Thu, Dec 01, 2016
Midland International Air & Space Port Receives Dream Chaser Spacecraft Compatible Landing Site Designation
Midland International Air & Space Port is now considered a compatible landing site for SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and the Midland Development Corporation (MDC) recently announced that Midland International Air & Space Port, located in Midland, Texas, has successfully completed the compatibility portion of the Dream Chaser Landing Site Designation process, which is the first step toward becoming an approved landing site for Dream Chaser spacecraft landings.
In order for the Dream Chaser spacecraft to obtain final approval to land at any airport or spaceport, SNC must receive a Part 435 Reentry License from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This license is issued to the vehicle operator and is paired to the landing site. With the successful completion of this first phase, Midland International Air & Space Port is one step closer to becoming an approved, licensed Dream Chaser landing site for commercial missions.
“Midland is already an FAA-licensed spaceport, making pursuit of Dream Chaser landing opportunities a logical next step,” said John Roth, vice president of Business Development and Strategy for SNC’s Space Systems. “We entered into an agreement to begin working on the Landing Site Designation earlier this year and are pleased to have successfully progressed in the process. Midland is now considered a compatible landing site for Dream Chaser commercial missions.”
SNC developed the Landing Site Designation process to provide airports and spaceports around the world the opportunity to assess the feasibility of landing its Dream Chaser spacecraft on site. The SNC Landing Site Designation is the first of several steps required in order to become an FAA licensed landing site.
“[This] announcement demonstrates Midland Spaceport’s continued commitment to furthering the commercial space industry on behalf of the City of Midland. Our goal is to one day see the Dream Chaser spacecraft land safely on our Midland International Air & Space Port runway,” said J. Ross Lacy, president of the Spaceport Development Board.
(Source: SNC news release. Image from file)
More News
Very High Frequency The frequency band between 30 and 300 MHz. Portions of this band, 108 to 118 MHz, are used for certain NAVAIDs; 118 to 136 MHz are used for civil air/ground voi>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Suppliers Association Established February 25, 1993, the Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a not-for-profit association, repre>[...]
Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]
From 2021 (YouTube Version): Colorado Campus Offers aVariety Of Aerospace Entertainment And Education Wings over the Rockies Exploration of Flight is the second location for the Wi>[...]
Also: Paramotor Champ's, Electric Ultralight, ICON BK Update, Burt Rutan at Oshkosh! The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway >[...]