Sierra Space is a commercial space company focused on building an end-to-end business and technology platform in space. It is developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane for cargo transport to low Earth orbit and is also working with Blue Origin on the Orbital Reef commercial space station, contributing its LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat modules. Sierra Space partners with organizations like NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and commercial entities for space transportation, destination, and application-related activities. Associated keywords include space transportation, commercial space stations, space technology, Dream Chaser, and LIFE habitat.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Sierra Space is bringing on 150 people from Sierra Nevada Corporation with security clearances to work on classified projects as it builds up a national security business unit.
Sierra Space raised $290,000,000 in a Series B round in September that valued the company at $5,300,000,000.
Sierra Space laid off 165 employees who had been working to assemble the first Dream Chaser vehicle, Tenacity, on 2023-11-17.
Sierra Space was spun off from Sierra Nevada Corporation in 2021.
Sierra Space’s expandable space station module technology is compatible with existing and planned rocket fairing diameters of 5 m, 7 m, 9 m, and larger.
Sierra Space’s expandable space station module technology is designed to be compatible with existing and planned launch vehicle fairing sizes, including 5-meter, 7-meter, and 9-meter fairings.
Sierra Space will perform the full-scale Ultimate Burst Pressure (UBP) test of the LIFE habitat in December 2023 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Sierra Space is co-developing the Orbital Reef space station with Blue Origin.
The new Sierra Space engine is designed for continuous throttling from 5,500 lbf at 100% power down to 900 lbf at 17% power.
Sierra Space successfully tested a new hypergolic rocket engine that produces 5,500 lbf of thrust.
Sierra Space plans to launch Dream Chaser from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on United Launch Alliance’s second Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Sierra Space held a company event on 2023-10-30 at its Louisville, Colorado production facility to celebrate completion of the first Dream Chaser spaceplane.
Ken Shields, senior director of business development for in-space R&D, manufacturing and emerging markets at Sierra Space, expected that environmental tests would be completed and Dream Chaser shipped to Cape Canaveral by the end of the year.
Sierra Space plans a crewed version of Dream Chaser, reviving the concept it previously worked on for NASA’s commercial crew program but was not selected for development in 2014.
Sierra Space completed assembly of its first Dream Chaser vehicle, named Tenacity, at its facility in Louisville, Colorado on 2023-11-02.
Sierra Space completed the first Dream Chaser spaceplane and will ship it to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio for environmental testing in coming weeks.
Tom Vice is the CEO of Sierra Space.
Blue Origin is teamed with Sierra Space on the Orbital Reef commercial space station concept.
Sierra Space won an unfunded NASA Space Act Agreement in June for its Pathfinder station.
Sierra Space is collaborating with Blue Origin to build the Orbital Reef space station.