Sierra Nevada Corp. launches landing site program for Dream Chaser

LOUISVILLE — Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Space Systems division based in Louisville announced on Thursday that the company is launching a new program to establish preferred landing sites for its Dream Chaser spacecraft, a program that could include commercial airports.

SNC has long touted the ability of Dream Chaser to land on regular commercial runways.

Company officials, in a press release, said the program is based on similar work already being done with Ellington Spaceport in Houston and the Huntsville (Ala.) International Airport Authority. The program includes three different levels of designation, with the highest resulting inSNC receiving a re-entry license from the FAA for a particular spaceport or airport.

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“Dream Chaser is poised to lead the commercial space industry in reusable, low-Earth orbital flight,” SNC Space Systems head Mark Sirangelo said in a press release. “The benefits of multiple landing sites would be significant to both the landing site community and to the Dream Chaser network of domestic and international partners.”

SNC is awaiting a decision from NASA expected to come in November on a multi-billion-dollar contract to supply cargo to the International Space Station.