Author Topic: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests  (Read 100415 times)

Offline Jim

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #20 on: 05/13/2013 06:08 pm »
where does it say that the drop tests are piloted?

Well, here's 2:


Hiring a test pilot does not mean these tests are piloted.  And the second says nothing about these drop tests.

Offline Jim

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #21 on: 05/13/2013 06:09 pm »
I'm excited!  Dreamchaser is a beautiful vehicle.  Testing is a brilliant example of applied engineering coupled with a very brave test pilot:

"The drop will be via a helicopter, and carried out early in the morning, in near darkness, before the Californian weather becomes too warm to fly the helicopter at the altitudes required for the testing."

I wish that pilot steady hands, owl-eyes, and a support staff that doesn't screw up.  IMHO, he's a hero.


Also, being brave and risking one's life does not make one a hero.  Risking one's life for others does.
« Last Edit: 05/13/2013 06:11 pm by Jim »

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #22 on: 05/13/2013 07:29 pm »
SNC have issued a presser to confirm the shipping:

Sierra Nevada Corporation Announces Shipment of Dream Chaser®
Flight Vehicle to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center
   
Sparks, NV – May 13, 2013 – Sierra Nevada Corporation’s
(SNC) Space Systems has completed assembly and testing
of the Dream Chaser
®
spacecraft in preparation for shipping
the flight vehicle from SNC’s Space Systems headquarters
in Louisville, Colo., to  NASA’s Dryden Flight Research
Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 
 
Upon arrival at NASA Dryden, the Dream Chaser will
continue a series of tests, including runway tow, ground
resonance, and a captive carry flight. These tests will be
completed before the Dream Chaser flight vehicle’s first
autonomous free flight Approach and Landing Test (ALT).   
 
“NASA Dryden has always played a vital role in the testing of American flight vehicles,” said
Mark Sirangelo head of SNC’s Space Systems “As the Dream Chaser program takes flight, this
unique opportunity to conduct our tests at the same location as the Space Shuttle begin its flight
brings great pride to our team. We are one step closer to returning U.S. astronauts on a U.S.
vehicle to the International Space Station and in doing so continuing the long standing and
proud legacy that was the Space Shuttle program.”
 
The flight tests will help SNC to determine the glide and landing characteristics of the Dream
Chaser, the only lifting body vehicle funded under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. A similar
program was completed for the iconic Space Shuttle in 1977 at NASA Dryden when the Space
Shuttle Enterprise conducted an ALT as a critical flight test milestone. 
 
In describing the test series Jim Voss, SNC’s vice president of Space Exploration Systems said,
“This will be the first full scale flight test of the Dream Chaser lifting body and will demonstrate
the unique capability of our spacecraft to land on a runway. Other flight tests will follow to
validate the aerodynamic data used to control the vehicle in the atmosphere when it returns
from space.  This is a huge step forward for the SNC and NASA teams towards providing our
nation with safe and reliable transportation to the International Space Station.”
 
About Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems 
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems business area headquartered in Louisville, Colo., designs
and manufactures advanced spacecraft, space vehicles, rocket motors and spacecraft subsystems and
components for the US Government, commercial customers as well as for the international market. 
SNC’s Space Systems has more than 25 years of space heritage in space and has participated in over
400 successful space missions through the delivery of over 4,000 systems, subsystems and components. 
During its history, SNC’s Space Systems has concluded over 70 programs for NASA and over 50 other
clients. For more information about SS visit www.sncspace.com.
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #23 on: 05/13/2013 07:30 pm »
And a picture of her all wrapped up like Atlantis was:
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Offline IanO

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #24 on: 05/13/2013 08:12 pm »
And a picture of her all wrapped up like Atlantis was:
From that picture, maybe she should be christened "Narwhal"!  What is that spike out front?
psas.pdx.edu

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #25 on: 05/13/2013 08:42 pm »
And a picture of her all wrapped up like Atlantis was:
From that picture, maybe she should be christened "Narwhal"!  What is that spike out front?

It's for data. Just like it was on Enterprise.
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Offline BrightLight

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #26 on: 05/13/2013 08:45 pm »
And a picture of her all wrapped up like Atlantis was:
From that picture, maybe she should be christened "Narwhal"!  What is that spike out front?

