Sierra Space Declared Dream Chaser Tenacity Launch to Beat SpaceX Starship IFT 7! NASA's New Partner

You know, Sierra Space is taking significant strides in the development of its modern spaceplane, Dream Chaser, with a vision to transform space travel into a routine and reliable endeavor. Slated for its first launch in 2025, the program’s progress has reached a pivotal stage, as the final assembly and testing of its first test vehicle, Tenacity, near completion. At the heart of this innovative spacecraft lies its heat shield, a critical system that will determine its ability to safely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and maintain a high-frequency launch schedule with minimal refurbishment between missions. Even as Tenacity approaches readiness, Sierra Space is already working on an upgraded thermal protection system (TPS) for its next test vehicle, Reverence. This dual focus on immediate readiness and forward-looking improvements reflects Sierra Space’s commitment to innovation and operational excellence.
Currently, the finishing touches are being applied to Tenacity, including the installation of its final heat shield tiles. Since the inception of the Dream Chaser program, the TPS has been a focal point, and for good reason. The heat shield plays a central role in ensuring the spacecraft’s durability during atmospheric re-entry and its ability to quickly prepare for subsequent missions. A well-designed heat shield can greatly impact the turnaround time, operational costs, and overall efficiency of the spacecraft. Sierra Space recently announced that the second Dream Chaser spacecraft will feature an entirely new type of heat shield, developed in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In a recent tweet, Sierra Space revealed:
“Sierra Space and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are collaborating on a groundbreaking new technology that will enable exterior spacecraft tiles to withstand the high temperatures of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere over multiple missions.”
This announcement highlights a significant advancement in thermal protection technology. Designed to meet the evolving demands of the commercial space industry, the new TPS represents a breakthrough in material science and engineering. Unlike the Space Shuttle’s TPS, which was designed for a maximum of five missions per year, Dream Chaser’s next-generation heat shield aims to support far more frequent launches, aligning with the fast-paced nature of modern space exploration. Sierra Space’s approach builds upon over three decades of experience from NASA’s Space Shuttle program while incorporating cutting-edge materials and manufacturing techniques. Dream Chaser’s existing heat shield features approximately 2,000 tiles, a stark contrast to the more than 20,000 tiles used on the Space Shuttle. This significant reduction in the number of tiles reflects improvements in design efficiency. Additionally, Dream Chaser’s tiles are ten by ten inches, considerably larger than the Shuttle’s 6 x 6-inch tiles, which allows for quicker installation and maintenance. Despite their larger size, these tiles meet rigorous micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) protection requirements, ensuring the spacecraft’s safety during its descent and runway landings. The Dream Chaser team has prioritized making its tiles stronger, lighter, and more cost-effective compared to earlier designs.

#starshiplaunch #starship #ift5

[phedders]

yes it uses 1/10 of the tiles of the space shuttle because it is 30 times smaller. Wow they are so clever.

[mustang]

Dreamchaser is cool, and I wish them the best, but shouldn't they launch it first before boasting it's brilliance?

[azamzain]

My hair turned grey waiting for it to fly

[thunderamu]

It will be awesome to see an operational space plane again. That is how astronauts should FLY!🦅 Not just being Span in a can!

[JosephBarraca]

Wonder if the X-37 is using the same tiles or did Tenacity’s tiles originate from the X-37🤔?

[michaelreid]

I think the greatest opportunity for a crew version of Dreamchaser is to act as a shuttle for access to an orbiting SpaceX Starship. With greater actual crew numbers and lower cost landing and reuse cost compared to a Dragon will benefit everyone

[darkguardian]

Really…
You do know Sierra is working with Space X to make fairings so Dreamchaser-Class shuttles can be launched with a Falcon Heavy as well as many other boosters. 🙄
Also, Sierra wants to use the shuttle landing strip but Dreamchaser uses a skid that may damage the very leveled strip.
They are supposed to test the skid on the runway before launch.

[MikeStudio]

I thought the heat shield tiles were installed some time ago. Let's keep in mind that there are fewer tiles on Dream Chaser because it is significantly smaller that the space shuttle. I'm really curious to see how Sierra's tiles hold up from reentry compared to SpaceX's.

[dwainsellers]

Why no front wheel on the landing gear?

[EddyKorgo]

It would be cool if ultimately they would super size dream chaser

[AdamArndt]

How many times has dream chaser flown?

[Kontrabaß-Spieler]

An airplan in space is like a fish on land. You need no wing to fall down.

[mrzoinky]

Sooo they saw what happened to Starship's tiles and said, "S#$% ! we use the same tiles." And now it's time for a two year redesign.

[earth]

A question. If given a contract, how long would it take them to build a manned version. Could the contract be a fixed price to avoid (a certain legacy companies well known actions.) issues.?

[royhorn]

Dream Chaser looks cool and all, but it's overly complicated and doesn't have any real legitimate purpose for existence. it has too many moving parts with seams that will be directly exposed to the plasma heating of reentry. Moving parts designed to fit inside of basically a launch-based storage container, will have a hard time with reliable movement without failures. All it's good for is crew transport. It can't deliver any real payload, satellite, telescope or provisions, due to its very limited size. Can't even imagine it being scaled up to an appreciable level, in order to be a legitimate space plane for commercial passenger flights aimed at replacing current commercial aircraft. It just doesn't pass the eye test and it's just too limited in ability to make it feasible long term and profitable platform. Its only real use that is worth mention, is as a technological test platform for mechanical and material sciences. That's my honest opinion about it. Space X has no reason to be concerned about Dream Chaser. It can't do anything that Space X isn't already doing and when Starship is fully developed (which is soon for the type of work Dream Chaser is aiming for) Dream Chaser will have no reason to have existed, ever. Starship is bigger and far more adaptable by design as well as cheaper to operate with an insane amount more payload capacity. Dream Chaser is perhaps best used as a manned military spy platform due to its limited size.

[walterlyzohub]

The DreamChaser is the closest thing we got to a potential lifeboat from space. I think the only real reason they took so long to launch is from being treated as unimportant. The technology is fine in of itself.

[homelazz]

It will compete directly with Crew Dragon. Will it go?

[johnsadler]

My hat is off for the shield tiles developed by Sierra, I hope they perform well in space!

[jessec]

DreamChaser is one of my favorite things going on!! Been praying it would take off!! I still think you should let me fly the thing and use it to deorbit old satellites and space debris to burn up!!🤷‍♂️

[JohnFoerster-iy]

I am excited for the first launch and landing of the dream chaser! And am praying for a successful completion of this venture, which will ultimately help the United States Space exploration to and from low Earth orbit.