SpaceDev Dream Chaser concept

[Pipcard]

But wait a minute... "landing the spacecraft in Japan"?

"The candidates in Japan - including Magejima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture as well as Tono and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture, were ruled out due to overcrowded airspace and the necessity for space shuttles to fly over China and the Korean Peninsula to land..."

 

[kamaz]

Gorgeous.

 

[RGClark]

Sierra Nevada is abandoning using the hybrid engines for the Dream Chaser and switching to liquid fueled engines:

SNC Abandons Own Hybrid Motors on Dream Chaser.
Posted by Doug Messier on August 19, 2014, at 1:37 pm in News

Sierra Nevada Corporation won’t be using its own hybrid rockets for its Dream Chaser space shuttle, making it the second company in recent months after Virgin Galactic to dump the nitrous oxide-rubber motors.

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/08/19/snc-abandons-hybrid-motors-dream-chaser/

Good news for reusable launch vehicles. If Virgin Galactic had used liquid fueled engines from the start they would already have been flying suborbitally.

But this has importance beyond that of just suborbital tourism vehicles. Virgin Galactic could also have their suborbital vehicle as a reusable first stage of a TSTO. Since the first stage is usually much larger and costlier than the second stage this could have cut the costs to orbit at least for small payloads by a factor of four. This would then have been an impetus to try the same thing for larger payloads.


Bob Clark

 

[Pipcard]

And here I was thinking that "rubber and laughing gas" were safer (non-toxic and inert when not mixed) and had high thrust for aborts.

So what will this liquid propellant be?

 

[ISProgram]

I'm more interested on how this will affect the vehicle in general. This is a relatively major development change, and what's more, it's also somewhat late. This new propulsion system will no doubt cause changes in center of gravity, weight distribution, etc.

Meanwhile, the ETA has already been build. Will they modify the ETA to reflect any changes the propulsion system has/will cause? In time for its next test flights?

And then there's the FTA, which if I understand correctly, is being build RIGHT NOW at Michoud. Wonder if it will continue to be build to the specifications of the hybrid-fueled DC, or if it will be modified to accommodate the ORBITEC engines? No doubt it is probably to be the latter.

Regardless, this propulsion change creates a LOT of problems.

---------- Post added at 08:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 PM ----------

Okay, so they're not changing the engines...

Have you changed the Dream Chaser’s propulsion system from a hybrid solid/liquid system to an all liquid system as some have claimed recently, and readers asked in Part 1?

“We have not announced a change in propulsion systems and that was not a quote from us.”

“It was likely meant to refer to our acquisition of Orbitec as we now have an expanded base of propulsion solutions and are exploring their use for future Dream Chaser variants.”

“There is no schedule change related to engines.”

 

[ISProgram]

What.

NBC News: "Sierra Nevada and Stratolaunch Team Up on Dream Chaser Space Plane"

 

[Pipcard]

That looks [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=5377"]familar[/ame]...

Stratolaunch can carry about 6 metric tonnes to LEO (which would mean that there would need to be a smaller version of the DC); an (unmodified) X-37B weighs 5 tonnes.

 

[Donamy]

That one didn't fly either. :uhh:

 

[Pipcard]

That one didn't fly either. :uhh:

Well that's because it's someone's concept for their own fictional universe.

 

[Donamy]

Ah, so it is, ...didn't know it was Orbiter. :facepalm:

 

[Unstung]

The Commercial Crew competition is not quite over yet.

AmericaSpace: "NASA Issues 'Stop Work' Order on Newly Issued ‘Space Taxi’ Contracts"

Construction of America’s next human spaceships carrying our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) will have to wait longer, because the work has now been ordered “stopped” dead in its freshly trodden tracks by a brand new NASA directive issued barely two weeks after the agency originally announced in mid-September that the winning bids had been awarded to Boeing and SpaceX.

The NASA directive to “stop performance” and halt contract work stems from a new legal challenge filed by the losing bidder, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), AmericaSpace confirmed directly with NASA public affairs today, Oct. 2.

