CO-based commercial space firm to land in New Mexico

Colorado-based Sierra House plans to land a few of its Dream Chaser flights in New Mexico, after the corporate introduced on Tuesday it signed an settlement with Spaceport America.

Situated in southern New Mexico and recognized for its anchor tenant Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America is among the latest runways throughout the globe the place the Dream Chaser can land effectively, Sierra House stated in a information launch. The runway at Spaceport America is 200 ft vast and 12,000 ft lengthy.

“Spaceport America is enormously proud to mix efforts with Sierra House,” Spaceport America Government Director Scott McLaughlin stated within the launch. “As a possible touchdown web site for the Dream Chaser spaceplane, we’ll proceed to open inexpensive entry to area for all in the US and the world. We’re excited to develop the partnership and dealing relationship with Sierra House.”

The Dream Chaser is a “area utility car” that’s meant to serve a number of missions and is designed for the transportation of crew and cargo in low-Earth orbit.

At present, Sierra House’s Dream Chaser has a contract with NASA that begins in 2023 for cargo provide and return missions to ship as much as 12,000 kilos of cargo at one time to the Worldwide House Station. Sierra House stated its Dream Chaser spacecraft is the one business spacecraft able to low-gravity earth return to appropriate business runways.

“Sierra House is constructing the way forward for area – from transportation, to business area locations and all the rising purposes – to develop a vibrant, rising and accessible business area financial system,” Sierra House CEO Tom Vice stated in an announcement. “With that imaginative and prescient in thoughts, we’re creating space-tech hubs throughout the business area ecosystem and including Spaceport America as a potential touchdown web site for Dream Chaser to proceed to open up inexpensive entry to area for all.”

Sierra House just lately launched an astronaut coaching program led by a former NASA astronaut to steer a crewed model of Dream Chaser, in response to the outlet SpaceNews. The corporate in February additionally signed agreements with Kanematsu Corp. and Oita Prefecture to check future landings at an airport in Japan for the Dream Chaser spacecraft.