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After decades of dreams, a commercial spaceplane is almost ready to fly

  • Web Diva
    Leader
    November 4, 2023 8:56 AM PDT
    Space flight on a spaceplane anyone? Not yet, but it looks like technology is coming together bridging the possibilities of a spaceplane that can land on a runway like a plane rather than plunging to earth. Meet the Dream Chaser created by Sierra Space.

    [url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/11/after-decades-of-dreams-a-commercial-spaceplane-is-almost-ready-to-fly/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us]https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/11/after-decades-of-dreams-a-commercial-spaceplane-is-almost-ready-to-fly/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us


    Dream Chaser is about a quarter of the size of a space shuttle orbiter, with roughly half of the shuttle's habitable volume. It's about 30 feet (9 meters) long, with a wingspan of 23 feet (7 meters). Those wings foldup, like the wings of a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier, to fit inside the payload envelope of its rocket. The first Dream Chaser missions will lift off on United Launch Alliance Vulcan rockets from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but Sierra Space says its spaceplane can fly on different launch vehicles.
  • Mark Ransome
    November 13, 2023 11:42 AM PST
    Great article! Very interesting read, I especially like the photos showing some of the internal workings and on the assembly line. It's also interesting that it uses hydrogen peroxide propellant which I think is also used in Jet Packs. I can't wait to see the people carrying version, awesome!
  • Web Diva
    Leader
    November 13, 2023 2:54 PM PST
    Mark Ransome said: Great article! Very interesting read, I especially like the photos showing some of the internal workings and on the assembly line. It's also interesting that it uses hydrogen peroxide propellant which I think is also used in Jet Packs. I can't wait to see the people carrying version, awesome! I thought it was a fun article too. I was actually in East Texas at the time the space shuttle Columbia crashed in 2003. The space shuttle Challenger was also a disaster in 1986. It will be a truly amazing day when spaceplanes can actually land on a run way coming from space. It's amazing the chemicals they can use to make things operate beyond the use of fuel. Who knew hydrogen peroxide could be so powerful?
  • Geffers G
    November 19, 2023 1:10 AM PST
    Challenger and Columbia were so sad, Challenger more so as the TV coverage for Christa McAuliffe's flight captured the public's interest. When one thinks how many have died in aircraft development it is a wonder there have not been more space disasters. I wonder how much of Star Trek will come true, will we achieve the speed of light (Warp factor 1 in Star Trek I believe)? Geffers

  • Web Diva
    Leader
    November 19, 2023 4:26 PM PST
    Geffers G said: Challenger and Columbia were so sad, Challenger more so as the TV coverage for Christa McAuliffe's flight captured the public's interest. When one thinks how many have died in aircraft development it is a wonder there have not been more space disasters. I wonder how much of Star Trek will come true, will we achieve the speed of light (Warp factor 1 in Star Trek I believe)? Geffers

    It was heart breaking to see the shuttles crash with the crew. So much lost hope. Oh, indeed, so many have perished on behalf of aviation development and testing. On space disasters, maybe the development is so complex that actually getting technology off of the ground into space is a whole other challenge and we've seen less disastors? Didn't spaceX have a crash the other day, or rather explosion, I think? Glad that's all unmanned right now. Have you seen the movie Aviator about Howard Hughes? I didn't realize he was not only a pilot but an aviation engineer. We really enjoyed it and found it interesting.
  • Web Diva
    Leader
    November 19, 2023 4:30 PM PST

    Here's the trailer to the Aviator movie.

  • Web Diva
    Leader
    November 19, 2023 4:31 PM PST
    K, that post won't format right with the text and video....I give up!
  • Mark Ransome
    November 20, 2023 2:03 AM PST
    K, that post won't format right with the text and video....I give up! Re-formatted for you!
  • Geffers G
    November 20, 2023 3:42 AM PST
    Yes, I have seen Aviator, Howard Hughes was brilliant. I think he suffered psychological problems in later life, sad.

    Geffers
  • Mark Ransome
    November 20, 2023 9:44 AM PST
    Yes he did, to quote from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes);

    Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.