[...]

“SNC believes the result of further evaluation of the proposals submitted will be that America ends up with a more capable vehicle, at a much lower cost, with a robust and sustainable future.”

The GAO has approximately three months to evaluate SNC’s legal challenge and make a decision regarding NASA’s commercial crew awards.

“The GAO has notified NASA it will make its ruling by Jan. 5, 2015,” Schierholz said.

[...]

There is still hope for the "dream" to shuttle NASA astronauts.

 

[Urwumpe]

Understandable that they did this

 

[fsci123]

New announcement

So they decided to fold the wings to fit into a fairing... Then attached a klipper style unpressurized cargo/propulsion module to the back.

With orbital atk pushing for a reusable Cygnu and Lockheed parading a space tug, this new competition round is pretty exciting.

The websites I seen were devoid of any decent info...I'll update when other websites start reporting.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Hmm, no windows in the illustration. Looks like this is meant only for cargo (especially the second drawing that shows the entire interior filled with boxes).

Gordon Cooper: Uh, where are you putting the window?
German Scientist #1: Window? There is no window.
Gus Grissom: No window? What about the hatch?
German Scientist #1: The hatch?
Gus Grissom: Yeah, the hatch. We need a hatch with explosive bolts that we can open ourselves.
German Scientist #1: I think there is something you do not understand. This is the final form of the capsule. No hatch.

Not sure if I like the folding wing concept. Sure the TPS is protected during launch, but now you need to worry about the wings deploying properly on orbit.

 

[Pipcard]

The dream is not dead yet!

Spiral/MiG-105 had folding "wings" as well (as a lifting body, Dream Chaser does not have true "wings")

Perhaps this could launch on an H-IIB as well?

Why does it have the thermal protection system on the dorsal side of the vehicle?

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Why does it have the thermal protection system on the dorsal side of the vehicle?

Just a guess. Unmanned it can come in much hotter than shuttle and on a steeper slope, just like the (Ch)Air Force's X-37B. Could be that'd they'd actually use blankets too like shuttle, who knows?

I like the service module, very Hermes-ish.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

The dream is not dead yet!
Spiral/MiG-105 had folding "wings" as well (as a lifting body, Dream Chaser does not have true "wings")

It's amazing how these ideas keep converging to designs that were being tossed around almost 50 years ago.

Put a booster on it and strap it to a hypersonic carrier aircraft, no excuses!

And windows! I want windows!:lol:

 

[Ravenous]

And windows! I want windows!:lol:

No thanks, wouldn't want the Blue Screen Of Death right at launch time... :lol:

(OK I know you didn't mean "that" Windows )

 

[Thunder Chicken]

No thanks, wouldn't want the Blue Screen Of Death right at launch time... :lol:

(OK I know you didn't mean "that" Windows )

I have a picture of Clippy the Astronaut jumping out on screen saying:

It appears that you are attempting to re-enter the atmosphere at Mach 25! Would you like me to:

* Control Throttles
* Control Thrusters
* Play with my dog
* GTFO and let you fly?

 

[orbitingpluto]

NASA adds a final milestone to SNC's participation in the CCiCAP to help it end on mutually beneficial note. Since the blog post about it is pretty brief, I'll quote it here:

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program continues to work closely with American aerospace companies as they develop new human transportation systems for low-Earth orbit. Recently, the program added another milestone to its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Space Act Agreement with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The company’s Design Analysis Cycle-6 Closeout Review will demonstrate the advancement of the Dream Chaser Space System from a Preliminary Design Review level of maturity toward a Critical Design Review level. While the new milestone is unfunded, NASA and SNC continue to benefit from each other’s technical expertise. The amendment also extends the partnership through March 2016.


SNC is continuing to develop its Dream Chaser spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and associated ground and mission support systems. The company also is preparing for another CCiCap milestone – the second free-flight test of the Dream Chaser at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, targeted for later this year.