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Dream Chaser

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Dream Chaser Orbital Spacecraft

Dream Chaser Flight Vehicle
Description
Role: Part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program to supply crew and cargo to the International Space Station
Crew: Up to 7[1][2][3]
Dimensions[4]
Length: 9.00 m 29.50 ft
Wing Span: 7.00 m 22.90 ft
Volume: 16.00 m3 565 cu ft
Mass: 11,340 kg 25,000 lb[5]
Performance
Endurance: At least 210 days[6]
Re-entry: Less than 1.5 g[5]

The Dream Chaser is a crewed suborbital and orbital[7] vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) lifting-body spaceplane being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems. The Dream Chaser is designed to carry up to seven people to and from low Earth orbit. The vehicle would launch vertically on an Atlas V rocket and land horizontally on conventional runways.[2]

Program objectives

The primary Dream Chaser Space System mission is to provide NASA with a safe, reliable commercially-operated transportation service for crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and back to Earth. Future Dream Chaser missions potentially include delivering crew and cargo to other orbiting facilities, or functioning as a short term independent orbiting laboratory for other government agencies or commercial entities, as well as potential orbital space tourism.[8]

Design

Dream Chaser is a reusable composite spacecraft designed to carry from two to seven people and/or cargo to orbital destinations such as the International Space Station.[9] It will have a built-in launch escape system[10] and can fly autonomously if needed.[5] It can use any suitable launch vehicle but is planned to be launched on a human-rated Atlas V 402 rocket.[5][11] The vehicle will be able to return from space by gliding (typically experiencing less than 1.5 g on re-entry) and landing on any airport runway that handles commercial air traffic.[12][8] Its reaction control system thrusters burn ethanol-based fuel,[5][8] which is not an explosively volatile material, allowing the Dream Chaser to be handled immediately after landing, unlike the Space Shuttle.[5] Its thermal protection system (TPS) is an ablative tile created by NASA's Ames Research Center that would be replaced as a large group rather than tile by tile, and would only need to be replaced after several flights.[5] There are plans to build a fleet of Dream Chasers.[8]

Rocket engines

On-orbit propulsion of the Dream Chaser is provided by twin hybrid rocket engines. The hybrid rocket motors are fueled with hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and nitrous oxide, or more simply put, "rubber and laughing gas".[10] These two elements are both non-toxic and easily stored, making them safer than liquid rocket fuels. Unlike solid rockets, Dream Chaser's hybrid fuel system would allow the motor to stop and start repeatedly, and be throttleable. SNC Space Systems is also developing a similar hybrid rocket for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.[10]

As of December 2012, Sierra Nevada has over ten years of development heritage in its hybrid rocket propulsion technology for Dream Chaser, has done over 300 hybrid rocket firings, and developed the rocket engine for the first private rocket to space, SpaceShipOne which won the Ansari X-Prize in 2004.[13]

Engine testing

Sierra Nevada completed an initial test phase on the Dream Chaser rocket engine in 2010, under the CCDev1 program, including three successful test firings on a single hybrid motor in a single day.[14]

A second phase of testing began in June 2013, with a motor firing and ignition test in order to validate the newly modified test stand., as a start to the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) contract test phase. Other tests will be completed summer 2013.[14]

History

The historical antecedents of the Dream Chaser go back nearly 50 years in the United States and Soviet airplane similar to Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 and lifting body research.[15]

The name "Dream Chaser" has been used for two separate space vehicles. One, planned to be an orbital vehicle based on the NASA HL-20, originated at SpaceDev when Jim Benson was still there. The second, a suborbital vehicle, was the result of Jim Benson having reused the name when he formed the Benson Space Company for the purposes of space tourism.[16]

The Dream Chaser was publicly announced on 20 September 2004 as candidate for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and later Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program (COTS).

