Dream Chaser: DC300 Defense -Speculations

[Tywin]

Maybe now options for this?

https://spacenews.com/trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-would-give-space-force-a-nearly-40-billion-budget/

[Jim]

still no need

[Tywin]

still no need

Why not?

X-37B is old tech...

[Jim]

still no need

Why not?

X-37B is old tech...

What old tech?  Define?  Dreamchaser isn't anything new.

[Robotbeat]

There are only 2 X-37Bs. They’ll probably need replacing at some point, right? And maybe they’ll want more than 2. For whatever it is that they use X-37B for.

[SweetWater]

still no need

Why not?

X-37B is old tech...

There isn't enough publicly known about the X-37B to say that the 'tech' is appreciably older than Dreamchaser - we have no idea if or how often the avionics have been upgraded since the first flight, etc. What we do know suggests that the X-37B is a robust and reliable platform for long-duration missions, at least some of which include testing of new technologies. Having a spaceframe and avionics that are older than Dreamchaser's doesn't seem like a problem if the really interesting things are happening in the payload bay - something which, it's worth pointing out, Dreamchaser doesn't have. 

[Tywin]

There are only 2 X-37Bs. They’ll probably need replacing at some point, right? And maybe they’ll want more than 2. For whatever it is that they use X-37B for.

+1

[Tywin]

still no need

Why not?

X-37B is old tech...

There isn't enough publicly known about the X-37B to say that the 'tech' is appreciably older than Dreamchaser - we have no idea if or how often the avionics have been upgraded since the first flight, etc. What we do know suggests that the X-37B is a robust and reliable platform for long-duration missions, at least some of which include testing of new technologies. Having a spaceframe and avionics that are older than Dreamchaser's doesn't seem like a problem if the really interesting things are happening in the payload bay - something which, it's worth pointing out, Dreamchaser doesn't have.

[/b]

We don't know the specification of the DC300 defense version...

[jdon759]

still no need

Why not?

X-37B is old tech...

...

Having a spaceframe and avionics that are older than Dreamchaser's doesn't seem like a problem if the really interesting things are happening in the payload bay - something which, it's worth pointing out, Dreamchaser doesn't have.

N.B., DC-300 is designed with a payload bay.

[AndrewM]

I doubt that DC-300 will happen or at least not anytime soon. I'd say it's more likely that if they do want to do some testing it'll end up being assigned one of the 2 Cargo Dream Chasers after the ISS missions with an upgraded version of Shooting Star.

[Tomness]

still no need

Indeed,  SpaceX shopped DragonLab and no one took them up on it.