Sierra Space Dream Chaser has completed testing and will be coming to the Cape soon

The first flight of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser is one step closer, according to a statement released today by the company. In a press release, Sierra said Tenacity – Dream Chaser’s first flight model – “achieved the successful completion of a rigorous environmental test suite on the Dream Chaser spaceplane, at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.”

“The successful completion of an incredibly rigorous environmental testing campaign in close collaboration with NASA is a significant milestone and puts Dream Chaser on track for operations later this year,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “This is the year we transition from rigorous research and development to regular orbital operations and – in the process – transform the way we connect space and Earth.”

Tenacity underwent shock, vibration and thermal vacuum testing at Armstrong to verify its ability to withstand the rigors of ascent aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan-Centaur rocket, as well as in-orbit operations after separation from the rocket carrying it into orbit around the Earth. The testing lasted several months and was recently completed, leading to the company’s announcement today.

Sierra Space said: “The two vehicles were then stacked in launch configuration on the world’s most powerful spacecraft shake table at the test center’s Mechanical Vibration Facility. Sinus vibration tests – conducted over a period of five weeks – simulated the intense conditions and environment of a launch on a Vulcan Centaur rocket. After the vibration tests were completed, the teams conducted another shock test – this time using the flight separation system between Dream Chaser and Shooting Star – to simulate the dynamic environment during the separation of the two vehicles prior to track exit and re-entry .

They added: “Next, Sierra Space and NASA test teams transported the vehicles to the In-Space Propulsion Facility at Armstrong for thermal vacuum or “T-VAC” testing. Temperatures in space can range from extremely cold – hundreds of degrees below freezing – to several hundred degrees Fahrenheit due to radiation from the sun. TVAC testing is a realistic thermal simulation of the flight environment and critical to mission success. For over five weeks, Dream Chaser and Shooting Star were subjected to multiple cold-hot cycles in a vacuum environment, between -150F and +250F, with teams conducting functional tests on temperature plateaus to verify system performance. “

Tenacity will then be transported to the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center for integration and further launch preparations. In addition, according to Sierra, “remaining work on the thermal protection system will also be completed there.”

Once these steps are complete, the launch campaign can begin in earnest. Sierra Space says they remain on track for a 2024 launch of Tenacity, and for their part, United Launch Alliance is completing assembly of the Vulcan-Centaur rocket that will put Tenacity into orbit. This second flight, if successful, will complete Vulcan’s certification for Department of Defense payloads, giving the mission additional importance beyond Dream Chaser’s debut. Currently, the launch is scheduled for late Q3 or early Q4 of this year.