NASA 'chasing dreams' in Erie County

PERKINS TWP. — Here's the reality of a groundbreaking spacecraft vehicle known as Dream Chaser. It's dependent upon one-of-a-kind, world-class testing facilities found only within Erie County to safely and fully carry out a mission of transporting critical resources to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. NASA personnel invited a select group of media members — which included journalists from the New York Times, Bloomberg, renowned space publications and the Register — to attend a special event Thursday morning at the Sandusky-area NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility. This event showcased Dream Chaser, a cargo transportation vehicle that will take supplies, such as food, to astronauts aboard the space station — a place where crews of astronauts worldwide live and perform experiments. Dream Chaser will also take up and bring back essential materials and necessary research so astronauts and engineers can pursue various space exploration tasks. Astronauts will not board this first version of Dream Chaser now being tested at Armstrong. This version is strictly for ferrying materials. NASA contracted with Sierra Space, allowing the private company to test Dream Chaser at Armstrong. During the media event, NASA officials positioned Dream Chaser atop Armstrong's Mechanical Vibration Facility, or shaker system, within its Space Environments Complex. In prior weeks, engineers violently shook Dream Chaser, both horizontally and vertically, to ensure it can withstand the harsh conditions of being launched. The complex features different chambers capable of simulating extreme conditions — namely temperatures, sound and vibrations — spacecraft often encounter during launch, while in flight and upon returning from space to Earth. Once completed, in the near future, Dream Chaser will travel to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a final round of tests before its introductory launch likely sometime later this year. Armstrong an A-plus area Industry experts universally consider Armstrong's facilities the best on planet Earth. They're either the largest and/or most powerful space environment simulation facilities found anywhere. "This is the only place in the world where companies can bring large-scale spacecraft, like Dream Chaser, and be able to do the environmental testing that helps us to understand, on the ground, the kind of conditions that they are going to face in flight," said Jimmy Kenyon, director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, which oversees all operations at Armstrong. "These ground tests will allow us to reduce risk for the program and identify and resolve issues before launch." So what's considered a successful test? "It means that you identify issues and have an opportunity to resolve them before you get to flight," Kenyon said. "It also means we get good data to make good decisions going forward." Eventually, Dream Chaser — named to chase dreams of further space exploration — will undergo testing in more areas in Armstrong. Many other sophisticated pieces of equipment — including the Orion spacecraft, which involves transporting astronauts into deep space and maybe even Mars — have undergone testing at Armstrong's Space Environments Complex. Successful testing can also parlay into future partnerships for NASA at Armstrong. "Being successful also brings the opportunity to bring additional companies in," Kenyon said. "We have additional NASA spacecraft to test. We will (once again) be testing Orion here again in the very near future in getting ready for the next Artemis launch. We see a lot of opportunities to continue more and more testing here to support this industry." While Sierra Space personnel came to Erie County's NASA station for the equipment, it's truly appreciative of Armstrong's staff — consisting of many community members — who oversee these tests. "In addition to having the most unique research facilities in the world, Glenn Research Center has some of the brightest, most genius engineers on the planet," said Tom Vice, Sierra Space's chief executive officer. One local wholeheartedly agrees. "NASA Armstrong Advocacy Coalition welcomes Sierra Space and the Dream Chaser team to Ohio and especially to NASA Armstrong Test Facility," said Jeff Huber, referencing his volunteer group, which campaigns for, publicizes and hypes up Armstrong in many different ways. "The world-class facilities at Armstrong attract users from all corners of the globe that translates into highly skilled employment opportunities and economic development right here in north-central Ohio," Huber said. " We congratulate Sierra Space on their remarkable achievement."