Designed as a reusable vehicle for both unmanned and manned flight to low earth orbit, the Dream Chaser Space Plane has been transferred to the prime contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, for completion after Lockheed Martin built the pressure hull.
Eren Ozmen, chairwoman and president of SNC, said in a released statement, “It’s an extraordinary engineering and manufacturing accomplishment. Our team has been looking forward to this day for a long time so that we can fully assemble America’s spaceplane in preparation for its first mission for NASA.”
Approximately a quarter of the size of the space shuttle, the Dream Chaser will launch vertically atop a Vulcan rocket and will be able to return and land at any designated airport. It can transport a 5,500-kilogram (112,000 lb.) payload to the International Space Station. Eventually, it will be used to ferry crew members to and from the Space Station.