Editing SpaceDev (section)

== Dream Chaser ==

{{Main|SpaceDev Dream Chaser}}

On November 16, 2005, SpaceDev announced <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=540|title=SpaceDev Announces SpaceDev Dream Chaser Space Transport System|date=November 16, 2005|publisher=SpaceDev}}</ref> its [[Dream Chaser]] concept for a four-passenger [[sub-orbital]] and a six-passenger [[Orbital spaceflight|orbital]] vehicle, both based on NASA's HL-20 "Personnel Launch System" or "Space Taxi".  SpaceDev's suborbital Dream Chaser will use internal [[hybrid rocket]] motors similar to those SpaceDev developed for Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne, while the orbital version will use the internal motors plus larger external hybrid motors.  SpaceDev's hybrid rocket technology was pioneered by the [[American Rocket Company]].

On May 5, 2006, SpaceDev announced it was selected as a finalist in NASA's $500 million [[Commercial Orbital Transportation Services]] (COTS) demonstration program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=569|title=SpaceDev Selected as a Finalist in NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Solicitation|date=May 15, 2006|publisher=SpaceDev|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124093156/http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=569|archive-date=November 24, 2006}}</ref> SpaceDev has been working with NASA Ames to design a modern version of the NASA HL-20 Personnel Launch System, called the SpaceDev Dream Chaser.   However, on August 18, 2006, it was revealed that SpaceDev did not win the contract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://smallcap.seekingalpha.com/article/15797|title=SpaceDev Loses COTS Contract Competition|date=August 22, 2006|first=Travis|last=Johnson|publisher=Seeking Alpha|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060828105857/http://smallcap.seekingalpha.com/article/15797|archive-date=August 28, 2006}}</ref>

On December 18, 2006, SpaceDev announced that it has been awarded a $330,000 Phase I study contract from [[Benson Space Company]] to further the [[SpaceDev Dream Chaser]] spaceship program.  The study will contribute to the ongoing development of the spaceship and will result in space vehicle and rocket motor designs ready for Phase II vehicle fabrication and testing. The [[SpaceDev Dream Chaser]] spaceship is based on NASA's design of the ten passenger orbital HL-20 Personnel Launch System, and will launch vertically and land horizontally in direct sight of viewers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Benson Space announces new ‘Dream Chaser’|date=May 24, 2007|author=Leonard David|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18850337|publisher=NBC News|access-date=March 10, 2025}}</ref>

On April 10, 2007, SpaceDev announced<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacedev.com/newsite/templates/subpage_article.php?pid=602|title=SpaceDev and the United Launch Alliance to explore launching the Dream Chaser on an Atlas V Launch Vehicle|date=April 10, 2007|publisher=SpaceDev}}</ref> that it had finalized a Memorandum of Understanding with [[United Launch Alliance]] on exploring the potential of launching the [[SpaceDev Dream Chaser]] spaceship using an [[Atlas V]] 431, (having a four-meter diameter fairing, three solid rocket boosters, and a single Centaur engine in the second stage). Destinations could include the [[International Space Station]] (ISS) and other commercial orbital destinations as well as for commercial orbital space tourism flights.

On February 1, 2010, NASA announced a $20 million award to Sierra Nevada, to go toward development of the [[SpaceDev Dream Chaser]], which could be ready for launch by 2014 on United Launch Alliance's [[Atlas V]] rocket, according to Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president for Sierra Nevada's space systems division.

On August 3, 2012, NASA announced new agreements with the Sierra Nevada Corporation and two other companies to design and develop the next generation of U.S. human spaceflight capabilities, enabling a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years. Advances made by these companies under newly signed Space Act Agreements through the agency's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative are intended to ultimately lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers. As part of this agreement,  Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded $212.5 million, ostensibly to continue development and testing of its [[Dream Chaser]] spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12-263_CCiCAP_Awards.html|title=NASA Announces Next Steps In Effort To Launch Americans From U.S. Soil}}</ref>