/sci/ - Science & Math

https://spacenews.com/dream-chaser-moves-a-step-closer-to-first-launch/

> The company announced May 31 that it had powered up the spaceplane in its assembly facility for the first time, feeding electrical power into the vehicle that, in space, would be generated by its solar panels and turning on flight computers and other components.

> Dream Chaser will initially be used to transport cargo to and from the ISS through a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Sierra Space, though, is planning other applications for the vehicle, including a crewed version. That DC-200 variant will be a little bit larger and have a slightly different outer mold line, Kavanadi said at the conference.

> In preparation for those future crewed flights, Sierra Space is planning to select its own professional astronaut corps. “We will do that upon the first successful landing of Dream Chaser,” she said, with an initial group of 12 to 15 people.

>Those astronauts will be trained at a facility the company is establishing in Florida, which will also be used to train researchers and other private astronauts planning to go to Orbital Reef, the commercial space station Sierra Space is developing in partnership with Blue Origin and several other companies.