Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have announced details of the first-ever United Nations space mission at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico. The dedicated mission is targeted at providing developing countries the opportunity to develop and fly microgravity payloads for an extended duration in orbit. However, all United Nations Member States will be able to propose payloads for the mission.
This announcement builds on the MoU signed in June 2016 between UNOOSA and SNC. The first-ever United Nations space mission is intended to launch in 2021 and will allow United Nations Member States to participate in a 14-day flight to low-Earth orbit (LEO) on SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft.
According to Simonetta Di Pippo, director of UNOOSA, funding of the mission will come from multiple sources. Countries selected to provide mission payloads will be asked to pay a pro-rated portion of the mission cost, based on the resources required to host the payload and their ability to pay. In addition, major sponsors are being sought to finance a large portion of the mission costs.
Over the next year, mission partners will conduct briefings to United Nations Member States and potential payload providers about the goals and framework of the mission and to solicit proposals for payloads. To make the programme more accessible to nations without a highly developed space industry, UNOOSA will offer technical support to countries that lack expertise or experience in developing microgravity payloads. Payloads will be selected in early 2018 to allow time for development and integration into the Dream Chaser spacecraft for launch expected in 2021.
SNC is currently working with airports and spaceports to be granted a Federal Aviation Administration reentry licence for commercial Dream Chaser missions. It was announced in January that SNC had been selected alongside Orbital ATK and SpaceX to provide cargo delivery, return and disposal services for the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract.