SpaceDev Dream
Chaser Space Plane Development Could Provide Crew Launch and Cargo
Transport
(19 June 2007) SpaceDev, Inc. has
signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to facilitate its development of
reliable, safe and affordable transportation of passengers and cargo to and
from Earth orbit.
Under the Agreement, NASA will provide
information about the agency's projected commercial demand for crew and cargo
services to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as technical support
regarding commercial vehicle requirements for rendezvous and docking with the
ISS. NASA will also provide inputs to the development program through regularly
scheduled technical exchange.
"We appreciate the leadership and
foresight of Michael Griffin, Scott Horowitz, Alan Lindenmoyer and the entire
NASA COTS office in their commitment to us and the emerging space industry,"
said Mark Sirangelo, SpaceDev's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This
Agreement will allow us to work closely with NASA to share data, concepts and
updates on our program's progress. Having a continuous interchange with NASA
will help accelerate our ability to make strides to meet our country and
industry's near and long term needs for space transport. We are committed to
the use of the NASA Langley derived HL-20 as the foundation of our space
transport program."
This Agreement builds on SpaceDev's continuing and
developing relationship with NASA as a result of the COTS (Commercial Orbital
Transportation Services) proposal effort, where SpaceDev was one of three
finalists in the competition. The SpaceDev vehicle has on-board propulsion
utilising SpaceDev's patented hybrid solid rocket motor technology. SpaceDev's
unique space transportation system is designed to effectively, reliably and
safely carry crew/passengers and cargo in suborbital as well as orbital flight
regimes. It is a piloted space solution which launches vertically and lands
horizontally on conventional runways.
About SpaceDev
SpaceDev,
Inc. is a space technology/aerospace company that creates and sells affordable
and innovative space products and mission solutions.
(source:
SpaceDev)