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NASA and Sierra Space Prepare for Dream Chaser’s Historic Flight to the International Space Station
“NASA and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spacecraft prepares to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, revolutionizing cargo resupply.”
Last Updated on July 5, 2024 by Daily News Staff
NASA and Sierra Space are on the verge of a significant milestone in space exploration, as they make progress towards the first flight of the Dream Chaser spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). This uncrewed cargo spaceplane, set to launch in 2024 as part of NASA’s commercial resupply services, showcases the advancements in reusable spacecraft technology and the growing collaboration between NASA and private space companies.
Sierra Space
Dream Chaser and Shooting Star:
At the heart of the Dream Chaser cargo system lies two essential components: the Dream Chaser spacecraft and the Shooting Star cargo module. The Dream Chaser, a lifting body spacecraft, is a modified version of the HL-20 spacecraft developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Designed for reusability, Dream Chaser can be utilized up to 15 times, distinguishing it from other cargo vehicles. The Shooting Star cargo module complements the spacecraft, enabling the delivery and disposal of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to and from the space station. While the cargo module is single-use and disposed of before re-entry, the Dream Chaser spacecraft itself can be relaunched within a remarkably short timeframe of just 24 hours.
Mission Overview:
Sierra Space’s first flight of Dream Chaser aims to conduct in-orbit demonstrations to certify the spacecraft for future missions. Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, and the Dream Chaser Mission Control Center will closely monitor the flight. Sierra Space flight controllers will oversee the spacecraft until it is handed over to the ground operations team at NASA Kennedy following landing.
The mission involves both far-field and near-field demonstrations. Far-field demonstrations, conducted outside the vicinity of the space station, include showcasing attitude control, translational maneuvers, and abort capabilities. Near-field demonstrations, closer to the space station, involve using LIDAR sensors, responding to space station commands, and performing controlled approaches. Dream Chaser will approach the station, and a station crew member will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the spacecraft’s cargo module, which will then be installed on the space station.
Cargo Delivery and Return:
Dream Chaser’s inaugural flight to the ISS has a payload capacity of over 7,800 pounds. Future missions are being designed to accommodate longer stays of up to 75 days and deliver as much as 11,500 pounds of cargo, with flexibility to load cargo up to 24 hours before launch. Upon departure, Dream Chaser can return over 3,500 pounds of cargo and experiment samples to Earth, while its cargo module can dispose of over 8,700 pounds of trash during reentry.
Return to Earth:
After approximately 45 days at the ISS, Dream Chaser will be uninstalled using Canadarm2. The spacecraft’s return journey begins with a deorbit burn, followed by re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Dream Chaser will then glide to a runway landing at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility, reminiscent of NASA’s space shuttle program. This landing marks the first time a spacecraft has touched down at the facility since the final space shuttle flight in 2011.
The upcoming flight of the Dream Chaser spacecraft to the International Space Station signifies a major step forward in NASA’s commercial resupply services. The collaboration between NASA and Sierra Space showcases the advancements in reusable spaceplane technology and paves the way for more frequent and efficient cargo missions to the space station. As Dream Chaser proves its capabilities, it opens new possibilities for delivering supplies, conducting experiments, and supporting future human space exploration endeavors.
For further updates on NASA’s commercial resupply services, visit the official NASA website at https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html. The future of space exploration is undoubtedly exciting, with Dream Chaser at the forefront of innovation and progress.
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Tech
Drones paired with AI could help search‑and‑rescue teams find missing persons faster
AI-powered drones equipped with thermal and infrared imaging are transforming search-and-rescue operations, enabling teams to locate missing persons faster and assess their condition—including signs of injury, consciousness, or life-threatening temperature changes—in real time.
Last Updated on May 16, 2026 by Daily News Staff
Adeel Khalid, Kennesaw State University
A combination of infrared imaging, thermal imaging and color cameras on an uncrewed drone, along with an AI system to interpret the data, can help emergency responders and search-and-rescue teams locate, identify and track people who have gone missing in the wilderness. The experimental system helps responders pinpoint where a missing person is and determine whether they are hurt or even alive.
People who get lost or hurt while exploring nature can become stranded for days. Rescue teams often use drones to look for the person or signs of their whereabouts. The small drone my colleagues and I built at my lab at Kennesaw State University flies autonomously using a grid search pattern. It sends live video and images to a ground station operated by the rescue team.
When the AI system finds a person, it analyzes images to determine whether the individual is upright or lying on the ground. It segments parts of the person’s body, identifying the person’s head and the body’s position. It then zeroes in on the forehead. It extracts forehead temperature readings, pixel by pixel, from the imaging data to estimate forehead temperature. We have two papers detailing these findings accepted for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum 2026 conference.
