NASA adds mini-shuttle to list of space station shippers

These contracts are a lucrative agreement wherein NASA pays commercial spaceflight companies to fly unmanned cargo deliveries to, and sometimes from, the ISS.

On Thursday, NASA announced the awardees of its second round of Commercial Resupply Services (CRS2) contracts, which will cover cargo deliveries to and from the International Space Station (ISS) from 2017 through 2024.

NASA selected SpaceX and Orbital ATK during the Commercial Resupply Services contracts’ first round, which is called CRS1.

“We’re home within eight to ten hours and we’re off-loading within 30 minutes of landing”, Mark Sirangelo of Sierra Nevada said. This feature of Dream Chaser and general intensification of utilizing ISS decided about choosing Sierra Nevada as third contractor.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, at its Waterton Canyon campus in Jefferson County, is among the local companies that have been directly involved in the Dream Chaser’s development. The company is now using the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket until it solves problems with its own Antares rocket.

SpaceX plans to continue launching the robotic Dragon from Florida on its Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft will be able to land back on Earth, like the shuttle, and bring back science experiments and other items from the station.

Built by Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, the space shuttle-inspired concept was previously rejected by NASA to carry astronauts. Sierra Nevada proposed a cargo version of its Dream Chaser for this round of contracts, and has now finally snagged a winning spot – both boosting the company’s coffers and certifying it as a major player in the private space industry. However, he and his team are focused on retrieving science samples as quickly as possible in order to conduct analysis. The candidates were Orbital ATK, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada.

The first round of CRS contracts (CRS-1) was awarded back in 2008 to Orbital ATK for their Cygnus vehicle and to SpaceX for their Dragon vehicle.

“Today’s announcement is a big deal that will move the president’s vision further into the future”, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, referring to President Barack Obama’s 2010 pledge that NASA would work “with a growing array of private companies competing to make getting to space easier and more affordable”. The contracts, which run through 2024, include at least six missions for each company.

The original contracts exceeded $3 billion. This number, however, was set as part of a government requirement, Shireman said, adding that the actual cost of “the mix of flights that we’re looking at will be nowhere near that value”.

When it comes to the risky business of space flight, it’s better to have more choices, said Kirk Shireman, manager of the space station program.

Shireman would not comment on Boeing’s departure from the competition past year, or other contenders.

The Dream Chaser program — underway for 10 years — is based in Louisville, Colorado. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.