Sierra Space

Sierra Space Corporation (SSC) is a privately held aerospace company headquartered in Louisville, Colorado,[3] with additional facilities in Denver, Broomfield, Madison, Brevard County, and Durham.[4] Sierra Space makes spaceflight hardware for various applications across the industry. It is currently developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane[5] and large components of the Orbital Reef space station.[6]

Sierra Space Corporation
TypePrivately Held
IndustryAerospace and space technology
FoundedApril 21, 2021
FoundersEren Ozmen & Fatih Ozmen
Headquarters
Broomfield, Colorado, United States[1]
Number of locations
6
Area served
United States of America
Key people
Tom Vice (CEO)
Janet Kavandi (President)[2]
ProductsSpace components, subsystems and systems, Dream Chaser, Orbital Reef
Number of employees
~2000
ParentSierra Nevada Corporation Edit this on Wikidata
WebsiteSierraSpace.com
Part of a series on
Private spaceflight
Active companies
Active vehicles
Contracts and programs

History

Sierra Space is a carve-out from Sierra Nevada Corporation that was established as an independent commercial space company in April 2021.[7]

Sierra Space operates facilities in 6 states: Colorado (with the headquarters in the Denver metro-area), North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and Alabama.[8]

In October 2022, UC San Diego and Sierra Space partnered to jointly develop the world’s first commercially owned and operated space station, Orbital Reef. Orbital Reef will be a “mixed-use business park in space in low Earth orbit (LEO) for commerce, research, and tourism by the end of this decade."[9] Sierra Space and Blue Origin received a $130 million contract to develop the Orbital Reef space station. It is expected to be up and operating by 2027. Sierra Space expects to announce its first astronaut trainees in 2023.[10]

In April 2023, Sierra Space and ILC Dover announced their partnership for developing of inflatable space station modules and spacesuits. ILC Dover will be the exclusive partner in providing soft goods for Sierra Space’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules for commercial space stations.[11][12]

Sierra Space and the United States Air Force announced a partnership in July 2023. Under a 27-month, $22.6 million contract, Sierra Space will develop a 35,000 lbf thrust upper stage engine, known as the Vortex (VR35K-A). Work for the Vortex involves designing flight-weight engine components through the use of component and integrated breadboard engine test data.[13]

In August 2023, Sierra Space announced that it would be collaborating with BioServe Space Technologies to grow hematopoietic stem cells in microgravity to research undergoing treatment for blood cancer.[14][15] The same month, the company also partnered with Redwire on a biotech experiment platform that will be installed on Sierra Space's commercial space station LIFE module.[16]

Products

Sierra Space provides a mix of products and services in three areas: transportation, destinations, and applications.[17]

Transportation

Initial cargo flights of the Dream Chaser vehicle are planned under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Contract with follow-on cargo, crewed and other missions available for commercial, civil, and national security uses.

On September 8, 2022, Sierra Space announced it signed a CRADA with the United States Transportation Command to develop concepts for using Dream Chaser space planes and Shooting Star cargo modules for “timely global delivery of Department of Defense logistics and personnel."[18][19]

The first Dream Chaser, DC-101 Tenacity, is set to launch on the second flight of the Vulcan Centaur in December 2023.[20]

Destinations

Products from Sierra Space’s Destinations organization include the Orbital Reef space station (in partnership with Blue Origin)[21] and the LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat.[22]

Through NASA’s NextSTEP project, Sierra Space completed its successful test in July 2022, which a maximum burst pressure rate of 192 psi. It then completed its second sub-scale ultimate burst pressure test on November 15, 2022 that achieved a 204 psi burst pressure rate. The safety requirement is 182.4 psi. The full-scale LIFE pressure tests will begin in 2023, which will be the passing test for the habitat’s primary structure to support human use in space.[22]

Applications

Applications products include three areas:

  • Rocket Engines & Propulsion[23]
  • Space Technology & Subsystems[24]
  • Environmental Systems[8]

References
  1. "Contact". Sierra Space.
  2. Elizabeth Howell (March 19, 2023). "Women's History Month: Retired NASA astronaut Janet Kavandi brings inclusion to Sierra Space missions". Space.com.
  3. "Sierra Space Corp". Bloomberg.
  4. JUDITH KOHLER (October 9, 2022). "Sierra Space says industrial revolution underway "250 miles above our heads"". Denver Post.
  5. "Dream Chaser: Sierra Space's design for spaceflight". Space.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  6. "Blue Origin and Sierra Space developing commercial space station". Blue Origin. October 25, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. Morgan Brennan (April 14, 2021). "Billionaire-owned Sierra Nevada Corp. creating new space company to bet on a low-Earth orbit economy". CNBC.
  8. Gus Wintzell (March 24, 2023). "Sierra Space Expands Presence in Huntsville with LIFE Test". Huntsville Business Journal.
  9. Abby Lee (October 16, 2022). "Sierra Space and UCSD Collaborate for a Space Station Researching Stem Cells". The Guardian.
  10. Judith Kohler (October 9, 2022). "Sierra Space says industrial revolution underway "250 miles above our heads"". Denver Post.
  11. Jeff Foust (April 18, 2023). "Sierra Space and ILC Dover partner on inflatable modules and spacesuits". Space News.
  12. Doug Messier (April 24, 2023). "Airbus, Axiom, Sierra Space & ILC Dover Unveil Commercial Human Spaceflight Plans". Parabolic Arc.
  13. Christine Thropp (July 26, 2023). "Sierra Space Books Air Force Contract for Maturation of Advanced Upper Stage Engine". Executive Biz.
  14. "Sierra Space, CU to experiment with growing stem cells in space". Biz West. August 4, 2023.
  15. "Sierra Space and BioServe Space Technologies to Demonstrate In-Space Stem Cell Production to Better Treat Cancer Patients on Earth". Yahoo Finance. August 2, 2023.
  16. Jeff Foust (August 21, 2023). "Redwire and Sierra Space partner on commercial space station biotech research platform". Space News.
  17. Chitra Sethi (August 1, 2022). "The Commercial Future of Low-Earth Orbit". Tech Brief.
  18. Jeff Foust (April 29, 2022). "First Dream Chaser vehicle takes shape". Space News.
  19. Sandra Erwin (September 10, 2022). "Sierra Space and U.S. military to explore using Dream Chaser for point-to-point cargo delivery". Space News.
  20. Guy Norris (April 18, 2023). "Sierra Still Tracking For Year-End Dream Chaser Space Debut". Aviation Week.
  21. "Blue Origin and Sierra Space developing commercial space station". Blue Origin. October 25, 2021.
  22. Savannah Mehrtens (December 14, 2022). "Sierra Space, Lockheed Martin create human habitats for missions beyond the moon". Denver Gazette.
  23. Ben Munson (April 12, 2023). "Sierra Space's New Engine Is All About In-Space Propulsion". Thomas Net.
  24. Keith Cowing (March 23, 2023). "Sierra Space Advances Future of Space Habitation in Low-Earth Orbit and Deep Space with LIFE™ Test". Space Ref.
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