Illustration of Sierra Space’s first dream shooter, called DC#1 (Persistence). Credit: Sierra Space
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Tenacity, part of NASA‘s initiative to increase commercial supply missions in International Space Station, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for its first mission. After rigorous pre-launch testing, it is scheduled to deliver 7,800 pounds of payload using a ULA Vulcan rocket.
As part of NASA’s efforts to expand commercial resupply into low Earth orbit, Sierra Space’s spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its maiden flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dream Chaser space plane, named Tenacity, arrived at Kennedy on May 18 inside a climate-controlled shipping container from NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, and joined the Shooting Star cargo module, which arrived on May 11.
Pre-departure testing and preparation
Before arriving at Kennedy, the space shuttle and its cargo module underwent vibration testing atop the world’s highest-capacity and most powerful spacecraft shaker system inside the agency’s Space Environment Complex, exposing the stack to vibrations like those it will experience during launch and re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. After vibration testing, the pair were moved to NASA’s Space Propulsion Facility and exposed to low ambient pressures and temperatures ranging from -150 to 300 degrees. Fahrenheit.
Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s unmanned cargo spacecraft, is processed inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, May 20, 2024. The spacecraft arrived inside a shipping container of climate controlled by the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Final testing and pre-launch processing will be completed inside the SSPF high bay before Dream Chaser’s inaugural launch aboard a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Final preparations at Kennedy
Upon arrival at Kennedy, the teams moved Dream Chaser Tenacity into the high bay inside the Space Systems Processing Facility, where it will undergo final testing and pre-launch processing before its scheduled launch later this year.
The spaceplane will lift off aboard a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and is set to deliver 7,800 pounds of payload to the orbital laboratory.
Remaining preflight activities at Kennedy include acoustic and electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing, completion of work on the spacecraft’s thermal protection system, and final payload integration.
Dream Chaser design and capabilities
The Dream Chaser is a space plane with a lifting body design that measures 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. The unique winged design allows it to transport cargo to and from low Earth orbit and retain the ability to land on a NASA space shuttle-style runway. The 15-foot Shooting Star module can carry up to 7,000 pounds of cargo inside and features three external non-pressurized cargo mounts.
The partially reusable shuttle system will fly at least seven cargo missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services into low Earth orbit. Future missions could last up to 75 days and deliver up to 11,500 pounds of payload.
While the Dream Chaser spacecraft is reusable and can return up to 3,500 pounds of payload to Earth, the Shooting Star module is designed to be jettisoned and burned up during re-entry, creating the potential to dump up to 8,500 pounds of debris with each mission.
Dream Chaser Tenacity is the first in a planned fleet of Sierra Space spacecraft to help carry out these missions.
Certification and Operations in Orbit
As part of the vehicle system certification process for the agency’s future resupply missions, NASA and Sierra Space will put the spacecraft through its paces once it’s in orbit. As Dream Chaser Tenacity approaches the space station, it will perform a series of demonstrations to test its attitude control, translational maneuvers and intercept capabilities. After the maneuvering demonstration is complete, space station astronauts will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grab the spacecraft and dock it in a port facing Earth.
After staying in the orbiting laboratory for about 45 days, the spacecraft will be released from the station and returned for a landing at the Kennedy Launch and Landing Facility. After landing, Dream Chaser is powered down and the Sierra Space team will transfer it back to the processing facility to perform necessary inspections, unload the remaining NASA payload and begin the process of preparing it for its next mission.