When the Dream Chaser was not selected under Phase 1 of the COTS Program, SpaceDev founder Jim Benson stepped down[17] as Chairman of SpaceDev and started Benson Space Company to pursue the development of the Dream Chaser. In April 2007, SpaceDev announced that it had partnered with the United Launch Alliance to pursue the possibility of utilizing the Atlas V booster rocket as the Dream Chaser's launch vehicle.[18]

In June 2007, SpaceDev signed a Space Act agreement with NASA.[19]

SpaceDev was acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation in December 2008.[20] On 1 February 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded[21][22] $20 million in seed money under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) phase 1 program for the development of the Dream Chaser. Of the $50 million awarded by the CCDev program, Dream Chaser's award represented the largest share of the funds. SNC completed the four planned milestones on time which included program implementation plans, manufacturing readiness capability, hybrid rocket test fires, and the prelimary structure design.[23] Further initial Dream Chaser tests included the drop test of a 15% scaled version at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.[24] The 5 foot long model was dropped from 14,000 ft. to test flight stability and collect aerodynamic data for flight control surfaces.[24]

For the CCDev phase 2 solicitation by NASA in October 2010, Sierra Nevada proposed extensions of Dream Chaser spaceplane technology. According to head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems Mark Sirangelo,[25] the cost of completing the Dream Chaser should be less than $1 billion.[26]

On 18 April 2011, NASA awarded nearly $270 million in funding for CCDev 2, including $80 million to Sierra Nevada Corporation for Dream Chaser.[27] Since then, nearly a dozen further milestones have been completed under that Space Act Agreement. Some of these milestones included testing of the airfoil fin shape, integrated flight software and hardware, landing gear, and a full scale captive carry flight test.[28][29] The Dream Chaser is on track for operational commercial human flight capability as early as 2016.

In August 2011, ULA announced that the Atlas V would be used to launch the Dream Chaser spaceplane.[30]

On 3 August 2012, NASA announced the award of $212.5 million to Sierra Nevada Corporation to continue work on the Dream Chaser under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP) Program.[31]

Development progress

File:Dream Chaser drop tests.jpg
The completed craft on the day of its initial captive carry test

On 11 October 2010 SNC announced it had achieved two critical milestones for NASA's CCDev program. The first consisted of three successful test firings of a single hybrid rocket motor in one day. The second milestone was the completion of the primary tooling necessary to build the composite structure of the Dream Chaser vehicle.[32][33]

As of October 2011, Sierra Nevada Corp has completed four of the 13 milestones set out in the CCDev Agreement.[34] The most recent milestones accomplished include: a System Requirements Review, a new cockpit simulator, finalizing the tip fin airfoil design and most recently,[35] an Vehicle Avionics Integration Laboratory (VAIL), which will be used to test Dream Chaser computers and electronics in simulated space mission scenarios.[34]

By February of 2012, Sierra Nevada Corporation stated that it had completed the assembly and delivery of the primary structure of the first Dream Chaser flight test vehicle. With this, SNC completed all 11 of its CCDev milestones that were scheduled up to that point. SNC stated in a press release that it was "...on time and on budget."[36]

On 24 April 2012 Sierra Nevada Corporation announced the successful completion of wind tunnel testing of a scale model of the Dream Chaser vehicle.[37]

On 12 June 2012 SNC announced the commemoration of its fifth year as a NASA Langley partner in the design and development of Dream Chaser.[38] Together with ULA, the NASA/SNC team performed buffet tests on the Dream Chaser and Atlas V stack. To date, the Langley/SNC team has worked on aerodynamic and aerothermal analysis of Dream Chaser, as well as guidance, navigation and control systems.[38]

On 11 July 2012 SNC announced that they successfully completed testing of the nose landing gear for Dream Chaser.[39] This milestone evaluated the impact to the landing gear during simulated approach and landing tests as well as the impact of future orbital flights. The main landing gear was tested in a similar way in February 2012. The nose gear landing test was the last milestone to be completed before the free flight approach and landing tests scheduled for later in 2012.[39]