Our AI model then assesses whether the person is conscious or unconscious and identifies abnormal temperatures that could indicate heat stress, hypothermia or other physical complications, or death – all vital information for a search-and-rescue team.
In field trials we have conducted, the system has provided consistent temperature readings of the heads of volunteers from our research team who have walked out into a variety of environments, under different conditions.
Why it matters
It is critical to get accurate and timely information on the whereabouts of a missing person. The likelihood that the person will survive decreases steeply as time passes.
An AI-enhanced drone can make search-and-rescue operations significantly more efficient than sending teams of people out into the environment to search on foot, especially in poor weather conditions or under thick foliage. Rescuers who know whether a person is conscious or unconscious can also better gear up for what they need to do to retrieve the person and administer aid. Our technology could save lives.
What other research is being done
Search-and-rescue personnel use various kinds of drones, but the machines often lack the ability to positively identify humans, especially under thick foliage, in bad weather or when the person is lying down or unconscious. The AI-based technology we have developed overcomes those challenges.
Better sensors that are very lightweight, that can function at night or in rain, and can see more clearly through thick foliage could further improve our drone and drones used by others. Researchers are devising AI-powered sound recognition for detecting screams for help, advanced thermal imaging for better nighttime vision and autonomous drones that could act as first responders.
Also under development are drones that can carry heavy payloads, such as flotation devices, fly for up to 14 hours or perform real-time mapping of the ground below.
What’s next
One of our next steps is to have multiple drones fly together and autonomously coordinate search-and-rescue operations among themselves. This will allow the technology to cover a much larger area, perhaps hundreds of square miles.
We are also designing a large drone that can carry up to 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of payload and stay aloft for an hour.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
Adeel Khalid, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Kennesaw State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Last Updated on May 4, 2026 by Daily News Staff
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. In the United States, the holiday has become a celebration of Mexican-American culture and heritage, often involving parades, parties, and traditional foods such as tacos and margaritas.
How will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
https://stmdailynews.com/category/the-bridge/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo
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Blog
The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
A fifth-grade assignment took a strange turn when a substitute teacher asked students to draw schematics of their homes. What followed — a wildly fictional floor plan and a priceless reaction from my mom — turned into one of my funniest childhood memories.
The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
Elementary school memories tend to blend together — cafeteria pizza, playground arguments, the eternal struggle of times tables — but every once in a while, something happens that sticks with you for life. For me, that moment came in the fifth grade during a week when our regular teacher was out, and we cycled through substitute teachers like we were testing models for durability.
By midweek, in walked a substitute with a mysterious, slightly intense energy — the kind of vibe that suggested he either meditated at dawn or worked a graveyard shift doing something he couldn’t talk about. We settled into our seats, expecting worksheets or quiet reading time.
But nope.
He had other plans.
“Today,” he announced, “we’re going to draw schematics of our houses.”
Schematics. Not drawings. Not little houses with smoke coming out of the chimney. Actual blueprint-style schematics. He wanted the layout of our bedrooms, our parents’ rooms, and where the pets slept. Every detail.
Now, to be fair, Highlights Magazine did have a feature that month teaching kids how to draw floor plans. So maybe he was just a bit overenthusiastic about cross-curricular learning. Or maybe — and this is my completely rhetorical adult theory — he worked the graveyard shift as a cat burglar gathering intel between heists. Just moonlighting between blueprints.
While the rest of the class tried their best to recreate their actual homes, my imagination sprinted in a totally different direction. The house I drew had:
- A massive master bedroom with an oversized bathroom for my parents
- Separate bedrooms for us kids on the opposite side of the house
- A kitchen placed right in the center like a command center
- And the dog — the true VIP — had a luxurious two-story doghouse
I had basically created a dream home designed by a 10-year-old watching too much Fantasy Homes by the Yard.
Later that day, my mom asked the usual question: “So, what did you guys do today?”
“We drew schematics of our house,” I said casually.
The look on her face was instant and intense. She wasn’t panicked, but there was definitely a “Why does a substitute teacher need to know the exact layout of my home?” expression happening. Parental instincts activated.
But then I showed her my diagram.
She stared at it. Blinked. Then sighed with massive relief.
“This isn’t our house,” she said.
“Nope! I made it up,” I replied proudly.
Her shoulders relaxed so much she probably lost five pounds of tension in one instant. If the substitute was secretly planning a heist, my masterpiece of misinformation would have sent him to the wrong house entirely.
Looking back, the whole moment feels like a sitcom setup — a mysterious substitute collecting “house schematics,” me creating a completely fictional piece of architecture, and my mom going on a full emotional journey in under 30 seconds.
Maybe he was just excited about the Highlights Magazine floor-plan activity. Or maybe — just maybe — he moonlighted in cat burglary. We’ll never know.
But if he was, I like to think I threw him completely off the scent.
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