Dream Chaser
Dream Chaser Tenacity at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in 2024 | |
| Manufacturer | Sierra Space |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Operator | NASA |
| Applications | International Space Station (ISS) resupply |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Robotic cargo vehicle version, also Crewed orbital spaceplane version |
| Payload capacity | 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) pressurized, 500 kg (1,100 lb) unpressurized |
| Crew capacity |
|
| Regime | LEO |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Built | 3 |
| Launched | 0 (4 atmospheric tests) |
| Operational | 1 |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | HL-20 Personnel Launch System |
| Launch vehicle | Vulcan Centaur |
Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. Conceived as a crewed vehicle, it is being developed in a cargo configuration known as the Dream Chaser Cargo System for missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services program.
Development of Dream Chaser began in 2004 as a project of SpaceDev, which was acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) in 2008. In 2021, the program was transferred to Sierra Space, a subsidiary spun off from SNC as an independent company.
Dream Chaser is designed for vertical takeoff and horizontal landing, launching atop a Vulcan Centaur rocket and landing on conventional runways. It is capable of carrying both pressurized and unpressurized cargo. A proposed variant for the European Space Agency would launch aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. The first flight of Dream Chaser was originally scheduled for the second flight of Vulcan Centaur but was not ready in time. As of September 2025, the spacecraft's propulsion system and software had not yet been certified by NASA, and the spacecraft's initial mission in late 2026 will no longer dock at the ISS as originally planned.
The Dream Chaser’s design is derived from NASA's HL-20 Personnel Launch System, a lifting-body concept studied in the 1980s and 1990s.