Dream Chaser

Space company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is developing the Dream Chaser, a sleek reusable spacecraft thats meant to shuttle cargo to and from the International Space Station and beyond and it looks like a sleek version of the space agencys classic Space Shuttle.

A test version of the spacecrafts 15-foot cargo module, called Shooting Star, is already on its way to NASAs Kennedy Space Center for testing, according to a press release. The companys Dream Chaser is under contract with NASA to launch six times to the ISS in the fall of 2021, carrying a total of 10,000 pounds of pressurized and unpressurized payloads inside its cargo module.

The contract follows Boeing and SpaceXs attempts to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS in the coming years.

SNCs spacecraft is extremely versatile: it will have the ability to dispose of its cargo upon re-entry into the Earths atmosphere, offloading the space stations unwanted material. Thanks to a specialized self-inflating module attachment, Dream Chaser can even turn itself into an orbital satellite. Like the Space Shuttle, itll land on a runway.

SNC has big plans in store for Dream Chaser. It wants the spacecraft to support other missions in low-Earth orbit and even as far as NASAs planned Lunar Gateway, an outpost in the Moons orbit.

READ MORE: SNCs Dream Chaser spacecraft can supply NASAs lunar space station and become its own orbital platform [Tech Crunch]

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NASA Will Test Beautiful Spaceship That Looks Like Space Shuttle - Futurism