NASA & World Space Exploration...News, Views, Photos & videos

Quickie said:

Notice what the liferaft is carrying? Is it some kind of joke?

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Not intended to be. SLS Orion are "Supposed to be" used for long duration space flight to the Moon and beyond. As such the Astronauts are farther supposed to be there beyond 6 months at a time. That duration of space flight means that there legs would be atrophied and bones often have degrees of osteoporosis.
If you ever see footage of Russian Soyuz returns the recovery team often sets up lawn chairs and physical remove the Cosmonauts from the craft. This is because of long duration space flight in micro gravity.

TerraN_EmpirE said:

Not intended to be. SLS Orion are "Supposed to be" used for long duration space flight to the Moon and beyond. As such the Astronauts are farther supposed to be there beyond 6 months at a time. That duration of space flight means that there legs would be atrophied and bones often have degrees of osteoporosis.
If you ever see footage of Russian Soyuz returns the recovery team often sets up lawn chairs and physical remove the Cosmonauts from the craft. This is because of long duration space flight in micro gravity.

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I was referring to the Alien-like skull.

Is there a problem with Able seamen Mork?

Not the seamen.

The alien-like skull of the human figure in the liferaft.

NANU NANU!

'Dream Chaser' Cargo Plane For Space Gets Nod Of Approval From NASA



NASA has greenlighted the full-scale production of the commercial space cargo plane that will deliver supply to the International Space Station.

Dream Chaser Cargo Plane Gets The Go-Ahead

Sierra Nevada Corporation announced that it has completed its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract called Integrated Review 4 and, therefore, has been cleared to assemble the Dream Chaser. The cargo plane is scheduled to have its first mission in 2020.SNC is one of the three private companies alongside SpaceX and Orbital ATK to win the CRS-2 contract from NASA in January 2016.

"NASA's acknowledgment that SNC has completed this critical milestone and its approval of full production of the first Dream Chaser spacecraft is a major indication we are on the right path toward increasing vital science return for the industry," the program director of the company, John Curry, stated.

"IR4 was a series of reviews, documentation, and data deliverables that are the culmination of many years of design work, analysis, and development testing," explained SNC co-owner and chief executive Faith Ozmen. "This comprehensive review approved moving the Dream Chaser program into the production phase so we can get Dream Chaser to market as a critical space station resupply spacecraft as soon as possible."



Delivering Cargo To The ISS

The Dream Chaser was initially designed for the Commercial Crew Program that aimed to fly astronauts from U.S. grounds to the ISS. However, NASA instead favored the designs from Boeing and SpaceX, awarding each with multibillion-dollar contracts. SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner are scheduled to launch next year.

SNC redesigned the Dream Chaser into a cargo plane, adding foldable wings. It can carry up to 5,500 kilograms of cargo to the ISS and then 1,850 kilograms of cargo back to Earth in a runway landing.

The Dream Chaser is the only cargo plane among the three chosen by NASA that can make runway landings and, therefore, theoretically land at any large-scale commercial airports anywhere in the world.

The cargo plane can also collect up to 3,400 kg of waste from the ISS and burn it in the atmosphere.

bd popeye said:

The cargo plane is scheduled to have its first mission in 2020

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As much as I love the ISS and this cargo plane, given there is no clear plan to keep the ISS in orbit after 2024, I am wondering why build this?

subotai1 said:

As much as I love the ISS and this cargo plane, given there is no clear plan to keep the ISS in orbit after 2024, I am wondering why build this?

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For post-ISS American space station perhaps. Although NASA does not have any plan today, companies like Bigelow does (Genesis II, the big inflatable).

There are a number of potential missions and at the moment there doesn't seem to be a follow on mission so it seems likely that the ISS may receive a reprieve and some form of life extension.
Additional Dreamchaser has been looked at for its own missions. Like docking with space telescopes for repair missions.

By the logic of "why build this" also keep in mind it's 2019 yet the U.S. is still buying seats on Russian Soyuz flights. So why buy Commercial space flights on Dragon and Starliner if it's only going to be for 5 years? Because at least we have a space program again.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Arabsat 6A rocket launch



SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Arabsat 6A lifts off from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., April 12, 2019. This flight marks the second launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket; the most powerful space vehicle flying today. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lieutenant Alex Preisser)

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SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Arabsat 6A rocket leaves the Earth's atmosphere after launching from Space Launch Complex 39A on April 12, 2019 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. This marks the second launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket; the most powerful space vehicle flying today. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lieutenant Alex Preisser)

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Two reusable rocket boosters land after the successful launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Arabsat 6A on April 12, 2019 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. This marks the second launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket; the most powerful space vehicle flying today. (U.S. Air Force photo by James Rainier)