Sierra Space, the Turkish Space Agency and ESEN Sistem Entegrasyon (ESEN) have signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) that will find the three parties combining efforts on Sierra’s Space’s LEO, lunar and astronaut programs.
The MOC agreement outlines plans for Sierra Space and ESEN to work in partnership with the Turkish Space Agency for the next five years on a wide range of space technologies and applications, including the Dream Chaser® spaceplane and LIFE™ (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat for future, commercial, LEO destinations.
The MOC also provides for additional collaboration on a range of initiatives, including:
- Space technologies and applications in areas such as remote sensing, propulsion systems, crewed space system and space communications
- Space environment use on-orbit in LEO, including use of Sierra Space’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) space habitat module
- Sending payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the moon
- Engagement with and incubation of Turkish industry and academia in space-related business ventures, R&D, technology innovation and science campaigns.
In November of 2021, Sierra Space secured $1.4 billion in capital, the largest Series A capital raise in 2021 and the industry’s second largest private capital raise in history. The Series A investment was led by General Atlantic, Coatue and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners and AE Industrial Partners. The funding is accelerating the development of the company’s space transportation systems – led by the Dream Chaser® spaceplane, in- space destinations for LEO commercialization, and advanced technologies and space applications, together forming a technology and business platform in space.
“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,” said Sierra Space CEO, Tom Vice. “The work we do to advance human civilization has never been more important, and we have the unique opportunity in space to bring people together from across the world to pioneer next-generation space transportation, destinations and applications solutions.”
“The Turkish Space Agency is proud to partner with Sierra Space and ESEN to participate in the development and execution of Sierra Space’s various projects and space technologies including the Dream Chaser spaceplane, LIFE Habitat and a range of space applications,” said Serdar Hüseyin Yıldırım, President of the Turkish Space Agency. “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.”
“Sierra Space is an industry leader in the commercial space economy, and we are delighted to continue our efforts with the company to help build the Turkish space economy,” said Cem Ugur, Director General for ESEN. “As we work in partnership to further propel Sierra Space’s advanced technologies and commercial space projects, we can advance commercial space development for those all around the world.”
Sierra Space is a leading commercial space company that is building platforms in space to benefit life on Earth. With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, Sierra Space is enabling the future of space transportation with Dream Chaser®, the world’s only winged commercial spaceplane. Expected to launch in 2023 on a series of NASA missions, Dream Chaser can safely carry cargo – and eventually crew – to on-orbit destinations, returning to land on compatible commercial airport runways worldwide. Sierra Space is also building the LIFE™ habitat, a three-story commercial habitation and science platform designed for low Earth orbit (LEO). Both Dream Chaser and LIFE are central components to Orbital Reef, a mixed- use business park in LEO being developed by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, which is expected to be operational by 2027.
ESEN, established in 2012 as an affiliated company of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), develops innovative engineering solutions for aerospace, defense and security markets. ESEN products to date include GöRDES Vision Based Navigation, HFDF, Airborne COMINT, MMR, T2CAS Systems, Wide Area Surveillance Applications and GöKHUN UAS. ESEN continues to seek engineering challenges to create innovative state of the art products.