SPARKS, Nev., September 26, 2017 – The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) announced today the opportunity to participate in a space mission using Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Dream Chaser spacecraft. The low-Earth orbit space mission will take 20 to 30 powered experiments provided by organizations within the participating UN Member States, with a particular emphasis on developing and emerging countries.
“The benefits of a joint mission between government and private organizations on a level of this scale are incalculable,” said Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president of SNC’s Space Systems business area. A key aspect of the mission is to provide training and facilitate development of technology, in particular for developing countries. The access to space and application of this technology, along with the overall growth of industry, are a part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“This is about scientific discovery, and about opening space to organizations that may not have access to it otherwise,” said Eren Ozmen, owner and President of SNC. “We’re thrilled to provide the vehicle that will make this happen.”
“We expect our efforts in building industry capacity to have long-term impacts, especially in space-related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs, and that these results will flow to the wider economy as a whole,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, director of UNOOSA. “We are here to support developing and emerging countries and institutions so that this mission can really enable inclusive access to space for all and contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The Call for Interest issued by UNOOSA provides a summary of the two to three week long in-space mission and requests information from UN Member States interested in providing payloads. The deadline for submission is Nov. 1, 2017.
About the Dream Chaser Spacecraft
Owned and operated by SNC, the Dream Chaser spacecraft is a reusable, multi-mission space utility vehicle. It is capable of transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station resides, and is the only commercial, lifting-body vehicle capable of a runway landing. The Dream Chaser Cargo System design was selected by NASA to provide cargo delivery and disposal services to the space station under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2) contract.
About SNC
SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Our innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains – sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. We are one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and we pride ourselves on our ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of our mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Founded in 1963, SNC is owned by Chairwoman Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen.