NASA Approves Sierra Nevada’s Strategy to Get Dream Chaser Cargo System to ISS Under CRS-2 Contract

Sierra Nevada Corp. has received approval from NASA for its strategy to launch and send the Dream Chaser spacecraft’s cargo system to the International Space Station.

The approval marks the completion of the second integration certification phase for the space vehicle that will perform at least six cargo flights to the ISS from 2019 through 2024 under the space agency’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract, SNC said Monday.

The approval comes two weeks after the space agency cleared the company’s full program implementation plan for Dream Chaser under the contract’s first milestone.

NASA selected SNC, SpaceX and Orbital ATK in January for the CRS-2 contracts.

The milestone 2 completion aims to verify that the spacecraft’s designs satisfy the contract’s mission requirements.

SNC has updated the design components of the spacecraft’s cargo system in support of the contract’s certification plan and efforts to validate the space vehicle’s final approach and landing functionalities.

The company built Dream Chaser with NASA as part of the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program.