Sierra Space secures national security cargo for its spaceplane’s first flight

Sierra Space has secured agreements to carry undisclosed national-security and commercial payloads on Dream Chaser's first orbital flight. The reusable lifting-body spacecraft is now planned to launch from Kennedy Space Center, perform an independent demonstration mission and land on a runway at Vandenberg Space Force Base. That profile replaces the original plan for an International Space Station cargo mission after programme delays. The customer commitments strengthen the mission manifest, but payload identities, contract values and the precise launch date remain confidential, and the flight must still validate Dream Chaser's end-to-end performance.