SpaceX capsules designated for ventures to International Space Station might face competition after the announcement of a new spaceplane set to take its first flight. It is claimed that the new spaceplane could make a roundtrip to ISS much faster than SpaceX vehicles.
The new spaceplane is built and operated by Sierra Nevada Corp. in Nevada and aims to transform the way spaceflights are perceived. The new spacecraft is called the Dream Chaser and as announced can go on the space venture with autonomous capabilities. It will be lifted through ULA (United Launch Alliance) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center to execute flights to the ISS.
The new Dream Chaser by the Sierra Nevada Corp. will land on the space center’s landing strip which previously has been used for landing space shuttles. Former astronaut, Janet Kavandi said that the first of the Dream Chasers is getting ready for being delivered to Kennedy Space Center and will land on the strip somewhere around spring 2022.
“When we first launch next year, 2022, at the end of that mission, we plan to come back and land here at this very runway,” said Kavandi.
Space Florida recently signed an agreement to enable the use of its landing facility and the Federal Aviation Administration also granted permission for the spaceplane built by the Sierra Nevada to land on the strip. This means that the Kennedy facility is not only performing as a NASA facility, it’s also becoming a multi-user commercial spaceport.
The company behind the built of Dream Chaser visited Kennedy along with a visit to nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on two consecutive days, visiting one facility after the other. The purpose of the visit was to assess the building in which the Dream Chaser spacecraft would be processed between active launch flows. Kevandi said that “We’ll look first at existing facilities on government property, but we may also consider building something ourselves if needed.”
The Sierra Nevada said of hiring dozens of more employees in the Florida region finalizing the Dream Chaser spaceplane project and would also cater for other engineering necessities.
We have heard more of SpaceX space ventures in the last few years, and think of it as the second big space organization, however, notable is that Sierra Nevada is from the multiplying number of commercial space firms and is a contender for taking the NASA business in the future, becoming the biggest space exploration firm.
For now, the firm has won $2 billion contracts from NASA to build the Dream Chaser, the space vehicle that promises to become the first-of-its-kind reusable cargo vessel. The new spaceplane with its landing like a plane will bring back key data and materials from space faster than ever before, as per the Sierra Nevada and NASA.
