Mon, Feb 06, 2012
Achieves A 'Major Milestone' In CCDev2 Program
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems has achieved a
major Dream Chaser milestone under NASA’s Commercial Crew
Development Round 2 (CCDev2) Program. Successful completion
of this milestone required the assembly and delivery of the primary
structure of the first Dream Chaser flight test vehicle. SNC has
now completed all of its 11 scheduled CCDev milestones.
“SNC is proud to have met its schedule and cost targets in
the delivery of our first flight structure as we continue to make
preparations for our vehicle’s first full-scale flight.
The Dream Chaser Program is making great strides towards developing
a safe and cost-effective space system that will provide our
country with the capability to safely transport crew and critical
cargo to and from the International Space Station,” said Mark
Sirangelo, head of SNC’s Space Systems.
The Dream Chaser Flight Test Vehicle will be used to execute
several remaining CCDev2 milestones, including a captive carry
flight and the first free flight of the vehicle which is scheduled
for the third quarter of this year. Program Director of Flight
Operations, Steve Lindsey, joined the Dream Chaser team in 2011
after five Space Shuttle flights and three years as Chief of the
Astronaut Office. Lindsey will manage SNC flight operations for the
Flight Test Vehicle. Dream Chaser’s CCDev2 flight tests
will be conducted with the assistance of the NASA Dryden Flight
Research Center (DRFC). DRFC, under the direction of
David McBride, is located at Edwards Air Force Base in California
and serves as NASA's primary center for atmospheric flight research
and operations.
“The delivery of the Dream Chaser Flight Test Vehicle
illustrates the significant progress our team has made as part of
NASA’s CCDev Program,” said Jim Voss, SNC’s Vice
President for Space Exploration Systems. “Our team now
includes over a dozen heritage space companies and seven NASA
Centers whose combined strength has continued to allow us to exceed
the Program’s expectations. The composite structure
provided by our partner organizations will allow our team to
further execute concurrent design and development for the Dream
Chaser orbital crew vehicle.”
The all-composite structure was designed by the SNC team and
built in conjunction with SNC Dream Chaser team organizations
AdamWorks of Centennial, Colo., Applied Composite Technology of
Gunnison, Utah, and Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. SNC
is now assembling the vehicle in the company’s Louisville,
Colo. facility.
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