are honored to join NASA’s cargo resupply team” he said.
In this most recent training, the astronauts received a full briefing on Dream Chaser. Topics covered included systems identification and function, mission profiles (from launch and rendezvous to reentry and landing), crew interfaces, and operations. Interestingly, the new crew even learned their required actions as Dream Chaser makes its approach and officially berths with the International Space Station. Topics included a full review of the timeline, profile, and procedural operations of the high-level system configuration involved in this critical part of the mission. This suggests that Sierra Space could be expecting a launch by around March next year.
They then moved into a full-size Dream Chaser mock-up, where Sierra Space employees walked the astronauts through the vehicle, identifying hardware/systems and teaching them how to operate and/or interface with each one. Finally, the astronauts spent the final portion of the training learning safe and proper procedures for installing/removing cargo from Dream Chaser. They pointed out that “The astronauts had to use the same procedures and operational tools as they will on orbit.” Hopefully, if all goes well, this is the last crew that needs training for Tenacity’s upcoming flight.
Significant Funding
In addition to more astronaut training for the first mission, Sierra Space has received quite a bit of funding for this project among others. Late last month they released a report going over some of the finances and contract awards. Here they announced that they had closed a $290 million Series B funding round. They were quoted saying, “The round brings the company’s total capital raised to $1.7 billion, the largest ever capital raise by a commercial space company over the combined Series A and B rounds. This latest milestone elevates Sierra Space’s valuation to $5.3 billion and reaffirms the company’s position as a leader in the new global space industry” they said.
This funding is especially important when you consider the lengthy development Dream Chaser has experienced. Due to the fact that Dream Chaser is based on past vehicles, the spaceplane really has been worked on for much longer than just two decades.
After a lot of attempts, eventually, in 2016, NASA announced that Dream Chaser had been awarded one of the CRS-2 contracts and committed to purchasing a minimum of six resupply missions to the ISS. Years later completion of NASA’s Integrated Review Milestone 5 (IR5) confirmed that development was still on schedule. In 2019, SNC announced the first ISS flight of the Dream Chaser, known as SNC Demo-1, was planned for 2021. However, on November 17, 2020, SNC announced it would be delayed until early 2022. This has contained to today with a launch set for early next year.
However, in that time Sierra Space has been working on more than just the uncrewed Dream Chaser Tenacity. By now, not only is there another uncrewed variant being manufactured, but the company is also starting to work on a crewed version.
For example, over a year ago in August 2022, Sierra Space tweeted a picture of another Dream Chaser and said, “And then there were two…” They confirmed that this vehicle was not an old picture of Tenacity but instead a second uncrewed Dream Chaser. We also have received a host of new renders of the crewed variant which has quite a few differences from the uncrewed version. In the next few years, we can expect progress on this system assuming the CRS-2 missions go well.
The main appeal of the Dream Chaser design is its ability to launch on a host of different vehicles and land at runways around the world. This process is supposed to only stress the vehicle and payload to about 1.5gs meaning it will be able to return critical cargo.
To meet CRS-2 guidelines, the cargo Dream Chaser will have folding wings and fit within a 5 m diameter payload fairing, in contrast to the Crewed Dream Chaser, which is intended to launch without a fairing. This makes sure that the vehicle can abort during launch in the case of an emergency. An expendable cargo module will launch attached to the back of the spacecraft, expanding the cargo uplift capacity and supporting the disposal of up to 3,250 kg (7,170 lb) of trash. Total uplift is planned for 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) pressurized and 500 kg (1,100 lb) unpressurized, with a downlift of 1,750 kg (3,860 lb) contained within the spaceplane. The expendable cargo module is called “Shooting Star”.
Back in 2019, it was announced that all six Dream Chaser CRS-2 flights would be carried into orbit by ULA’s Vulcan launch vehicle, with the first Dream Chaser flight being the second Vulcan flight in late 2021. Since then both the launch vehicle and spacecraft have run into some delays. Vulcan still hasn’t launched its maiden flight yet which is scheduled to happen in December. If successful, it’s possible that ULA can have the next Vulcan ready for early 2024.
Designed for high reusability, this vehicle is trying to reduce overall cost, providing quick turnarounds between missions. In a statement, the company says, “The ability to liftoff on top of multiple launch vehicles and land at a wide variety of runways makes Dream Chaser a flexible option for reliable transportation. After leaving the space station, the Dream Chaser Cargo System also offers disposal services via the Shooting Star transport vehicle. Once separated from Dream Chaser, Shooting Star burns up safely in Earth’s atmosphere.
On the first mission, after launching, Dream Chaser Tenacity will make its way to the station before berthing to it. The planned mission duration is around 80 days from start to finish. In other words, the majority of its time will be attached to the station. Eventually, it will disconnect and attempt its first-ever reentry. In the past few decades, a lot of focus has been on innovating the vehicle’s heat shield and tile technology. Just one aspect of many that this first launch will truly test.
Conclusion
Sierra Space is continuing to prepare for the first launch of Dream Chaser Tenacity. They recently trained another group of astronauts that are expected to launch to the station in February. Realistically this is when Dream Chaser should also be on its way. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.
