Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser® Spaceplane Comes to Life

Dream Chaser, the World's First Commercial Spaceplane, Powers Up Achieving a Major Step Forward in Realizing the Vision of Sustainable Commercial Space Travel

Sierra Space, a leading, pureplay commercial space company building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space, is thrilled to announce the successful power-up of its revolutionary Dream Chaser® spaceplane.

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Sierra Space team members run tests during Dream Chaser's inaugural Power On testing. (Photo: Business Wire)

Dream Chaser represents a groundbreaking leap in space transportation technology, designed to provide reliable and cost-effective access to space for a wide range of applications. With its unique lifting body design, the spaceplane combines the flexibility of an aircraft with the capabilities of a spacecraft, revolutionizing space travel.

The power-up of Dream Chaser signifies the activation of its integrated systems, showcasing the culmination of years of rigorous engineering, design, and testing. Sierra Space simulated the power that will be generated from Dream Chaser’s solar arrays once on orbit. Test engineers plugged that power into Dream Chaser and began turning on systems. Sierra Space exercised flight computers, base processors and low-voltage distribution units.

“This is a milestone that points to the future and is a key moment in a long journey for Dream Chaser,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. “With this significant achievement, our Dream Chaser spaceplane is poised to redefine commercial space travel, opening up new possibilities for scientific research, technological advancements, and economic opportunities in space.”

The successful test showcases the progress of space technology after years of design and development across Sierra Space, enabled by the accomplishments of many teams from system level design to final assembly and test.

Dream Chaser is a reusable, fully autonomous, orbital spaceplane designed to transport cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations such as the International Space Station (ISS) and land at conventional runways. Measuring about one-quarter the size of the Space Shuttle, it features autonomous launch, flight, and landing capabilities with a smooth 1.5 low-G re-entry on compatible commercial runways worldwide.

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space is a leading, pureplay commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space in the Orbital Age™, building an end-to-end business and technology platform in space to benefit life on Earth. With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, the company is enabling the future of space transportation with Dream Chaser® the world’s only commercial spaceplane and is bringing LIFE™ (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) to low-Earth orbit with its modular, three-story commercial habitation and science platform. Both Dream Chaser and LIFE are central components to Orbital Reef, a mixed-use business park in LEO being developed by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, which is expected to be operational by the end of the decade. Sierra Space also builds and delivers a host of systems and subsystems across solar power, mechanics and motion control, environmental control, life support, propulsion and thermal control, offering myriad space-as-a-service solutions for the new space economy.

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