Sierra Space inks deal with Turkey's space agency for low-Earth orbit and Moon missions

US-based Sierra Space, on June 29, announced signing a Memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with the Turkish Space Agency and ESEN Sistem Entegrasyon for cargo and astronaut programs to the low-Earth orbit and the Moon. Sierra Space said that the three parties will work together for the next five years under a plan that involves working on the development of space technologies and their applications. Besides, the company's Dream Chaser spaceplane and LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) space station will also be developed under this collaboration.

In an official release, Sierra Space that the MOC will also revolve around applications of space technologies in remote sensing, propulsion systems, a crewed space system and communications along with space environment utilization through its LIFE habitat. LIFE's construction is also being carried out by Sierra Space's partners such as Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University and the space habitat is targeted for launch later this decade. 

Developing technologies to send payloads to the low-Earth orbit and the Moon is also on the agenda. "This agreement with the Turkish Space Agency and ESEN is another significant step for Sierra Space as we build a technology and business platform in LEO – and in doing so – deliver affordable access to space, opening the commercial space economy to the world,” Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice said in an official statement. 

Serdar Hüseyin Yıldırım, President of Turkey's space agency, also hailed the partnership and showed optimism toward Sierra Space's projects. "There are tremendous benefits for our industries and future space projects by leveraging Sierra Space capabilities and technologies, and we look forward to further collaboration with Sierra Space to identify additional opportunities where we can be active participants in the future of commercial space’s infrastructure and economy", he added.

About the collaborators

Sierra Space, which is part of the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), was founded last year and raised $1.4 billion in a Series A round of funding in November 2021. The company is currently working on its Dream Chaser spacecraft which is expected to launch in 2023. The company aims to use the spacecraft for cargo and crew delivery services for NASA and other companies to the future space stations in low-Earth orbit.

The ESEN, on the other hand, which was founded in 2012 is an affiliated company of SNC, that develops innovative engineering solutions for aerospace, defense and security markets. The Turkish Space Agency is also emerging as a new player in the space race as it announced in May this year to have started preparations for sending its citizens to the International Space Station (ISS).