Tue, Apr 22, 2014
Dream Chaser, Boeing, And SpaceX Face NASA Evaluation In August
Sierra Nevada Corp. co-program director John Currie is reported to have said that the company will conduct additional drop tests of their Dream Chaser spacecraft at California’s Edwards Air Force Base in the fall of this year.
According to an article published on the Parabolic Arc website, this will be an upgraded version of the vehicle used in the landing tests last year. The upgraded software, guidance, avionics, navigation, and control systems used on this test vehicle are the same as planned for the dream chaser orbital flight.
However, despite the planned test by the Sierra Nevada Corp., this is a competition and they are completing against the Boeing Company and SpaceX. As the Sierra Nevada Corp. is moving forward, it is still 17 months behind its originally planned schedule. Boeing has also seen their schedule slip.
The article reports that NASA said it hopes to award the next round of contracts in August which means key criteria must be met by that time for competing companies. NASA has already amended the agreements and extended the current testing round from the April-May time frame to August.
In October of last year the dream chaser was dropped from a helicopter and glided to a landing. While the flight parameters went as planned, its left landing gear failed to properly deploy resulting in damage to the spacecraft. This flight was performed by automated systems; no crew was on board. Despite the landing accident, NASA accepted the flight as a milestone for the Sierra Nevada Corp., and they received a $7 million milestone payment from NASA.
The competition goes on and private companies come closer to providing NASA with manned low orbit spaceflight.
(Dream Chaser pictured in file photos)
More News
Aero Linx: Model Aeronautical Association of Australia MAAA clubs are about fun flying, camaraderie and community. For over 75 years, the MAAA has been Australia’s largest fl>[...]
Touchdown Zone Lighting Two rows of transverse light bars located symmetrically about the runway centerline normally at 100 foot intervals. The basic system extends 3,000 feet alon>[...]
“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in subor>[...]
How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]
Student Pilot Reported That During Rotation, “All Of A Sudden The Back Of The Plane Kicked To The Right..." Analysis: The student pilot reported that during rotation, “>[...]