NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement

6 comments

Rate

Anonymous Hero Guru Join Date: May 2006 Location: The 'Space Coast', USA Posts: 11119 Good Answers: 918	NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/09/2015 7:25 AM
	Only 40 years late in its design, but this is what I had always advocated for NASA to do instead of the porky Space Shuttle. Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser. It will use a simple man-rated Atlas V (when that rating is complete) and carries a crew of up to seven astronauts to low-earth orbit. The Dream Chaser is 7m wide and 9m long (23 feet by 30 feet) and is capable of landing at any commercial airport. We should have built this instead of the shuttle and used heavy-lift boosters for large cargo. It would have saved us a huge investment in time and funding. The Dream Chaser is a fully modern SV (space vehicle) using cutting edge composites and avionics. Testing starts 2016.
	Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, vote them!

Usbport Guru Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor Posts: 5363 Good Answers: 647	#1 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/09/2015 8:20 AM
	Everything old is new again. Early on (the early 1960s) NASA and the Air Force had a design called the 'DynoSoar', which was a small lifting-body spacecraft atop a 'conventional' rocket. __________________ Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
	Reply

Usbport Guru Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor Posts: 5363 Good Answers: 647	#2 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/09/2015 8:27 AM
	Otoh, if the Shuttle hadn't been built the repairs to the Hubble spacecraft might not have happened.The 'Canadarm' was instrumental in stabilizing the Hubble and the astronauts while the repairs were made. I don't see these smaller spacecraft having a payload bay nor the ability to support the type of grappling arm needed for the Hubble fixes. __________________ Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
	Reply

James Stewart Guru Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Lubbock, Texas Posts: 14331 Good Answers: 162	#6 In reply to #2 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/14/2015 1:56 PM
	Maybe once the puppy version of this guy is successful, they will go back and "fix" whatever was wrong with the shuttle design, and bring back the Can-arm. __________________ If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just build a better one.
	Reply

lyn Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 42355 Good Answers: 1693	#3 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/09/2015 9:20 AM
	I think the foam dice hanging on the windshield is a nice touch.
	Reply Score 1 for Good Answer

SolarEagle Guru Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: by the beach in Florida Posts: 33392 Good Answers: 1817	#4 In reply to #3 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/09/2015 12:59 PM
	Where's the little hula girl? __________________ All living things seek to control their own destiny....this is the purpose of life
	Reply

bullardrr Power-User Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 373 Good Answers: 2	#5 Re: NASA's Dream Chaser Shuttle Replacement 12/10/2015 11:23 AM
	We did not have the Ozmen's 40 years ago...or a political leader who would have banned them (and many others) as Muslims from entering the US to build enterprises such a SNC, a company that is increasingly important to our national security.
	Reply

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, vote them!

Copy to Clipboard

	Got Something to Say?
	Ask a Question Start a Discussion

	Aerospace
	BioMech & BioMed
	Chemical & Material Science
	Civil Engineering
	Communications & Electronics
	Education and Engineering Careers
	Electrical Engineering
	General Discussion
	Instrumentation
	Manufacturing
	Mechanical Engineering
	New Technologies & Research
	Software & Programming
	Sustainable Engineering
	Transportation

	Site Directories
	Forum Directory Blog Directory User Group Directory RSS Feeds CR4 Rules of Conduct CR4 FAQ Site Glossary Who's Online (69 right now) Show Members