NASA’s new space plane is getting ready to take flight

//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/7069c856-55ba-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd The bid was something of a longshot, especially since the incumbents were well liked and had proven vehicles. But Sierra Nevada last year won a slice of the contract, along with incumbents Orbital ATK and SpaceX, and could begin flying by late 2019. The victory breathed life into the program, and the company has been progressing ever since, said Mark Sirangelo, the heads of Sierra Nevada’s space systems division. He said he was especially proud that the Dream Chaser would be tested in the same area where so many other programs got off the ground, from the first test flights of the shuttle to Chuck Yeager’s breaking of the sound barrier. “We’re picking up that torch and carrying it forward,” Sirangelo said. “There’s a lot of historical meaning to us, a continuation of the long legacy of America testing advanced airplanes and leading the world in this arena.” First, the Dream Chaser will undergo ground testing. But eventually it will be carried aloft by a heavy-lift helicopter, then let go, gliding back down to Earth to practice one the most important parts of flight: the landing. Source: The Washington Post -Hymer