In August of 2012, SNC completed CCiCap Milestone 1, or the ‘Program Implementation Plan Review’. This included creating a plan for implementing design, development, testing, and evaluation activities through the duration of CCiCap funding. [40]

By October of 2012 the "Integrated System Baseline Review", or CCiCap Milestone 2, had been completed. This review demonstrated the maturity of the Dream Chaser Space System as well as the integration and support of the Atlas V launch vehicle, mission systems, and ground systems. [40]

On 30 January 2013 SNC announced a new partnership with Lockheed Martin. Under the agreement, SNC will pay Lockheed Martin $10 million to build the second airframe at its Michoud facility in New Orleans, Louisiana.[41][42] This second airframe is slated to be the first orbital test vehicle, with orbital flight testing planned to begin within the next two years.[43]

In January 2013, Sierra Nevada also announced that the second captive carry and first unpowered drop test of Dream Chaser would take place at Edwards Air Force Base, California in March 2013. The spaceplane release would occur at 3,700 metres (12,000 ft) altitude and would be followed by an autonomous robotic landing.[43][44]

On March 13, 2013, NASA announced that former space shuttle commander Lee Archambault was leaving the agency in order to join SNC. Archambault, a former combat pilot and 15-year NASA veteran who flew on Atlantis and Discovery, will work on the Dream Chaser program as a systems engineer and test pilot.[45][46]

On April 29th 2013, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo sub-orbital vehicle was propelled on its first ever powered flight by SNC’s Hybrid Rocket Motor. SNC manufactures the main oxidizer valve and the hybrid rocket motor, plus the nitrous oxide dump and pressurization system control valves. The hybrid rocket motor and oxidizer valve system are manufactured at an SNC facility in Poway, California, where motors for both Space Ship Two and Dream Chaser are produced. [47]

Flight test program

In May 2013, The Dream Chaser Engineering Test Article (ETA) was shipped to the Dryden Flight Research Center in California for a series of ground tests and aerodynamic flight tests.[48] This move to Dryden came about a year after a captive carry test that was conducted near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on 29 May 2012. During that test, an Erickson Skycrane was used to lift the Dream Chaser to better determine its aerodynamic properties.[49] "The testing at Dryden will include tow, captive-carry and free-flight tests of the Dream Chaser. A truck will tow the vehicle down a runway to validate performance of the nose strut, brakes and tires. The captive-carry flights will further examine the loads the vehicle will encounter during flight and test the performance and flutter of the vehicle up to release from an Erickson Skycrane helicopter. The free-flight tests are designed to validate the Dream Chaser's aerodynamics as well as test the flight control surfaces to verify flight characteristics for approach, flare and landing."[50]

A second captive carry flight test was completed on 22 August 2013.[51]

On October 26, 2013, the first free flight occurred. The Sierra Nevada corporation reported that the test vehicle was released from an Erickson "Air-Crane" helicopter, and flew the correct flight path down to touchdown less than a minute later. Just prior to landing, the left main landing gear failed to deploy resulting in a crash landing. An outside report claimed that the vehicle flipped over on landing after the collapse of the left landing gear, and that the amount of damage to the vehicle was unknown.[52] In a press teleconference a short while later, Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president of Sierra Nevada told reporters that the view of the ETA was obscurred by the dust as it skidded off the runway, but that the vehicle was found upright, with the crew compartment intact, and all systems inside still in working order. Sierra Nevada corporation engineers do not believe that the ETA flipped over. [53] [54]

The first two Dream Chasers — the ETA and the Flight Test Article (FTA) — have been given internal and external names, with some sources reporting that the ETA will be named Eagle.[48]

Dream Chaser model being tested at NASA Langley

Technology partners

The following organizations have been named as technology partners:

