Nevada company to collaborate with U.N. on space missions

By Daniel Rothberg

Thursday, June 30, 2016 | 8 p.m.

Sparks-based Sierra Nevada Corp. could provide an affordable way for countries to travel to space under an agreement it signed with the United Nations last week. Although details of the partnership are still being worked out, the aerospace firm would work with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to help U.N member states access space using the company’s Dream Chaser spacecraft.

A winged-vehicle that resembles a mini-size Space Shuttle, the Dream Chaser is being developed as a reusable shuttle for low-Earth orbit space missions. Earlier this year, NASA included the Dream Chaser as a spacecraft that will deliver cargo to the International Space Station as early as 2019.

Under the memorandum of understanding with the U.N., the spacecraft would be used for science-related missions. The U.N. and the company announced the agreement in media releases on Wednesday.

“Our vision, in partnership with the U.N., is to provide U.N. member countries affordable access to space and a range of multimission opportunities using the Dream Chaser spacecraft to host a wide range of payloads,” Mark N. Sirangelo, a corporate vice president for the company’s space operations, said in a media release. “Countries will be able to customize their participation level commensurate with the maturity of their space capabilities and national desires, while engaging their universities, industrial companies and government laboratories and most importantly, their people.”

The collaboration is meant to provide U.N. member states, particularly those not already traveling to space, the ability to conduct science experiments that test microgravity science or space equipment.

“At (the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs) we are committed to helping all countries benefit from space technologies and capabilities,” Simonetta Di Pippo, the office’s director, said in a release. “I am pleased that SNC has partnered with us to provide such tangible opportunities in pursuit of this goal.”

Part of the office’s goal is to make the peaceful use of space accessible for all countries.