A SPACEPLANE that uses regular runways could fly to space as soon as next year.
Called Dream Chaser, the futuristic spacecraft will fly on a Nasa mission to resupply the International Space Station.
The mission – officially called SSC Demo-1 – is due to take place “no earlier than May 2025”.
Dream Chaser will start with resupply missions, but is meant to eventually carry crew.
And Sierra Space, the company behind the craft, says it will make history as “the only commercial runway capable spaceplane”.
“The Dream Chaser spaceplane is the first-ever winged commercial spaceplane that will open shared access to space and international collaboration for all humankind,” explained Sierra Space.
“The multi-mission spaceplane fleet is designed to transport crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO).
“And can be customized for both domestic and international customers for global operations.”
It’s set to take off from the US Space Force’s Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida.
The first Dream Chaser spaceplane is called Tenacity – or officially, DC-100 – and will be uncrewed.
“Dream Chaser was selected by NASA to provide cargo delivery, return and disposal service for the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Service 2 (CRS-2) contract,” Sierra Space said.
“Tenacity, the first DC-100 spaceplane, will provide a minimum of seven cargo missions to and from the space station.
“Carrying critical supplies like food, water, and science experiments.”
There’s also a second cargo version of the Dream Chaser under construction called DC-102, or Reverence.
This will be followed by an upgraded version of the spaceplane called DC-200.
Sierra Space explains: “This crewed spaceplane will carry crew to and from the space station and other low-Earth orbit destinations.”
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It’s expected to eventually carry between three and seven crewmembers.
But the bulk of the early flights will be Tenacity, which has at least three contracted cargo resupply missions for Nasa lined up.
There will be at least seven uncrewed missions overall, however.
It can carry over six tonnes of pressurised and unpressurised cargo.
The craft is around 30 feet long, and has “gentle 1.5G runway landings”, which Sierra Space says is “ideal for fragile cargo”.
That could include science experiments, which need to be returned safely – or the results could be ruined.
The spaceplane will be launched on top of a rocket – the Vulcan Centaur – and then return to Earth, landing on a runway like an airplane.
Nasa has already been working with Sierra Space on the plane to make sure its astronauts are familiar with the design.
That way, they’ll know how it works when it comes to collecting the resupplies.
The company added that the launch “will mark the beginning of a new era for space exploration”.
