Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser flight test vehicle in 2013
Manufacturer	Sierra Space
Country of origin	United States
Operator	NASA
Applications	International Space Station (ISS) resupply
Specifications
Spacecraft type	Robotic cargo vehicle version, also Crewed orbital spaceplane version
Payload capacity	5,000 kg (5.0 t; 11,000 lb) pressurized, 500 kg (0.50 t; 1,100 lb) unpressurized
Crew capacity	0 (cargo) 3-7 (crew)
Regime	LEO
Production
Status	Active
Built	3
Launched	0 (4 atmospheric tests)
Operational	1
Related spacecraft
Derived from	HL-20 Personnel Launch System

Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. Originally intended as a crewed vehicle, the Dream Chaser Space System is set to be produced after the Dream Chaser Cargo System cargo variant is operational. The crewed variant is planned to carry up to seven people and cargo to and from low Earth orbit.^[1]

The Dream Chaser was originally a project of the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), but in April of 2021 the project was taken over by the Sierra Space Corporation (SSC), which at that time was spun-off of the Sierra Nevada Corporation as its own fully independent company.

The cargo Dream Chaser is designed to resupply the International Space Station with both pressurized and unpressurized cargo. It is intended to launch vertically on the Vulcan Centaur rocket^[2] and autonomously land horizontally on conventional runways.^[3] A proposed version to be operated by European Space Agency (ESA) would launch on an Arianespace vehicle.

The Dream Chaser concept and design is a descendant of the original NASA Space Shuttle program.