Dream Chaser for CEV requirement

Apparently the cargo version will still be carrying life support equipment. I am not sure if that means they are thinking of using it as an emergency lifeboat for ISS.
 
Apparently the cargo version will still be carrying life support equipment. I am not sure if that means they are thinking of using it as an emergency lifeboat for ISS.

I was wondering the same.
 
There is life support and life support... probably much stripped down from the manned variant to save weight, barely enough to plug into the ISS own ECLSS during the time the station crew picks the cargo.
 
I wonder if NASA now regrets rejecting manned Dream Chaser in favour of Boeing’s entry into commercial crew.

No. Dreamchaser is still far away from flight much less manned.
Would it have been though if backed at the time by NASA.

I would almost certainly be behind even Boeing's ill-fated Starliner.

Nah, there is a huge difference in the vehicles. Boeing just tripped up on some software, the rest of the vehicle is finished. Dreamchaser has much more total work
 
I wonder if NASA now regrets rejecting manned Dream Chaser in favour of Boeing’s entry into commercial crew.

No. Dreamchaser is still far away from flight much less manned.
Would it have been though if backed at the time by NASA.

I would almost certainly be behind even Boeing's ill-fated Starliner.

Nah, there is a huge difference in the vehicles. Boeing just tripped up on some software, the rest of the vehicle is finished. Dreamchaser has much more total work

That's what I mean. If they'd have picked all three to go forward Dreamchaser would be dragging at the rear.
 
I wonder if NASA now regrets rejecting manned Dream Chaser in favour of Boeing’s entry into commercial crew.

No. Dreamchaser is still far away from flight much less manned.
Would it have been though if backed at the time by NASA.

I would almost certainly be behind even Boeing's ill-fated Starliner.

Nah, there is a huge difference in the vehicles. Boeing just tripped up on some software, the rest of the vehicle is finished. Dreamchaser has much more total work
It’s more than just software if you follow the right threads on NSF.

If it was you wouldn’t be getting this kind of delay.

Soure said that the second flight of Starliner without a crew to the ISS is expected in mid-November 2020, and the first flight with a crew - in April 2021
 
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NASA Kennedy Follow
KSC-20200603-PH-KLS01_0072

Inside the low bay of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers assist as Sierra Nevada Corporationâs (SNC) Dream Chaser pressure test article on its support structure is lowered by crane on June 3, 2020, for its move into the high bay. The test article was shipped from Louisville, Colorado. It is similar to the actual pressurized cabin being used in the Dream Chaser spaceplane for Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) missions. NASA selected Dream Chaser to provide cargo delivery, return and disposal service for the International Space Station under the CRS-2 contract. The test article will remain at Kennedy while SNC engineers use it to develop and verify refurbishment operations that will be used on Dream Chaser between flights. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
 
View: https://twitter.com/sierranevcorp/status/1331742018473701376


Take a journey to the @Space_Station using SNC’s new interactive video. It brings to life the ways our Dream Chaser® spaceplane & Shooting Star™ transport vehicle increase routine access to low-Earth orbit!
 

... or to protect ground crew against injuries.
Those "pool noodles" remind us of the felt covers we used to slip on CF-104 wing leading and trailing edges to minimize the amount ground crew bled after bumping into the sharp, steel, structural edges.
Anything short of gently-radiused composite edges can cause similar injuries.
 
Why does Dreamcatcher look like it has extra, external fuel tanks blended into the wing roots?
They remind us of the conformal fuel tanks bolted onto late versions of
F-15 and F-16. albeit, Dream Catchers' are far more gracefully blended.
 
Why does Dreamcatcher look like it has extra, external fuel tanks blended into the wing roots?
They remind us of the conformal fuel tanks bolted onto late versions of
F-15 and F-16. albeit, Dream Catchers' are far more gracefully blended.
No need for such tanks. This isn't an aircraft that flies in 1g. It will spherical tanks within the "wings"
 
Why does Dreamcatcher look like it has extra, external fuel tanks blended into the wing roots?
They remind us of the conformal fuel tanks bolted onto late versions of
F-15 and F-16. albeit, Dream Catchers' are far more gracefully blended.
Why does Dreamcatcher look like it has extra, external fuel tanks blended into the wing roots?
They remind us of the conformal fuel tanks bolted onto late versions of
F-15 and F-16. albeit, Dream Catchers' are far more gracefully blended.
No need for such tanks. This isn't an aircraft that flies in 1g. It will spherical tanks within the "wings"

IIRC because it was originally designed to house a pair of hybrid (solid/liquid) engines. The spherical tanks are 'off-the-shelf' but it still retains the room to mount more propellant or the hybrids.

Randy
 

but it still retains the room to mount more propellant or the hybrids.

Randy
But it still won't be tanks shaped like the available volume. It will be either spherical or cylindrical with hemisphere ends.
 
Actually, the Dream Chaser was originally the HL-20 designed by Lockheed. It did not have hybrids. That was added by Jim Benson (SpaceDev) for suborbital space tourism. SNC ultimately acquired SpaceDev and the Dream Chaser continued on in its current form less Benson's hybrid addition. For reference, Lockheed also designed the HL-42, a follow on to the 20. It was much larger and much more capable. The 42 was more on par with the French Hermes spaceplane. Could you imagine a HL-42 on top of a Heavy Falcon. Now you have something with serious capabililty.
 
Lindsay confirms SNC has 7, not 6, cargo missions under contract with NASA.

View: https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/1377340282312663042


View: https://twitter.com/sierranevcorp/status/1377343824905728001


Dream Chaser® spaceplane closer to launch in 2022: First Dream Chaser orbital vehicle is being assembled in Louisville, Colorado. Thermal protection tiles being installed on vehicles exterior/wings will attached summer 2021 #FutureofSpace #Space
 

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