The new Space Shuttle

Hello, friends. It’s your Space Coast correspondent James Sparvero, with an exciting update on America’s next spaceplane.

Like just about all of the new rockets and spacecraft that I can think of recently, the Dream Chaser was originally expected to fly years ago, but now Sierra Space (formerly Sierra Nevada) says its spaceplane is closer than ever to its first mission and will soon be on its way here!

In a news release issued Thursday, Sierra Space says Dream Chaser’s pre-flight tests are finished at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio and the spaceplane is now being prepared to be moved to Kennedy Space Center.

Like SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner, Dream Chaser is built to take cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Once it’s shipped here, Sierra Space says Dream Chaser could launch by the end of the year. The space plane will get its lift to orbit from United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur. That rocket just launched for the first time in January. 

The first Dream Chaser is named Tenacity and is expected to fly seven resupply missions to the space station. Later, Sierra Space has said the space plane can fly up to seven astronauts to the station. Perhaps the coolest part of the new spaceship will be when it returns to KSC, landing just like the Space Shuttle did on the same runway.

📧 Email me if you have any space topics you’d like to discuss.

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👋 Here’s a little bit more about me.

Little did I know when watching Apollo 13 in the third grade that 20 years later, I was destined for a thrilling career as your Space Coast multimedia journalist.

Chemistry and biology weren’t so interesting to me in high school science, but I loved my Earth and Space class (Thanks, Mr. Lang).

Then in 2016, I traded Capitol correspondent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for space correspondent. I’m proud that my first live report at News 6 happened to be the first time SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster on a barge. What seems so routine now was a really big deal that day in our newsroom!

From there, I’ve covered the Commercial Crew program and the return of human spaceflight to Kennedy Space Center (Demo-2 launched on my 33rd birthday!)

Now, as our coverage looks forward to missions to the moon and Mars, I often tell others I have the best job in local news. Because after all I’ve seen so far, I think I would be bored working somewhere else. I even bought a house near the Cape with a great view to the north so I never miss a launch even when I’m not working.

After eight years on the beat, though, I still consider myself a young space reporter and I always look forward to learning something new with every assignment.

Have a great launch into the rest of your week!