WASHINGTON — Sierra Space and NASA have sharply revised a contract to use the company’s Dream Chaser vehicle to deliver cargo to the International Space Station as the company pivots to defense applications.
NASA announced Sept. 25 that it modified its Commercial Resupply Services 2, or CRS-2, contract with Sierra Space. That contract originally included seven missions to transport cargo to and from the ISS.
Instead, Sierra Space will fly a single “free flight demonstration” mission, scheduled for late 2026, that will not go to the ISS. The contract no longer specifies a set number of cargo missions to the station, although NASA said it retains the ability to order such missions.
“Development of new space transportation systems is difficult and can take longer than what’s originally planned,” Dana Weigel, NASA ISS program manager, said in a statement. “As NASA and its partners look toward space station deorbit in 2030, this mutually agreed to decision enables testing and verification to continue on Dream Chaser, as well as demonstrating the capabilities of the spaceplane for future resupply missions in low Earth orbit.”
NASA previously faced a shortfall in cargo capacity, but that has eased with the return of Cygnus missions using a new XL version with greater payload capability. Japan’s first HTV-X cargo spacecraft is also scheduled to launch to the station in October.
Sierra Space, then part of Sierra Nevada Corp., was one of three companies that won CRS-2 contracts in 2016 to deliver cargo to the ISS. The other two were Orbital ATK, now part of Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX, both of which also won the first round of CRS contracts in 2008. Sierra Nevada proposed a cargo version of Dream Chaser after losing to Boeing and SpaceX for commercial crew contracts in 2014.
Sierra Space, spun out from Sierra Nevada in 2021, shipped the first Dream Chaser spacecraft, named Tenacity, to Florida in May for final testing and integration ahead of a planned launch on the second United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur.
But in June, Sierra Space gave up its slot on that mission, allowing ULA to proceed with a launch needed to secure Space Force certification for national security missions. At the time, Sierra Space said it was making “excellent progress” on Dream Chaser and still expected a launch before the end of 2024.
Over the last year, the company provided only occasional updates on Dream Chaser as its launch target slipped into 2025. NASA officials suggested in recent months that the flight would likely be delayed further into 2026.
“We, as always, are continuing to evaluate the schedule along with Sierra Space,” Dina Contella, NASA ISS deputy program manager, said at a Sept. 12 briefing about the NG-23 Cygnus cargo mission. She said Dream Chaser was still undergoing testing and verification but did not provide specifics.
Sierra Space did not offer technical details about Tenacity or the program in its own Sept. 25 statement, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions. The company instead emphasized a growing focus on national security applications for Dream Chaser.
“This transition provides unique capabilities to meet the needs of diverse mission profiles, including emerging and existential threats and national security priorities that align with our acceleration into the defense tech market,” Fatih Ozmen, executive chair of Sierra Space, said in the statement.
The company has recently emphasized defense work, including satellites for the Space Development Agency’s proliferated constellations. In June, it created Sierra Space Defense, a division dedicated to national security programs.
The CRS-2 contracts have a combined maximum value of $14 billion across all providers. A NASA spokesperson declined to disclose the current value of Sierra Space’s contract after the revision, citing competition-sensitive information.
According to federal procurement records, NASA has obligated $1.43 billion to Sierra Space under CRS-2 to date, compared to $3.21 billion for Northrop Grumman and $3.37 billion for SpaceX.