Ramona Adams
Sierra Nevada Corp. has completed updates and initial hardware tests on the Dream Chaser flight test vehicle as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA.
The company said Thursday it will ship the test vehicle to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to undergo a second phase of flight tests that will involve tow-tests, pre-flight ground evaluations and free-flight tests in coordination with Edwards Air Force Base.
ExecutiveBiz reported Wednesday SNC achieved the second milestone in its CRS-2 contract with NASA’s approval on its strategy to deploy Dream Chaser’s cargo system to the International Space Station.
“These tests are significant for us in multiple ways; building on our previous flight test, completing a significant milestone under our [Commercial Crew Program] agreement, as well as gathering crucial data that will help complete the design of the vehicle being built for our CRS-2 contract,” said Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president of SNC’s space systems segment.
SNC said it will also evaluate Dream Chaser’s orbital flight software and calculate the handling and performance characteristics in order to validate subsonic aerodynamic properties and performance requirements for the flight software and control system.
SNC conducts the flight tests under a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s CCP.
