Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Tenacity Ready to Rival SpaceX’s Starship in Orbit Race
SIERRA Space has ramped up its rivalry with SpaceX this week as it unveiled its first Dream Chaser spaceplane with the help of NASA backing.
Unveiled at the NASA Glenn Research testing facility on Thursday, the spaceplane, which combines the best aspects of a rocket and a plane, is hoping to reach orbit before Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship and completely change how we connect Earth to space.
NASA Backing for Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Tenacity
NASA has awarded Sierra Space with a contract to complete missions to the International Space Station as it integrates toward commercial flights. On Thursday, The U.S. Sun was in attendance at the Dream Chaser Tenacity testing event to hopefully be the first to do so soon. The exclusive event showed off the progress with officials speaking about the overwhelming excitement everyone is feeling as the spaceplane gets close to blasting off.
New Era in Space Travel
Dream Chaser Tenacity was perched on top of its Shooting Star cargo module for the very first time for testing to ensure everything went properly with it attached on Thursday. Tenacity is just one of the Dream Chaser spaceplanes that Sierra Space plans to operate, the second Dreamer Chaser is named Reverance and will eventually deploy the second mission. The Dream Chaser is a winged spaceplane that was designed to be highly reusable, highly reliable, and focused on turning the vehicle quickly. It will be used to have a quick turnover of cargo like scientific experiments, supplies, and satellites, from Earth to space for research purposes. Sierra Space hopes to have crew members aboard the Dream Chasers eventually, but the first missions will be uncrewed.
Revolutionary Design and Functionality
The design allows it to take off on top of a rocket and land on a runway like an airplane would. It was also designed to be reusable for 15 missions which is intended to reduce the cost and environmental impact of space travel. The Dream Chaser fleet was also inspired by the Space Shuttle but has an improved ability to take on the extreme heat and pressure of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Officials who spoke at the event on Thursday included Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, director at NASA Glenn Research Center, and Tom Vice, chief executive officer at Sierra Space. Along with Phil Dempsey, transportation integration manager at the International Space Station, and Dr. Tom Marshburn, former NASA astronaut and chief medical officer for Sierra Space.
Leading the Race to Orbit
Vice confidently said Sierra Space is leading the race to get its spaceplane to orbit with the Dream Chaser Tenacity set to launch sometime in early 2024. SpaceX is also contracted with NASA and is working to get its Starship in orbit as well. Vice commented on how Sierra Space has been working hard for years to resolve tough engineering challenges that come from revolutionizing the way they do things to get to where they are now with the Dream Chaser.
This is truly a historic day, it is an extraordinary day, a day that has been in the making for several years. We are really excited that this year we enter orbital operations for Nasa. It is a year that we change how we connect Earth and Space.
Tom Vice, chief executive officer at Sierra Space
Vice called the integration of spaceplanes into space “the most significant industrial revolution in history” and how we are entering the “orbital age.”
Introducing Dream Chaser Tenacity and Its Symbolic Name
There is also a heartfelt reasoning behind the names Dream Chaser and Tenacity. Sierra Space made it clear they have truly chased their dreams during the creation of the Dream Chaser project. But the perseverance that it took to get it completed is where the name Tenacity comes from for the first spaceplane.
Test Facility and Anticipation for the Launch
Dream Chaser Tenacity underwent testing at the NASA Glenn Research testing facility but it will eventually launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The competition is heated as SpaceX’s Starship and Sierra Space battle for who will make it to orbit first, SpaceX Community said in a video. Musk’s SpaceX Starship attempted its first launch in February 2023, but it ended up spinning out of control due to issues with several of its engines and did not make it to space. SpaceX attempted another launch in November 2023, and it made it to space but the engines ended up failing and it blew up, New Scientist Reported. This caused SpaceX to have to build a new rocket and receive a new license from the FAA to fly it. SpaceX said that it hopes to get the license by February to retry the launch.
