Gallery: A Tour of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser Tenacity

Dream Chaser

Sierra Space has a NASA contract to perform seven cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Dream Chaser and in conjunction with the company’s Space Technologies business, which contributes to a total customer contract backlog of $3.4 billion. Krista Abler, Sierra Space senior systems engineer for mission training, and Ben Wexler, flight operations and cargo integration engineer, demonstrated cargo handling in the astronaut crew training facility while standing in front of a mockup of the cargo module and pressurized Dream Chaser interior section.

Sierra Space hosted its first official training for astronauts from NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in May. Familiarization included hands-on training with this full-scale hatch as well as rendezvous and proximity operations, which covered required actions as the Dream Chaser makes its approach and berths with the ISS.

Peering down through the combined interior pressurized volume of the Cargo Module (foreground) and Dream Chaser reveals the areas designed to accommodate 5,000 kg (just over 11,000 lb.) of cargo. The cargo module will burn up on reentry, although Sierra Space is studying a potential reusable version that could perform a controlled reentry attached to an inflatable hypersonic decelerator heat shield.

The aft hatch of Tenacity will connect to the Cargo Module for the ascent to the space station but is also designed to directly connect to orbital platforms—including Sierra’s LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat in development under NASA’s NextSTEP project for space habitation systems, as well as with Blue Origin and other partners as part of the Orbital Reef project.

The wing fold mechanism and adjacent thruster assembly pictured in this aft view of the vehicle have complex engineering. The wings are designed with a folding mechanism to fit within the payload fairing, which presents a thermal protection challenge because of the join area. To get around this, the wing tilts and then translates back along “banana” tracks as it deploys—in the process compressing an arrangement of environmental and thermal seals.

The specially designed Dream Chaser mission badge was unveiled at a ceremony on Oct 30.