NASA and Sierra Space have modified the Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract, which originally called for the Dream Chaser spaceplane to be used to supply the International Space Station (ISS).

Currently, there is a strong chance the vehicle will never reach the ISS before the outpost is deorbited in 2030.

The change to the contract means that Dream Chaser will now perform a free-flight demonstration, targeted for late 2026, and NASA will no longer be obligated to order a specific number of resupply missions. The agency might order Dream Chaser flights to the ISS after the free-flight demonstration, but there are no guarantees.

The Dream Chaser, a lifting-body spaceplane derived from NASA's HL-20 concept (among others), has suffered from a problem familiar to many in the space indust

See Full Page