This is the legacy site of Aerospace Perceptions, and is no longer updated.
Aerospace Perceptions has a new home with some great new features.
The new website is easily reached via AerospacePerceptions.com
I hope to see you there!
Friday, June 14, 2024
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
AEROSPACE PERCEPTIONS takes wing!
In the winter-spring lull before the 2024 air show season
ramps up, Aerospace Perceptions is taking advantage of the downtime for a
complete retooling of the website.
As a former IT system architect, I have teamed up with senior
developer Travis Finlayson in pursuit of a vastly improved Aerospace
Perceptions experience.
Under the covers, the website will reside on a completely different
technical foundation, improving performance and reliability.
From a user experience perspective, the website will have a
fresh, cleaner interface. It will be a more conducive home to new aerospace
content, AP posts of the past, and an all-new gallery feature.
Stay tuned – the Aerospace Perceptions re-launch is just over the horizon!
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Long Time Coming
With Aerospace Perceptions delving into the realms of both aviation and spaceflight, Sierra Space have hit the sweet spot in interest with their Dream Chaser program – a lifting-body spaceplane. But it’s been a long time coming.
How long? It reminds me of when I was writing a book about early
aerodynamic programs in motorsports. I went to interview several
aerodynamicists at Chrysler’s headquarters who had previously worked at the company’s
missile division in Alabama. When I arrived, I had to cool my heels because the
wind tunnel was hosting several models that needed to be hidden – vehicles planned
for five to ten years in the future.
The initial Dream Chaser concept, with a certain other well-known spaceplane in the background. Image: Sierra Space
When I covered STS-135 in 2011 – the final flight of the Space
Shuttle orbiter Atlantis and the conclusion of that entire program – Sierra Nevada
Corporation had a presence at Kennedy Space Center’s media operations with an
early concept design of their Dream Chaser spaceplane. The spin-off Sierra
Space Corporation was formed in 2021, and here we are now, just over a dozen years from the
STS-135 mission. Dream Chaser is finally on the horizon of an actual mission.
An operation conception of Tenacity in orbital action. Image: Sierra Space
To get to this point it took tenacity, and that’s exactly
the name Sierra Space chose for its first operational spaceplane, following up
on engineering test vehicles. Tenacity - officially designated DC-101
Tenacity – was completed in November 2023.
Tenacity nearing completion of the vehicle construction
phase. Photo: Sierra Space
Tenacity’s first voyage will be one that is earthbound, from
Sierra Space’s Colorado headquarters to Ohio’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility.
There the vehicle will undergo a series of environmental tests to prove its space-worthiness.
If all goes well, Tenacity will then initiate Dream Chaser
space operations later this year as a cargo vehicle, supplying the International
Space Station. Launched into orbit via a Vulcan Centaur rocket developed by
United Launch Alliance, Tenacity will then return to earth upon completion of
the ISS resupply, making use of its unique design to land on a conventional
runway.
The planned crew configuration of a Dream Chaser Space System vehicle. The latest designs depict this DC-200 series spacecraft without the front windows seem in earlier conceptions. Image: Sierra Space
The planned near-future flight to the ISS will be the first outing of Sierra
Space’s Dream Chaser Cargo System; crewed vehicles are planned to follow under
the Dream Chaser Space System program, beginning in 2025.
For more on Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser efforts, please
visit:
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