spacetoday.net: Dream Chaser suffers crash landing after first free flight

Dream Chaser suffers crash landing after first free flight

Posted: Sun, Oct 27, 2013, 11:17 AM ET (1517 GMT)
Dream Chaser ETA during captive carry flight (NASA)

A prototype of a proposed commercial crew spacecraft made its first free flight on Saturday, but suffered unspecified damage when its landing gear failed on landing. The Dream Chaser engineering test article, developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), was released from a helicopter Saturday morning to glide back to a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The flight went smoothly, but upon landing the vehicle's left landing gear suffered an "anomaly," according to an official company statement. The company, nor NASA, provided details about what damage the Dream Chaser prototype suffered, but one published report indicated the vehicle flipped over. SNC is one of three companies working on commercial crew vehicle designs under funded agreements with NASA.