Dream Chaser Won’t Be Ready for ULA’s Vulcan CERT-2 Flight

June 26, 2024
Teams process Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s uncrewed cargo spaceplane, inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, May 20, 2024, following its arrival from the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Dream Chaser Tenacity will eventually undergo final testing and prelaunch processing inside the high bay of the SSPF ahead of its inaugural launch atop a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The reusable transportation system is contracted to perform a minimum of seven cargo missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services to low Earth orbit. Photo: Sierra Nevada
Teams process Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s uncrewed cargo spaceplane, inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, May 20, 2024, following its arrival from the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Dream Chaser Tenacity will eventually undergo final testing and prelaunch processing inside the high bay of the SSPF ahead of its inaugural launch atop a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The reusable transportation system is contracted to perform a minimum of seven cargo missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services to low Earth orbit. Photo: Sierra Nevada

In an announcement today, United Launch Alliance (ULA) stated that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser is off of the second flight of ULA’s Vulcan rocket.

Statement from United Launch Alliance, June 26, 2024

On the X platform today, ULA said “We have been working closely with our current VulcanRocketCert2 customer, Sierra Space, and while ULA will be ready to fly, Sierra Space has shared that they are making excellent progress with Dream Chaser but have schedule risk to fly by that time.”

They added, “Based on this delay and urgent national security needs, we are prioritizing the Cert2 mission to enable certification to launch our first National Security Space mission.

“We plan to fly an inert payload, experiments, and demonstrations the #Cert2 mission.

“We are working with Sierra Space to identify the next available launch date.”

ULA concluded that they are “[A]ware of the heightened threat environment the nation is facing in space and takes seriously the critical responsibility of launching essential National Security Space satellite assets to orbit promptly.”

The move, however, makes a lot of sense for all parties: ULA needs to fly Vulcan a second time successfully to achieve certification from the Department of Defense to fly national security payloads aboard Vulcan. That in turn would allow ULA to fulfill its contracted obligations and to get its backlogged manifest of DoD launches in process.

ULA has received the booster for Vulcan CERT-2, and it is being processed at the company’s facilities in Florida, but it has yet to announce a target launch date for the vehicle.

Vulcan CERT-1 lifts off on January 8, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Vulcan CERT-1 lifts off on January 8, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

For Sierra Space, the move relieves schedule pressure to some degree and allows them time to focus on ensuring that no stones are left unturned in the lead-up to Dream Chaser’s maiden spaceflight. Given that the Tenacity spacecraft that will fly the mission is also planned to be re-used, its critical for Sierra to have a successful launch and landing of the spacecraft.

This article was written by FMN’s Charles Boyer for TalkofTitusville.com

Author

  • I'm a NASA kid originally from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo. My family worked for NASA and/or their contractors, and I watched it all as a kid. And what kid doesn't like rockets? Currently, I am an IT engineer, a recovered R&D scientist that spent time in laser metrology, fiber optic applications and also lightning protection. I'm also a photographer, a writer and a bad musician. My favorite things are space, boating, sports, music and traveling. You can find me on Twitter as @TheOldManPar.

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Last updated on June 26, 2024