It's for data. Just like it was on Enterprise.
kind of like pitot tubes and such, has to be in front of the aircraft induced perturbation, so a mast is put forward of the nose in the "clean" air.

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #27 on: 05/13/2013 09:00 pm »
pitch-yaw air data test boom… :)
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Online Lee Jay

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #28 on: 05/13/2013 09:07 pm »
pitch-yaw air data test boom… :)

Oh, it's got to include dynamic and static pressure too, wouldn't you think?  5-hole probe + static ring?

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #29 on: 05/13/2013 09:24 pm »
pitch-yaw air data test boom… :)

Oh, it's got to include dynamic and static pressure too, wouldn't you think?  5-hole probe + static ring?
Hey Leejay!
Oh yea the basic pitot-static or course. Five holes it could very well be, I’ve seen some probe up to 18 holes. All depends on how many channels of data they wish to get..
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Online docmordrid

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #30 on: 05/13/2013 09:26 pm »
Pitot tube.
DM

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #31 on: 05/13/2013 09:33 pm »
At the tip doc for sure...
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline AnalogMan

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #32 on: 05/13/2013 10:16 pm »
From NASA Commercial Crew Program:

SNC Ships Dream Chaser Test Vehicle to Dryden
‎13 ‎May ‎2013, ‏‎21:52:53

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems currently is shipping its Dream Chaser engineering test article from the company's facility in Louisville, Colo., to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., where it will begin its flight test program in collaboration with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The five-state journey that began the morning of Saturday, May 11, will take approximately four days to complete.

The testing at Dryden will include tow, captive-carry and free-flight tests of the Dream Chaser. A truck will tow the vehicle down a runway to validate performance of the nose strut, brakes and tires. The captive-carry flights will further examine the loads the vehicle will encounter during flight and test the performance and flutter of the vehicle up to release from an Erickson Skycrane helicopter. The free-flight tests are designed to validate the Dream Chaser's aerodynamics as well as test the flight control surfaces to verify flight characteristics for approach, flare and landing.

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html

High res version of photo posted in earlier in thread is available here:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/748447main_dc-ship.JPG

Offline JAFO

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #33 on: 05/14/2013 06:31 am »
Hope they get a chance to do a photo op with the M2-F1.
Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.
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Offline TALsite

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #34 on: 05/14/2013 07:44 am »
If SNC wins... How many Dream Chasers will form the SNC fleet?

I have some names for them:
#1 Dyna Soar
#2 Spiral
#3 Hermes

All names are related to different spacecrafts, from different nations, that (sadly) never leave the Earth.

"Dyna Soar, you're ready for deorbit burn..."
"Spiral has docked with the ISS..."
"Hermes has returned the EXP. xx crew."


It sounds good, don't you? :)
Do you like the names selection?

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #35 on: 05/22/2013 11:05 pm »
Not as good as the previous article, but we have to bookend both shipping to arrival for testing, so that's what this second article does, allowing for me to use the large amount of quotes of late:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/05/bolden-meets-dream-chaser-eta-dryden-tests/
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Offline Lar

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #36 on: 05/23/2013 03:22 am »
See
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337253204301590528/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337247592587071489/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337247592587071489/photo/1

In these pictures taken at Dryden, there is a visible "bulge" showing just forward and above the flag.

Is that one of the drop test attachment points, or is that a protruberance that will be there on the flight vehicle too?
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Offline Lars_J

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #37 on: 05/31/2013 04:48 pm »
See
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337253204301590528/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337247592587071489/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NASADryden/status/337247592587071489/photo/1

In these pictures taken at Dryden, there is a visible "bulge" showing just forward and above the flag.

Is that one of the drop test attachment points, or is that a protruberance that will be there on the flight vehicle too?

Just drop test attachment points.
« Last Edit: 05/31/2013 04:49 pm by Lars_J »

Offline BrightLight

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #38 on: 06/04/2013 04:29 pm »
Short article on the upcoming DC tests in the Aviation Week web site.

Offline Lurker Steve

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Re: Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests
« Reply #39 on: 06/04/2013 06:24 pm »
The article says the DC will be towed by a Ford truck. I wonder if they can get some extra funds by allowing Ford to use the Dream Chaser in a F150 commercial ?

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