SSC Demo-1

SSC Demo-1, also known as Dream Chaser Demo-1, is the planned first flight of the Sierra Space robotic resupply spacecraft Dream Chaser to the International Space Station (ISS) under the CRS-2 contract with NASA. The demonstration mission is planned for launch no earlier than the third quarter of 2025.

SSC Demo-1

Dream Chaser Tenacity and its Shooting Star cargo module undergoing testing
Names	Dream Chaser Demo-1
Mission type	Flight test, ISS resupply
Operator	Sierra Nevada Corporation
Website	sierraspace.com/dream-chaser-spaceplane
Mission duration	45 days (planned)[1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Dream Chaser Tenacity
Spacecraft type	Dream Chaser
Manufacturer	Sierra Nevada Lockheed Martin
Start of mission
Launch date	NET Q3 2025
Rocket	Vulcan Centaur VC4L[a][2]
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC‑41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
End of mission
Landing site	Kennedy, SLF Runway 15/33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.6°
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port	Harmony nadir or Unity nadir
Commercial Resupply Services ← CRS SpX-31 CRS SpX-32 → Dream Chaser flights ← Drop Test 2 CRS-1 →

In April 2021 the Dream Chaser division of the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) was spun-off, creating the fully independent Sierra Space Corporation (SSC), which assumed full oversight over the Dream Chaser program. The company developed a new reusable spacecraft to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS), based on decades of lifting body programs. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, the company designed Dream Chaser with industrial partner Lockheed Martin.

The company also designed the accompanying Shooting Star cargo module with subcontractor Applied Composites.^[3] At the end of mission, the Shooting Star will destructively reenter the atmosphere and the Dream Chaser will land at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.

Spacecraft

The Dream Chaser Cargo System will fly cargo resupply missions to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 program. This system features the Shooting Star, an expendable cargo module with solar panels, and the Dream Chaser, a reusable lifting body capable of returning 1,750 kg (3,860 lb) of pressurized cargo to Earth while undergoing maximum re-entry forces of 1.5 g.^[4][5]

The Dream Chaser design is derived from NASA's HL-20 Personnel Launch System spaceplane concept from the 1990s, which in turn is descended from over 20,000 hours and six decades of experimental lifting body vehicles, including the X-20 Dyna-Soar, Northrop M2-F2, Northrop M2-F3, Northrop HL-10, Martin X-24A and X-24B, and Martin X-23 PRIME.^[6][7][8][9]

The vehicle to be used in SSC Demo-1 is named Tenacity.^[10][11] The Shooting Star carries pressurized and unpressurized cargo, and serves as the power supply for the Dream Chaser.^[5] The Shooting Star will have a cargo capacity of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb). Its design is similar to the Exoliner cargo container shown in Lockheed Martin's Jupiter proposal for NASA's CRS-2.

Mission

SSC Demo-1 is the Dream Chaser demonstration mission under the Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract with NASA. Production and integration of the Dream Chaser spacecraft is performed in Texas, Colorado, and Florida. The Dream Chaser is mated with the Shooting Star at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Colorado and Houston, Texas. Sierra Nevada selected ULA's Vulcan Centaur as its launch vehicle for this Demo-1 mission and the six contracted NASA CRS-2 missions.^[12][13][14]

See also

• Orbital-D1 – First Cygnus demonstration flight to dock to ISS
• SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 – First SpaceX demonstration flight to dock to ISS
• Dream Chaser Tenacity

Notes

1. VC4L designates that this is a Vulcan Centaur with four solid rocket boosters and a long payload fairing.