See also

References

  1. ^ Fieldingon, Jim. "Blog – 5 Feb 2010". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Dream Chaser Model Drops in at NASA Dryden – NASA.gov (17 December 2010)". Nasa.gov. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Businesses Take Flight, With Help From NASA – New York Times (31 January 2011)". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Astronautix". Astronautix. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sirangelo, Mark (2011-08). "NewSpace 2011: Sierra Nevada Corporation". Spacevidcast. Retrieved 16 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Bayt, Rob (26 July 2011). "Commercial Crew Program: Key Drving Requirments Walkthrough". NASA. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Private Spaceflight Innovators Attract NASA's Attention". 7 February 2011. Dream Chaser will become a fully capable suborbital vehicle on the way to reaching orbital capability.
  8. ^ a b c d "The Space Show : Mark Sirangelo interview". David Livingston. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  9. ^ "NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver touts Colorado's role". Youtube.com. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Klingler, Dave (2012-09-06). "50 years to orbit: Dream Chaser's crazy Cold War backstory: The reusable mini-spaceplane is back from the dead—again—and prepping for space". ars Technical. Retrieved 2012-09-07. The crucial difference, though, is that most hybrids are storable — that is, they can sit on the shelf (or in space) and their propellants don't degenerate, dissipate, or explode. Benson's team decided to outfit the Dream Chaser with hybrid engines, choosing HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) and nitrous oxide, or, as he used to say in presentations, 'rubber and laughing gas'. The motors are similar to those that SpaceDev designed for SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic's suborbital space tourist vehicle. Dream Chaser would not only have the ability to propel itself, but also to sit up in orbit for a long time and then wake up and propel itself again. ... onboard propulsion solves three big issues. First, it provides an abort system in case something goes wrong on the launchpad, a necessary part of every manned rocket. Second, it means no "black zones" on the ascent. (Black zones are portions of the launch where a vehicle malfunction will result in the loss of the crew due to structural failure, and the fact that Dream Chaser doesn't have any is a big plus for safety.) Finally, it gives Dream Chaser the flexibility to make a last-minute change to its landing location on the way down, making it possible to land in a thousand-mile range around the original planned location.
  11. ^ "Rendezvous Vol. 4 Issue 2 Summer 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Frank Morring, Jr (19 February 2010). "Sierra Nevada Building On NASA Design". Aviation Week.
  13. ^ "Propulsion Systems". Space Systems Division website. Sierra Nevada Corporation. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  14. ^ a b "Sierra Nevada Corporation Begins Dream Chaser Main Hybrid Rocket Motor Testing". NewSpace Watch. 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  15. ^ Klingler, Dave (2012-09-06). "50 years to orbit: Dream Chaser's crazy Cold War backstory: The reusable mini-spaceplane is back from the dead — again — and prepping for space". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2012-09-07. The Dream Chaser is a Cold War product, replete with secret military programs, spy planes, rocket scientists, Russian trawlers, and Air Force test pilots working in the middle of the desert. Fifty years later, this descendant of a secret Soviet spaceplane might finally see its way into orbit. ... Overall, [the Soviet] BOR-4 had a much better shape than NASA's latest lifting body, the HL-10 ("HL" stands for "Horizontal Lander") — so good that it became a favorite around Langley. In the true spirit of glasnost, the pilfered Russian design returned a few years later as the HL-20, proposed to serve as the emergency crew return vehicle for Reagan's Space Station Freedom.
  16. ^ Klingler, Dave. http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/09/the-long-complicated-voyage-of-the-dream-chaser-may-yet-end-in-space/ "50 years to orbit: Dream Chaser's crazy Cold War backstory", Ars Technica, New York, 6 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  17. ^ "SpaceDev Announces Founder James Benson Steps Down as Chairman and CTO; Benson Starts Independent Space Company to Market SpaceDev's Dream Chaser". SpaceDev. [dead link]
