May 31, 2012

Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 candrea k thomas@nasa gov

Trent J Perrotto Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0321 trent j perrotto@nasa gov

Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems Louisville, Colo 720-407-3193 media ssg@sncorp com

RELEASE: 12-180

NASA'S COMMERCIAL CREW PARTNER SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION COMPLETES DREAM CHASER FLIGHT TEST MILESTONE

LOUISVILLE, Colo -- Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems successfully completed a "captive carry test" of its full-scale Dream Chaser orbital crew vehicle Tuesday, marking a new milestone in the company's effort to develop transportation for astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station

During the test, the Dream Chaser flight vehicle was carried under an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter to assess the vehicle's aerodynamic flight performance, which will allow additional flight tests in the future The helicopter flew for approximately an hour near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Jefferson County, Colo

SNC is one of several companies working to develop commercial crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which is helping spur innovation and development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles from the commercial industry

"This is a very positive success for the Dream Chaser team and their innovative approach," NASA CCP Program Manager Ed Mango said "I applaud and encourage the designers and engineers to continue their efforts in meeting the objectives of the rest of their CCDev2 milestones "

The Dream Chaser is designed to carry as many as seven astronauts to space It is the only spacecraft under CCDev2 that is winged and designed to land on a conventional runway Data from the test will provide SNC an early opportunity to evaluate and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations in preparation for approach and landing tests scheduled for later this year

"The successful captive carry flight test of the Dream Chaser full scale flight vehicle marks the beginning of SNC's flight test program, a program that could culminate in crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA," said Steve Lindsey, former NASA astronaut and head of Dream Chaser's flight operations for SNC

Additional milestones leading up to the test included evaluating the performance of the main landing gear selected for use on the Dream Chaser flight vehicle, an interface test to demonstrate the release mechanism between the spacecraft prototype and the heavy-lift helicopter, and a thorough flight test readiness review with engineers, technical experts and representatives from SNC and NASA Another milestone evaluated the separation system compatibility of Dream Chaser with its initial launch vehicle, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, which would be used to release the spacecraft from the rocket's second stage after it has placed the spacecraft into low Earth orbit

All of NASA's industry partners, including SNC, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities

For more video and images of the test flight, and more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www nasa gov/commercialcrew

For more information on Sierra Nevada Space Systems, visit:

http://www SNCspace com

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/STS_ISS_STATUS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]