NASA’s contract overhaul puts Dream Chaser’s ISS future in jeopardy

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NASA has announced significant modifications to its contract with Sierra Space for the Dream Chaser spacecraft, effectively scrapping guaranteed resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and downgrading its debut flight to a standalone orbital demonstration.

This development raises serious questions about whether the long-awaited “baby shuttle” will ever fulfill its original promise of delivering cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

The Dream Chaser, a winged reusable spacecraft designed for atmospheric reentry and runway landings, has been plagued by delays and technical hurdles since its inception. What began as a hopeful contender in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has now been relegated to a free-flying test mission targeted for no earlier than late 2026—likely slipping into 2027—leaving its role in space station operations uncertain.

The roots of Dream Chaser trace back to the early 2000s, evolving from NASA’s HL-20 lifting body concept developed in the 1990s.

In 2008, Sierra Nevada Corporation (now Sierra Space) acquired the design and pitched it for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, securing funding through phases 1 and 2, as well as the Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) stage.

Despite these early investments, Dream Chaser was ultimately passed over in 2014 when NASA selected SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner for crewed missions to the ISS. Sierra Nevada protested the decision with the U.S. Government Accountability Office but lost the appeal.

Undeterred, the company repurposed the spacecraft for cargo operations, proposing it for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract—the same program under which SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft currently operate.

This pivot paid off in 2016, when NASA awarded Sierra Space a minimum of seven resupply flights to the ISS. The contract included firm-fixed-price task orders for four missions, signaling strong agency support.

A milestone came in 2017 with a successful Approach and Landing Test using an Engineering Test Article, demonstrating the vehicle’s glide and landing capabilities and offering a tantalizing preview of commercial winged spacecraft returning to Earth like shuttles of old.

However, as is common in aerospace projects, timelines began to erode. The first ISS mission, initially slated for 2021, was postponed to 2022, then 2023, 2024, and eventually 2025. Early 2024 brought optimism when media tours showcased the first flight-ready vehicle, DC-101 Tenacity, during testing in Ohio.

The spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center in May 2024 for final pre-launch preparations.

**Click here for Dream Chaser articles covering its full development**

Since then, updates have been conspicuously absent. Press conference queries about progress have yielded vague responses, fueling speculation within the space community.

With the ISS scheduled for deorbiting in 2031—just over five years from now—the window for completing the original seven missions was already narrowing.

Following a joint evaluation, NASA and Sierra Space mutually agreed to amend the CRS-2 contract. The key changes include: Removal of the obligation for seven guaranteed resupply flights. Reconfiguration of Tenacity’s demonstration mission from an ISS docking to a free-flying orbital test, allowing the spacecraft to operate independently in Earth’s orbit without approaching the station.

The retention of the option for NASA to order future Dream Chaser resupply missions post-demonstration, though no commitments have been made.

“Development of new space transportation systems is difficult and can take longer than what’s originally planned.  The ability to perform a flight demonstration can be a key enabler in a spacecraft’s development and readiness, as well as offering greater flexibility for NASA and Sierra Space,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program.

“As NASA and its partners look toward space station deorbit in 2030, this mutually agreed to decision enables testing and verification to continue on Dream Chaser, as well as demonstrating the capabilities of the spaceplane for future resupply missions in low Earth orbit.”
NASA’s statement emphasized that the shift prioritizes Sierra Space’s development needs, enabling data collection in a lower-risk environment. Potential underlying reasons for the modification, based on industry insights, include:

Ongoing development challenges at Sierra Space are hindering readiness for flight. Concerns over the timely certification processes required for ISS operations. NASA’s reluctance to allow an unproven vehicle near the station, especially given the need for rigorous safety standards in proximity to crewed habitats.

While Sierra Space has not publicly detailed the issues, the company’s determination to fly Dream Chaser for learning purposes may have clashed with NASA’s risk-averse approach to ISS missions.

“Dream Chaser represents the future of versatile space transportation and mission flexibility,” said Fatih Ozmen, Executive Chair at Sierra Space. “This transition provides unique capabilities to meet the needs of diverse mission profiles, including emerging and existential threats and national security priorities that align with our acceleration into the Defense Tech market.

“Together with NASA, we are seeking to preserve the exceptional potential of Dream Chaser as a national asset, ensuring its readiness for the next era of space innovation.”

NASA’s non-committal stance—”we might potentially order resupply missions if needed”—offers little reassurance Dream Chaser will ever visit the ISS, especially with established players like Dragon and Cygnus reliably handling ISS cargo for over 15 years.

Looking ahead, opportunities could arise with emerging commercial space stations. Sierra Space is contributing hardware to Orbital Reef, a project led by Blue Origin, but its timeline remains fluid amid broader industry uncertainties.

Even if Dream Chaser doesn’t dock with a station, advocates hope the free-flyer demo will at least get it off the ground, preserving a fan-favorite design that harkens back to the Space Shuttle era.

Feature image via Max Evans for NSF.

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