Chasing the dream

Losing the NASA contract last September could have killed development on Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC)’s Dream Chaser lifting-body, runway-landing-capable spacecraft. But it didn’t. Even after losing an appeal on NASA’s decision to give Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts to Boeing and SpaceX, plans and funding for the Dream Chaser continue. NASA recently awarded SNC an additional milestone under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Space Act Agreement, which will further demonstrate the advancement of the Dream Chaser space system toward critical design review. Also, the Dream Chaser has been in the news regularly for attracting new partners, expanding missions, and reaching design milestones.

Designed for crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS) and other human spaceflight operations in low Earth orbit, the Dream Chaser has been under development in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program since 2010. An atmospheric test vehicle already has demonstrated landing options, and an orbital vehicle being built is slated for a 2018 launch.

Mark Sirangelo is corporate vice president of SNC’s Space Systems, a producer of satellites, space transportation vehicles, propulsion systems, and space sub-systems. He agreed to answer a few questions for Aerospace Manufacturing and Design on the present and future of the Dream Chaser and SNC’s commercial space activities.
 

Q. SNC is pursuing other options with the Dream Chaser, such as science and commercial low Earth orbit applications. Could you describe that activity?

A. SNC has been actively engaged with a number of partners over the past several years addressing applications of the Dream Chaser spacecraft beyond the NASA crew and cargo missions. Previously announced agreements to cooperate on application of new technologies and development of alternative Dream Chaser missions include the European Space Agency (ESA), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), and Vulcan Aerospace.

In addition to these ongoing efforts, we are currently drafting agreements with other national space agencies and commercial companies. We also have an agreement, which was recently expanded, with the Houston Airport System to cooperate on economic development opportunities based on using the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Field as a Dream Chaser landing site. There are a number of international airports interested in similar agreements. These agreements range from crew transport and servicing missions to uncrewed science and space debris removal missions.
 

Q. What is unique about the Dream Chaser design?

A. We looked at it and asked, “How could we be different?” We created a vehicle that can be reconfigured from autonomous to crewed. We can come home from the space station within 6 to 10 hours to a runway near you.

We also looked at opening up our flexibility where we can land – we are a green vehicle. We have no hazardous materials onboard. Our fuels are ethanol and nitrous oxide – alcohol and laughing gas. The real value of that is it allows us to come home to commercial airports anywhere in the world. We can land any place a [Boeing] 737 can land.
 

Q. What is the role of the broader aerospace supply chain in commercial space projects?

A. We made a decision early on that we were going to take a certain group of tasks and do them ourselves, but we were going to be more than half outsourced. Instead of recreating every part and every system, we asked, “Does it exist somewhere?” and “Who can do it?” The Dream Chaser vehicle is about 60% outsourced. We do all the design and assembly, but the supply chain is significant. It is made up of large companies such as Lockheed Martin, but about 9% is made up of women-owned, or minority-owned small companies. We span the gamut, because there are some areas where we could get better cost efficiencies by going to smaller companies.
 

Q. Will smaller manufacturers need specific skills to participate in commercial spaceflight?

A. Working with composites is fairly well known, but what isn’t yet fully developed is the design of composites with complex shapes – the curves and the angles – and the ability to build them consistently to the same quality. And knowing the stresses of space flight and what they do to composites.
 

Q. What is the role of your software provider?

A. SNC’s Space Systems has been using Siemens design tools for more than a decade for satellite development, initially using IDEAS toolset and migrating to Siemens NX toolset. For the Dream Chaser program, SNC benchmarked various CAD software toolsets, comparing them on efficiency, implementation, and cost, and found the Siemens tools to be superior overall. SNC continues to use the Siemens NX toolset for Dream Chaser development and for our satellite design efforts.

Siemens have done hugely complex projects that require breaking ground in areas that have never been done before and with a global reach. Having access to that type of knowledge and partnership only makes us better. I have a huge network of people who can help me solve problems.

In our world, solving problems is critical. We can’t support a failure. I have to make it perfect. To do that, you get access to the smartest, best people in the world who are professionals and expert in each area; in Siemens’ case, the ability to do management and design software.

Of our network of dozens of companies, more than half of them use Siemens software as well. That was part of the motivation: to be able to have people communicate well between each other. So having some common ground is useful. We knew that most of the people we work with either know or use the software.

We have to imagine every possible contingency that could happen. We’ve learned how important it is to be as predictable and adaptable as possible. One of the strengths of Siemens software is its ability to answer that need – and to grow, to flex, and to be used in many different configurations for many different purposes.
 

Q. What is unique about Colorado’s aerospace industry?

A. It probably would surprise most people how active Colorado is in space exploration. Colorado is home to more than 150 pure-play aerospace companies, and many more that provide products to those companies.

Many of our subcontractors on the Dream Chaser program are located in Colorado, including Lockheed Martin Space Systems, which is providing the composite structure for our spacecraft and United Launch Alliance, which is providing us the Atlas V launch vehicle.

Colorado is also home to Spaceport Colorado, envisioned to be America’s hub for commercial space transportation and research and development. Given the strong aerospace program at the University of Colorado in Boulder, we are also seeing growth in new aerospace business start-ups and growth in commercial space equity investors. We believe commercial spaceflight will have a continually growing role and economic impact, and may someday dominate U.S activities in space.
 

Q. What do you see as the commercial future in space?

A. We like to talk about the use of low Earth orbit. While we’re building a spaceship that can do all these great things, what we’re really doing is enabling the next generation of major data and major change in the way we think of data. We’re facilitating the people who are going to write the apps for our satellites and spaceships.

We’re in the early stage of being able to completely change the parameter of information from space that will be used in ways that we haven’t even thought of, and the people who will take that data and take what we’re doing and apply it is the next generation of designers and the next generation of users. That’s not theoretical. That’s happening. We’re building the satellites now that will do these kinds of things.
 

Based in Louisville, Colorado, Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems designs and manufactures advanced spacecraft, space vehicles, rocket motors, and spacecraft subsystems and components for the U.S. government, commercial customers, and the international market. With more than 25 years of space heritage, SNC’s Space Systems has participated in more than 400 successful space missions through the delivery of more than 4,000 systems, subsystems, and components for NASA and other clients.

Sierra Nevada Corp. Space Systems
www.sncspace.com

Siemens PLM Software
www.plm.automation.siemens.com

About the author: Eric Brothers is senior editor of Aerospace Manufacturing and Design and can be reached at 216.393.0228 or ebrothers@gie.net.