SNC Dreamchaser

[MartG]

I couldn't find a dedicated thread for this....

SNC are planning on delivering a test airframe to NASA in August

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/sierra-nevada-corp-dr...

[Crush]

I remember seeing the design back when I was at school. Still looks futuristic now

Quite exciting times with all the new spacecraft being designed.

[MartG]

Yes - nothing for years, then four come along at once in the US alone

[MartG]

SNC's Dreamchaser passing the HL-10 as it arrives at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center for testing

[XM5ER]

Crush said:

I remember seeing the design back when I was at school. Still looks futuristic now

Quite exciting times with all the new spacecraft being designed.

I remember Steve Austin crashing it on TV every week and back then they had the money to rebuild him.

[Eric Mc]

A snip at $6 million.

[Beati Dogu]

More here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=132...

[MartG]

Now THIS I would like to see !

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/space-o...

[Eric Mc]

Not a hope in hell of that happening by 2019.

Reminds me of the tentative plans NASA had of getting a Shuttle to Skylab in 1978.

[MartG]

At least they have a bit longer to plan a mission thanks to the height of Hubble's orbit - not expected to deorbit until 2030-2040

[Eric Mc]

I think SpaceX, Boeing or even Orion/SLS would have a better chance of carrying out such a mission.

Indeed, I was wondering if rescue/repair missions to the James Web Telescope would be possible with Orion/SLS.

[MartG]

Eric Mc said:

Indeed, I was wondering if rescue/repair missions to the James Web Telescope would be possible with Orion/SLS.

JWST hasn't been designed for on-orbit repair or servicing. Due to its orbit NASA planners felt that it was unlikely to receive a servicing mission, and designing it to be serviced would have inflated the budget even further and possibly led to cancellation

[Eric Mc]

I was aware that the JWT has not been designed with in orbit maintenance in mind. That doesn't mean that a repair might not be attempted - if needs be. It would be highly unlikely, of course

The question I was asking however was, could it be reached by an SLS/Orion mission?

[annodomini2]

MartG said:

Now THIS I would like to see !

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/space-o...

It's a headline grabber, will never happen.

While I personally love the concept of keeping Hubble alive, it's a dangerous mission for those involved, even when The Space Shuttle was used.

Using a new system with limited testing, not to mention lacking the capabilities the Shuttle had.

Hubble was designed around the shuttle (for all it's faults), this is not designed for this kind of mission.

Additionally the crews who did the Hubble servicing previously will probably be retired, so lots of unknowns for the crew.

[Eric Mc]

They'll have to bring Mike Massimino out of retirement.

[MartG]

annodomini2 said:

Additionally the crews who did the Hubble servicing previously will probably be retired, so lots of unknowns for the crew.

The same unknowns as for previous servicing crews - who simply used various simulators to become familiar with the servicing tasks required of them

[Eric Mc]

Hmm - not so straightforward. The Space Shuttle had lots of kit in the cargo bay specially designed to capture and hold Hubble steady - and then release it safely and accurately. This included the robot arm.

I don't think Dreamchaser is big enough to have this level of technology on board.

I can't see it happening - at least not within ten years.

[MartG]

Eric Mc said:

The Space Shuttle had lots of kit in the cargo bay specially designed to capture and hold Hubble steady - and then release it safely and accurately.

Try flipping things around a little

The Shuttle massed about 100 tonnes on orbit, while Hubble masses 11 tonnes, so Hubble was captured and held to a fixing in the Shuttle cargo bay.

Dreamchaser will mass around 9 tonnes plus up to 5 tonnes of cargo ( cargo would probably be much less than max on a Hubble servicing mission due to the altitude needed ) so it will be more a case of Dreamchaser needing to attach itself to Hubble. The much lower masses involved means a less robust and lighter attachment system can be used.

[Eric Mc]

The mass of Hubble won't be much different. And it certainly would be difficult for a Dreamchaser to manipulate the telescope.

What about work stations for the astronauts? The Shuttle used the Canadarm (RMS) extensively when working on Hubble to allow the astronauts to get at the different areas that needed maintenance. Could they get an RMS plus all the necessary replacement kit (Hubble repairs usually meant bringing up replacement components).

I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but the mission would need to be conducted in a very different way to a Shuttle flight to the Hubble. And I think they would need a good few flights of Dreamchaser before they would be ready to try something so ambitious.

That's why I referred to the plans to have the Shuttle rendezvous with Skylab. That would probably have been far too ambitious for a very early Shuttle flight. Indeed, in 1978, they hadn't even finalised the design of the Shuttle EVA suit.

What EVA facilities does Dreamchaser have and who's suits do they plan to use?

[AshVX220]

Eric Mc said:

They'll have to bring Mike Massimino out of retirement.

He's too busy making episodes of The Big bang Theory!