Hacker News Reader

Interesting that Sierra Nevada Corp's space plane looks so similar to the USSR Spiral

The SNC Dream Chaser is based on several previous US designs, which probably involved some back-and-forth responding to what the USSR was doing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HL-20_Personnel_Launch_System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-20_Dyna-Soar

If you want a lifting body with a high AOA reentry, maneuverable approach, and runway landing, then the physics probably dictates everyone converging on similar shapes. Also in this group: Buran, Shuttle, and X37.

>> Also in this group: Buran, Shuttle

Buran/shuttle were more than just lifting bodies. They had the large wings necessary for cross-range flight, something more than just landing. This was needed for military single-overflight mission profiles that were never flown.

I've heard from drunk MechEs working at SNC that Dream Chaser is a blatantly soviet design, down to measurements making way more sense in metric than the imperial that they use.

https://www.denverpost.com/2016/02/26/sierra-nevadas-dream-c...

https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/nasas-newest-cargo-s...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com