WhiteKnightTwo could air drop Dream Chaser prototype | FlightGlobal

By Rob Coppinger, FlightGlobal , Posted 10/21/09

Link: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/10/20/333603/whiteknighttwo-could-a...

"Sierra Nevada Corporation could air drop its Dream Chaser spaceplane prototype using Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo if it wins funds from NASA's Commercial Crew Development programme." Sierra Nevada Corporation has submitted a proposal "that would see a weight-representative Dream Chaser test article air-dropped for a runway landing. The test would be for the subsonic flight phase aerodynamics and the effectiveness of the control surfaces and some avionic systems." If selected to fly crew to the International Space Station, the Dream Chaser, "a vehicle that would deliver three or up to seven crew... depending on the level of cargo it also carries, would be launched by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V." [ via AIAA's "Daily Launch" ]