Commercial space company Sierra Space has completed engineering the Dream Chaser spaceplane. Under development since 2004, the craft will be used by NASA to ferry cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS)

Christened “Tenacity,” it will be the only flying runway-capable spacecraft when it lifts off sometime in April 2024 atop a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dream Chaser will operate under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract with a service life of a minimum of 15 missions.

Source: Sierra Space

The winged spaceplane uses propane/nitrous oxide propulsion technology and features silica-based tiles for protection against excessive temperatures encountered during autonomous reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The Dream Chaser can keep reentry acceleration down to 1.5 g, which serves to safeguard critical cargo payloads.

Just like a narrow body commercial airliner, the spaceplane can land at any compatible commercial runway worldwide. The multi-mission platform offers customization options to cater to the needs of both domestic and international clients.