Tonight Sept. 17, 2018, at 6:00 pm PDT (9:00 pm EDT), SpaceX will hold an event to lay out the company’s plan to fly a private passenger around the Moon on the next-generation, fully-reusable Big “Falcon” Rocket or BFR. According to SpaceX on Twitter:
“SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle—an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space. Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17.”
Sierra Nevada plans to start delivering cargo to the International Space Station with uncrewed Dream Chaser spaceplanes In 2020. A crew version of the Dream Chaser could fly sometime later in the next decade. Here is a new toy Dream Chaser for kids to start flying today:
SPARKS, Nev., September 17, 2018 – America’s next generation spaceplane will soon be available in stores. Mattel, Inc. toymaker is releasing a Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Dream Chaser spacecraft Matchbox® toy, which will be sold in stores starting in September.
“We are thrilled that Dream Chaser will be inspiring kids everywhere and up close,” said Eren Ozmen, SNC owner, chairwoman and president. “A big part of SNC’s mission is to inspire the next generation of space explorers and innovators. This toy will spark kids’ imaginations, help them dream big and excited them about the possibilities in space.”
The toy will be a part of the Matchbox Sky Busters® line, which showcases America’s best and most groundbreaking aircraft and spacecraft, including NASA’s space shuttle.
The Dream Chaser spacecraft is a reusable and versatile vehicle for low-Earth orbit that is scheduled to service the International Space Station starting in late 2020 for NASA cargo missions under the Commercial Services Resupply 2 (CRS-2) contract 2. The vehicle’s unique winged design and gentle runway landing make it the only spacecraft of its kind in the commercial space industry.
“We hope that America’s future astronauts and engineers who receive a Dream Chaser Matchbox toy will want learn more about math, engineering, science and space exploration,” said Steve Lindsey, vice president of SNC’s Space Exploration Systems and former NASA space shuttle commander. “My curiosity for space started young, and I hope this helps spark the same in any kid who has this toy. There’s just something about a winged spacecraft that spurs the imagination.”
Lindsey commanded three assembly and test missions to the International Space Station, flew on five space shuttle missions for NASA and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Matchbox Dream Chaser toy will be available at retailers including Dollar General and J.C. Penney, along with stores supplied by Darice Global Sourcing.
Dream Chaser prototype landing after flight test in November 2017.
About Dream Chaser Spacecraft: Owned and operated by SNC, the Dream Chaser spacecraft is a reusable, multi-mission space utility vehicle. It is capable of transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station resides, and is the only commercial, lifting-body vehicle capable of a runway landing. The Dream Chaser Cargo System was selected by NASA to provide cargo delivery and disposal services to the space station under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract. All Dream Chaser CRS2 cargo missions are planned to land at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility.
About Sierra Nevada Corporation: Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a trusted leader in solving the world’s toughest challenges through advanced engineering technologies in Space Systems, Commercial Solutions, and National Security and Defense. Honored as one of the most innovative U.S. companies in space, SNC’s Space Systems business area designs and manufactures advanced spacecraft and satellite solutions, space habitats and environmental systems, propulsion systems, precision space mechanisms and subsystems, and SNC’s celebrated Dream Chaser® spacecraft. With 30 years of space heritage working with the U.S. government, commercial customers, and the international market, SNC has participated in more than 450 successful space missions and delivered 4,000+ systems, subsystems and components around the world. For more information, visit www.sncorp.com.
** Paul Wooster of SpaceX talked at the recent Mars Society conference about the company’s plans for sending people to Mars by 2024:
** SpaceX’s Spacesuit, up close and personal – Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, describes SpaceX spacesuits during a recent visit to the company’s HQ in Hawthorne, California:
** What it’s like to fly the Boeing Starliner CST-100 Spaceship – Dodd also recently tried out a Boeing Starliner crew capsule:
** NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine this week gave a strong endorsement of low cost reusable, commercial space transport systems, which can make a robust lunar program affordable:
The astronauts who will fly on the first Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew missions to the International Space Station were introduced by NASA to the public earlier this month (see posting here). On Monday, SpaceX held a press event at the company’s HQ in Hawthorne, California where the astronauts who will fly on the Crew Dragon were presented and the Dragon and other hardware items were shown off as well. Here are some videos about the event:
The non-profit, all-volunteer group Copenhagen Suborbitals today successfully launched their Nexø II rocket from a floating platform in the Baltic Sea. The liquid fueled propulsion system appeared to work well and the rocket returned via parachute for a soft splashdown. Here is a video of the livestream of the event (the launch happens at around 1:35:33):
[ Update: This video shows the rocket’s flight from three cameras on the vehicle:
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The group is working step-by-step towards launching a person to 100 kilometers in a rocket that they will build.
