NASA’s Next-Generation Spaceplane Passes Free Flight Test

It’s called the Dream Chaser, a reusable spaceplane that will one day transport cargo and crews to the International Space Station. For the past ten years, the Sierra Nevada Corporation and NASA have been developing and testing this next-generation space vehicle. When it is ready, this vehicle will not only provide a more cost-effective way of servicing the ISS, it will also help restore domestic launch capability to the United States.

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And the difference between this and a space shuttle is?

mollwollfumble said:

And the difference between this and a space shuttle is?

Wasn’t the above a military secret project

mollwollfumble said:

And the difference between this and a space shuttle is?

Smaller?

I’d like to see the wings come down another 5 degrees.
Even with the body wing configuration I don’t think they’ve got enough lift or wing area to wash off velocity if they come in at too hot from a less than satisfactory re-entry burn.
Apart from that I think they’ve got a good practical vehicle there and with a few modifications will serve them well long into the future.

Cymek said:

mollwollfumble said:

And the difference between this and a space shuttle is?

Wasn’t the above a military secret project

That’s another craft, the experimental X-37B U.S. Air Force space plane built by Boeing.

This one, the Dream Chaser is built by Sierra Nevada Corporation and NASA.