Sierra Space Working with NASA on Crewed Dream Chaser

Sierra Space is working with NASA to develop a crewed version of its Dream Chaser cargo ship and a pathfinder version of the modules that will be used in the private Orbital Reef space station.

In June, Sierra Space and NASA signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement under the space agency’s Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities 2 (CCSC-2) initiative. CCSC-2 is part of NASA’s effort to help foster commercial activities in Earth orbit as the space agency prepares for the decommissioning of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030.

NASA also signed CCSC-2 agreements in June with Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, Special Aerospace Services, ThinkOrbital, and Vast to support various projects.

Sierra Space’s CCSC-2 agreement focuses primarily on the development of a crewed Dream Chaser and the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) pathfinder module. LIFE will be launched into orbit to test the module’s inflatable technology.

Sierra Space has a contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) using automated Dream Chaser spacecraft. The first flight is scheduled for next year.

Sierra Space is working with Blue Origin and other partners to develop Orbital Reef space station to accommodate research, tourism and other commercial activities. The station will be composed of LIFE modules that are three stories tall and 8.2 meters (27 ft) in diameter.

The CCSC-2 agreement gives Sierra Space access to specialized expertise that NASA has on safety systems, avionics, abort systems and other areas required for human spaceflight. The space agency will gain insight into the Colorado-based company’s plans and further its efforts to ensure a U.S. presence in Earth orbit after ISS is decommissioned.

NASA and Sierra Space will pay for their own costs under the unfunded agreement. NASA listed the full value of its cooperation with Sierra Space at $6.8 million in a document posted on the space agency’s website.

Sierra Space is also working with two NASA centers under reimbursable Space Act Agreements in which the company is paying the space agency for its services. The company is working with the Marshall Space Flight Center on habitat development and burst tests on its inflatable technology under an agreement valued at $16.1 million.

Other agreements Sierra Space has signed with NASA is a collaboration with Johnson Space Center’s Hypervelocity Impact Technology Group to develop micrometeoroid and orbital debris shielding for its orbital modules. The company will reimburse the center $92,945.48 for its work.

Lastly, Sierra Space signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement with NASA Headquarters on the development of a low-cost, high-temperature reusable thermal protection system for the Dream Chaser shuttle. NASA listed the value of the collaboration at $375,293 on its website.

The CCSC-2 agreement includes 33 milestones divided between the crewed Dream Chaser and LIFE pathfinder programs.

Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities 2 Initiative
Sierra Space-NASA Space Act Agreement
June 2023