Sierra Space and the United States Department of Defense Transportation Command to Develop Revolutionary High-Mach Systems for Terrestrial Point-to-Point Delivery
LOUISVILLE, Colo., September 8, 2022 (Sierra Space PR) – Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company at the forefront of creating and building the future of space transportation and infrastructure for low-Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization, announced today the signing of a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Department of Defense’s Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). The two organizations will work together to develop solutions using Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser® spaceplanes, Shooting Star™ cargo modules, and on-orbit infrastructure that provides unique capabilities for precise, cost-effective and timely global delivery of Department of Defense logistics and personnel.
Both parties will collaboratively explore space transportation as a new mode of point-to-point global terrestrial delivery of materiel and personnel, as an alternative and complement to traditional air, land and surface modes for Department of Defense global supply chains. Additionally, the agreement outlines plans to identify current capabilities and maturity of Sierra Space’s space transportation methods, as well as both observed and projected risks, benefits and additional research and development needed as a result.
“Today’s agreement with the United States Transportation Command gives Sierra Space the unique opportunity to provide hypersonic point-to-point solutions to our government customers,” said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “Through Dream Chaser, the world’s first commercial spaceplane, the Shooting Star cargo module and other projects, we are focused on providing unique ultra-high-speed, heavy payload solutions to the Department of Defense for logistics and personnel movement requirements. We plan to leverage these technologies to reach anywhere on the globe within three hours.”
The urgent pace of contested and changing environments and instantaneous sophisticated cyber threats increasingly complicates the traditional distance-driven challenges of on-time worldwide logistics delivery. Considering this environment, this Sierra Space and USTRANSCOM agreement will develop concepts and investigate emerging industry capabilities for projection of forces for immediate employment, and agile transportation options to project and sustain combat forces in complex and contested environments in addition to non-combat activities such as humanitarian relief operations and medical missions.
About Sierra Space
Sierra Space (www.sierraspace.com) is a leading commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space. Sierra Space is building platforms in space to benefit life on Earth. The company is in the latter stages of doubling its headcount, with large presences in Colorado, Florida and Wisconsin. Significant investors in Sierra Space include General Atlantic, Coatue, and Moore Strategic Ventures.
With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, Sierra Space is enabling the future of space transportation with Dream Chaser®, the world’s only winged commercial spaceplane. Under construction at its Colorado headquarters and expected to launch in 2023 on the first of a series of NASA missions to the International Space Station, Dream Chaser® can safely carry cargo – and eventually crew – to on-orbit destinations, returning to land on compatible commercial airport runways worldwide. Sierra Space is also building an array of in-space destinations for low Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization including the LIFE™ (Large Flexible Integrated Environment) habitat at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a three-story commercial habitation and science platform designed for LEO. Both Dream Chaser® and LIFE™ are central components to Orbital Reef, a mixed-use business park in LEO being developed by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, which is expected to be operational by 2027.
14 responses to “Sierra Space and the United States Department of Defense Transportation Command to Develop Revolutionary High-Mach Systems for Terrestrial Point-to-Point Delivery”
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Mobile Infantry dropped from space? *Heinlein intensifies*
Sounds like, but in the real world the Mobile Infantry would be sitting ducks for most of the drop, not to mention what it would take to “space drop” a regiment into battle. In terms of Special Forces the entry would be too visible.
Maybe the military wants the Russians and Chinese to think this is a serious idea so they waste their limited space resources on it.
A Gagarin/Vostok style deployment would not necessarily be all that visible, with the then uncrewed Dreamchaser ditching somewhere at the extent of its crossrange, away from the deployment target. The Dreamchaser could reach an accross-the world target faster (if you don’t count pre-launch prep time) and less noticably than a C-160 or C-17 doing covert HALO drops. SPECOPs wouldn’t drop a whole batallion, just a small team.
Of course the launch prep time, overall mission cost (including expending a Dreamchaser) and slow Dreamchaser build rate would make that wildly impractical.
Sounds like a suborbital intercontinental rocket system that could deliver material or personal aboard the Dream Chaser anywhere on Earth in less than 45 minutes. That’s been talked about by the US military since the 1960s. Maybe this will finally become a reality.
Never say never.
Yes, there appears to be some issues with this concept, you know -finding a runway, not attracting SAMs during decent, getting that expensive vehicle back, and so on.
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This may be a way around the 2 problems that Sierra Space and Space Force would have with a similar funding situation.
Sierra Space needs money to develop Dream Chaser.
The US Military is presently barred from human spaceflight for their own purposes.
But if money is put into Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser for a Point-to_Point ability, then they might be a *lot* nearer to an orbital human space capability for Dream Chaser.
Then, when Space Force pops up with a real need to put *their* personnel into Space for one of several reasons they are not yet interested in talking about, …. then they have a winged backup to Dragon, without relying on StarLiner.
Certain?
No.
Possible?
Yes!
“The US Military is presently barred from human spaceflight for their own purposes”
Not that I don’t believe you (I do), but I’d like to know where this is codified into law.
-Thanks.
It’s not. It is just a myth from the 1960’s when the MOL and X-20 were killed off because recon satellites turned out to be better.
The OST of 1967 does ban military personnel from Celestial Bodies unless they are engaged in peaceful activities like research or exploration, a bow to the Soviet Union whose space activities then were run by the military.
and hey, where’s my jet pack? I was promised a jet pack!
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There are jet packs out there, the only problem is the fuel doesn’t last that long.
No, really?
It’s not codified into law.
They are however, barred from human orbital missions for the same reason I am. Lack of having a suitable vehicle of their own, and lack of budget allocated to obtaining the resources and or services to do it.
By not being sufficiently explicit, I miss-stated that. It is barred by the policy established by the Clinton Administration “Space Architect”, just before the start of their “Harmonization” program between summer 1993 and December, 1997, that reduced competition in the Aerospace industry, by eliminating aerospace firms through mergers. That specific part of the “Space architect”‘s policy has been followed by the current administration in several aspects, with many opponents for any Space Force personnel operating in Space, directly for the Space Command, being still prominent inside the Beltway.