No sooner had the excitement around the first flight into orbit of the commercial ship Dragon subsided when new reports arrived from this area. This time the news concerns the development of the private company SpaceDev. This division of the Sierra Nevada corporation has recently begun testing its Dream Chaser reusable spacecraft.
On May 29, the Dream Chaser made its maiden test flight at NASA's test site near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Brumfield, Colorado. The full-size mock-up of the spacecraft was lifted into the air by a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane helicopter, after which, during an hour's flight, testers tested its aerodynamics in real conditions. Trial "hauls" by helicopter are arranged in order to once again check the aerodynamics of the spacecraft and to work out the control systems in the conditions of the earth's atmosphere. Back in April, the blowing of the Dream Chaser mock-ups in wind tunnels was completed, but now the time has come for real tests of the aircraft's flight performance.
The Dream Chaser program was launched back in 2004 with the goal of creating a cheap and massive alternative to existing shuttles. In addition, private commercial structures were proposed to create a new spacecraft. SpaceDev was selected as the main contractor based on the comparison of preliminary projects. According to the terms of reference, the Dream Chaser spacecraft should enter orbit using the Atlas V launch vehicle, dock with all existing and future spacecraft and descend to earth in the same way as the Space Shuttle. Due to its smaller size and the absence of the need for special equipment for launching into orbit (the Atlas V rocket is maximally unified with the previous Atlas missiles), the cost of delivering cargo and people to orbit will be several times less than that of the available equipment, including shuttles.
Initially, the experimental apparatus X-34 was considered as the basis for the Dream Chaser project. However, just a year after the start of work, the basic design was changed. SpaceDev has handed over the documentation for the HL-20 program. This project of the early 90s pursued exactly the same goals as Dream Chaser, but after several years of work it was closed due to a number of technical and technological problems. SpaceDev engineers took into account all the shortcomings of the previous version of the reusable spacecraft and managed to take their Runner for a Dream out of the design stage. It is noteworthy that the HL-20 and the Dream Chaser that followed it outwardly to a certain extent resemble the Soviet devices of the BOR family, created during the Spiral project. It should be noted that this is not a manifestation of plagiarism or "licking" other people's work. Both the BORs and the Hl-20 were intended for use in similar conditions, which influenced the significant similarity of the outer contours.
During the development of Dream Chaser, SpaceDev's designers faced two major challenges. First, the small size of the spacecraft required a relatively powerful compact engine. Secondly, the same weight and size restrictions have caused certain difficulties in creating a durable, heat-resistant and lightweight body made of composite materials. In October 2010, it was announced that both issues were successfully resolved. So, a new hybrid rocket engine, developed and tested in the middle of the same year, was chosen as the power plant for the Dream Chaser. In addition, the problem with the hull was successfully solved: for this, a combined metal-plastic structure was used.
Since the beginning of 2011, SpaceDev employees, together with NASA, have been preparing for the production of prototypes of the new ship and have been testing mock-ups in wind tunnels. All this made it possible to further improve the design, in particular, according to the results of blowing, it was possible to reduce the thermal loads on some parts of the hull. In April 2012, it was announced that all preliminary tests on mock-ups had been completed and preparations had begun for the next stage of the project. In mid-May, a full-size mock-up of the Dream Chaser was delivered to the NASA Test Center in Colorado. This model is to some extent a prototype: to carry out checks of the control system during flight in the atmosphere, it was equipped with radio control equipment and full-fledged steering equipment. During the first flight, the testers got acquainted with the nuances of the "Runner for a Dream" control and expressed their opinion. According to the available information, in general, the controllability of the device turned out to be good, but a number of points have yet to be improved, which, in an unfortunate combination of circumstances, can lead, among other things, to unpleasant consequences.
The Dream Chaser spacecraft's maiden space flight is now slated for 2015. For the launch, the Atlas V launch vehicle will be used, the development of which is currently coming to an end. In the first orbital flights - they will take place in automatic mode - the new ship will carry cargo (the maximum payload has not yet been named, only the volume of the cargo compartment of 16 cubic meters is known). In the future, if the project is successful, people will board the reusable vehicle: currently it is envisaged to install seven seats for the crew. According to the statements of the representatives of the developer company, the configuration of the cargo-passenger cabin of the Dream Chaser in the future will allow changing the number of transported people and goods, depending on the need. At the same time, during manned flights, there must always be two people on board - the ship's crew itself.
