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Beyond SpaceX: Five companies seeking to change space travel

During the past 10 years, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have directed NASA to turn the job of transporting cargo and crew to the space station over to the private sector. As that process gathers pace, here is a list of the key players.

5. Sierra Nevada Corporation

Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems
An animation of the Dream Chaser docking with the International Space Station.

  • By Pete Spotts Staff writer

Sierra Nevada Corporation's entrant into NASA's commercial-crew venture is a craft known as Dream Chaser. It's a shuttle-like glider designed to carry from two to seven astronauts. The craft initially was designed for suborbital flights. The focus now is to perch it atop an Atlas V for use as crew transportation to and from the space station. So far, NASA has provided $100 million in seed money to advance the design. 

Based in Sparks, Nev., the company was founded in 1963 as an aerospace electronics firm. It merged with SpaceDev, a company founded in 1997 to advance commercial human spaceflight, and two of SpaceDev's subsidiaries in 2009. 

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