Dream Chaser® Cargo Spaceplane

Dream Chaser® is Sierra Space’s reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. Unlike capsule-based cargo vehicles that splash down in the ocean, Dream Chaser lands on a conventional runway, providing gentler reentry g-forces suitable for delicate science experiments and enabling rapid post-landing cargo recovery.

The spacecraft launches inside a payload fairing atop a conventional launch vehicle and, after completing its ISS resupply mission, autonomously deorbits and glides to a runway landing much like the Space Shuttle. This lifting-body design provides greater reentry precision and lower structural loads than ballistic capsule reentry, while the runway landing capability allows time-sensitive cargo (biological samples, pharmaceutical research payloads) to reach researchers within hours of landing rather than days required for ocean recovery and transport.

Dream Chaser is designed for multiple reuse across numerous missions, contributing to lower per-flight costs over the vehicle’s operational life. The spacecraft’s cargo variant (Dream Chaser Cargo System) carries pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the ISS, with Sierra Space also having developed a crewed variant concept for future human spaceflight applications. The vehicle represents one of only a small number of operational lifting-body spacecraft designs to reach orbital flight readiness.