"Dream Chaser" a plane that opens the way to space travel

A miniature space shuttle to carry passengers is a cornerstone of Sierra Space's space ambitions.

Trips for everyone

After private investors entered the space field, a new commercial horizon opened, and it is expected that this will lead to amazing technological developments such as the “Sierra Space” space plane, but this will lead to risks and accidents, as specialists expect.

The display of a life-size model of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane at the Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which kicked off Wednesday on the emerging space market, presents both its incredible potential and the risks it poses.

In light of the increase in the number of companies interested in the space field, experts believe that this tendency will lead to technological developments, but with the almost certain possibility of space disasters and human losses.

Sierra Space, a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is aiming for its nine-meter spacecraft, called Dreamchaser, to make its first mission this year, with the reusable craft forming a cornerstone of its space ambitions.

“Before, governments were only able to organize space flights,” says Neeraj Gupta, in charge of spaceflights in Sierra Nevada. Now, normal humans can go to space.”

Private companies increasing their space activity could involve real risks and accidents

The miniature space shuttle is designed to carry people and equipment to and from commercial space facilities the company plans to build in the next eight to 10 years, including a system of rubber modules intended to receive humans in orbit.

Sierra Nevada has signed an agreement with NASA on unmanned flights to the International Space Station scheduled to launch in 2022, and is cooperating with Blue Origin to develop a commercial center in space.

"We're already noticing that a market has opened up to send more people into space," says Gupta.

Space-related commercial projects are emerging at a rapid pace and with great interest, particularly rocket launches from SpaceX, which transports astronauts on behalf of NASA.

Last year, Jeff Bezos' spaceflight on a rocket belonging to his private company caused astonishment, while at the same time sparking angry criticism of the so-called "space race" of billionaires.

Space is now seen as a new commercial horizon that everyone should take seriously. A video clip shown in Las Vegas shows an unmanned model of the "space plane" returning to Earth and landing on a runway like any ordinary passenger plane.

Many companies have tried to engage in somewhat strange projects, including, for example, extracting minerals from asteroids or developing biomedical applications, but the idea of ​​​​producing something in space and returning it to Earth was not logical, according to what explains a professor of astronautics at Cornell University Maison Beck. .

The dream of space travel is fraught with dangers

"There are companies that are really focused on this question: How do I make money in space?" Beck says.

“It was never the way people intended to make use of space. Ideas have always been linked to deeper goals such as benefit to humanity or scientific goals.”

But the desire for profits has the potential to dramatically accelerate productivity and technological progress, much more than the slow and deliberate approach of NASA or the European Space Agency.

“More capital is invested in space,” says Mike Gruntman, a professor of astronautics at the University of Southern California. “Technology improves, costs come down and everyone benefits.”

These efforts are in line with NASA's policy to stimulate a US-led commercial economy in low Earth orbit, but the potential for private companies to increase their space activity could carry real risks.

“There will inevitably come a time when there will be tragedy, there will be deaths and destruction, as is always the case with everything, as there are always traffic accidents, bridges collapse and trains derail,” Beck says.