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...

[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

[MartG]

Now THIS I would like to see !

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

[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

[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

[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

[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.

[MartG]

Test flying to recommence

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/06/sierra-nevad...

[MartG]

Approval to land at Alabama airport given by FAA

https://www.space.com/faa-huntsville-airport-dream...