  18. ^ "SpaceDev and United Launch Alliance to Explore Launching the Dream Chaser(TM) Space Vehicle on an Atlas V Launch Vehicle". [dead link]
  19. ^ "NASA Signs Commercial Space Transportation Agreements". NASA. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Sierra Nevada Corporation Acquires Space Dev Inc". SNC. 16 December 2008.
  21. ^ "SNC receives largest award of NASA's CCDev Competitive Contract". SNC. 1 February 2010.
  22. ^ "Text of Space Act Agreement" (PDF).
  23. ^ "Commercial Crew: Sierra Nevada". NASA. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  24. ^ a b "Dream Chaser Model Drops in at NASA Dryden". NASA.
  25. ^ "Sierra Nevada Space Systems Adds Key Former Nasa Leaders to Its Dream Chaser Orbital Space Vehicle Team". May 2012.[dead link]
  26. ^ Businesses hope to discover profit in outer space, Herald Tribune, 2011-2-1, Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  27. ^ Dean, James. "NASA awards $270 million for commercial crew efforts". space.com, 18 April 2011.
  28. ^ "Sierra nevada corporation's dream chaser space system passes preliminary design review". SNC Release. 6 June 2012.
  29. ^ "Sierra nevada corporation begins flight test program of the dream chaser orbital crew vehicle". SNC Release. 30 May 2012.
  30. ^ Carreau, Mark (4 August 2011). "Boeing Selects Atlas V To Boost CST-100". Aviation Week. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  31. ^ "Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Win CCiCAP Awards". spacenews.com, 3 August 2012.
  32. ^ "Sierra Nevada Space Systems Successfully Completes Two Major Nasa Human Space Flight Development Milestones" (Press release).[dead link]
  33. ^ "Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Round One Companies Have Reached Substantial Hardware Milestones In Only 9 Months, New Images and Data Show" (PDF).
  34. ^ a b "Commercial Crew Development Industry Partners Continue Progress" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  35. ^ "Next Spacex Cargo Demo Flight" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  36. ^ "Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems Delivers the Dream Chaser® First Flight Test Vehicle Structure, Completing a Major Milestone for NASA's Commercial Crew Program" (Press release).
  37. ^ "Sierra Nevada News & Press Releases". Sncorp.com. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  38. ^ a b "SNC and NASA Langley announce Five Years of Partnership".
  39. ^ a b "Sierra Nevada Corporation Announces Successful Completion of Dream Chaser Cew Vehicle Nose Gear Landing Test". SNC. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  40. ^ a b "Sierra Nevada Completes Dream Chaser Safety Review". 10 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  41. ^ "Sierra Nevada Corporation and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Partner On Dream Chaser® Programs". Sierra Nevada Corporation. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  42. ^ "Lockheed to build second Dream Chaser airframe for Sierra Nevada". Washington Business Journal. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  43. ^ a b c "Lockheed to build second Dream Chaser airframe for Sierra Nevada". Flightglobal. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  44. ^ a b Dean, James (30 January 2013). "Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser will get Lockheed Martin's help". Florida Today. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  45. ^ Bolden, Jay (13 March 2013). "NASA Astronaut Lee Archambault Leaving Agency". NASA. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  46. ^ "NASA Astronaut Lee Archambault Joins Sierra Nevada as Test Pilot". 13 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  47. ^ "SNC's Hybrid Rocket Engines Power SpaceShipTwo on its First Powered Flight Test". 29 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  48. ^ a b Bergin, Chris (2013-05-12). "Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests". NasaSpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  49. ^ "Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser spacecraft tested at Broomfield airport". dailycamera.com. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  50. ^ Lindsey, Clark (2013-05-14). "More about SNC preparations for drop tests of Dream Chaser prototype". NewSpace Watch. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  51. ^ [1]
  52. ^ Dream Chaser Flips Over After Landing
  53. ^ [2]
  54. ^ :Dream Chaser Space Plane Skids Off Runway After Milestone Test Flight
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