In his press release, however, NASA said that it is no longer mandatory for a specific number of supply missions.
Who chase defense dollars
In his own statement about the announcement, Sierra Space said that the new approach will offer the more “flexibility” because the company wants to attract national defense contracts.
“Dream Chaser represents the future of versatile space transport and mission flexibility,” said Fatih Ozmen, executive chairman of Sierra Space, in the statement. “This transition offers unique opportunities to meet the needs of various mission profiles, including emerging and existential threats and national security priorities that match our gear in the Defense Technology market.”
Although the NASA press release does not describe that the concerns of the space agency to allow Dream Chaser to approach the station, sources Ars have told that the space agency still needs to certify the drive system of the spacecraft. The spacecraft is powered by more than two dozen small rocket engines, each of which is able to work at three discrete levels of thrust for fine control or more significant track adjustments. Certification is a necessary precursor for allowing a vehicle to approach the track laboratory.
Sierra said that it now focuses on a “late 2026” debut for Dream Chaser, but that date is far enough in the future that it is probably subject to Berger's law, and probably no earlier than 2027. All this except a freight mission at the International Space Station, which is planned to be digested in 2030 and is planned in the course of 2030.
It is possible that Dream Chaser could serve a future market of commercial space stations in a job with a low earth, but to do this, Sierra will have to fly the vehicle reliably, often, and at relatively low costs to compete with Dragon and Cygnus. These are major obstacles for a spacecraft that now lags behind schedule for many years, and has no guaranteed government missions.
