{"id":7691,"date":"2022-03-31T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/?p=7691"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:17:51","slug":"the-dawn-of-a-new-age-sierra-space-is-using-siemens-xcelerator-to-revolutionize-space-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/the-dawn-of-a-new-age-sierra-space-is-using-siemens-xcelerator-to-revolutionize-space-exploration\/","title":{"rendered":"The dawn of a new age: Sierra Space is using Siemens\u2019 Xcelerator to revolutionize space exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Space exploration is about to take a big leap forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all remember the Space Shuttle, but now we\u2019re about to meet the heir apparent. Later this year, Sierra Space will conduct first flight of its new Dream Chaser, the world\u2019s only winged commercial spaceplane \u2013 designed, engineered, built and tested using Siemens\u2019 Xcelerator<\/a> portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot is riding on this spaceplane as NASA has selected Dream Chaser to deliver cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), and then return to earth with a gentle runway landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dream Chaser is just the beginning. Sierra Space is also working on the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat, a revolutionary inflatable, modular, three-story commercial and science platform which will provide opportunities for multiple businesses. It can be deployed in low-Earth orbit (LEO), on the surface of the moon, or in lunar orbit and serve as a transport\/loading station for future flights to Mars. Siemens\u2019 Xcelerator will be used in all phases of LIFE habitat development. Further, Siemens comprehensive digital twin serves as the core technology backbone not only for the LIFE habitat but for all programs under development at Sierra Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sierra Space Dream Chaser\u00ae spaceplane and LIFE\u2122 habitat (Image credit: \u00a9 Sierra Space)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Here\u2019s the press release<\/a> announcing the Siemens\/Sierra Space partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future access to space is all about digital transformation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s clear that startups and established OEMs alike all share in a universal goal: Getting their product to market (and into orbit) faster. They want to do it in a way that\u2019s cost-efficient and flexible, on budget and on schedule – all during a time of unprecedented innovation offset against increased complexity in the space industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sierra Space is leading the way by adopting a digital transformation strategy \u2013 and putting it to work now<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is digital transformation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Digital transformation allows teams to boost innovation while saving time and cost at both the product and process levels. With the digital twin<\/a>, companies have a robust understanding of the vehicle performance, and can dramatically reduce time-to-market by shortening the decision-making process, development time and testing loops. Digital threads are also a key component of any digital transformation. Digital threads<\/a> enable multi-disciplinary processes and integrate data from the beginning of the product lifecycle to final sustainment \u2013 throughout the entire process, there\u2019s full traceability at every turn while automating common processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Working within such an environment, a company gains a rich understanding of product and process. This type of environment allows teams to address complexity head-on, reducing risk while allowing for faster implementation times. These capabilities play a crucial role for any company that wants to be more competitive in today\u2019s space race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winning the “space race”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Siemens and our leadership in space stretches back decades, and we\u2019ve only strengthened our position today. Our Xcelerator portfolio of software and services which enables the world\u2019s most comprehensive digital twin, has become the trusted partner for pioneers who are winning this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at a few notable examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elon Musk and SpaceX<\/strong>
In 2008, Siemens announced that Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) would be standardizing its operations on Teamcenter<\/a> and NX<\/a> for product design, simulation and data management. In fact, the famous dragon capsule, Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, are designed and engineered in NX CAD software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The YouTube video of Elon Musk talking about NX software.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to learn more about Siemens and SpaceX, check out this case study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA\/Jet Propulsion Labs
<\/strong>NASA, JPL and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) successfully landed the first unmanned spacecraft on the surface of Mars. The robotic rover \u201cCuriosity\u201d was NASA\u2019s largest (the size of a small car) and most highly developed Mars vehicle at the time. During development, NASA engineers used much of our Xcelerator portfolio, NX was used from design, analysis through manufacturing while lifecycle data was managed by Teamcenter. To meet the extreme thermal challenges proposed by MSL, the team at NASA used Siemens Simcenter 3D<\/a> to evaluate the thermal control system\u2019s performance under intense conditions that could never be simulated via conventional physical testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Watch the Siemens\/NASA\/JPL video on Curiosity.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, just recently, in February of 2021, NASA had another successful Mars rover landing. This time it was \u201cPerseverance\u201d which included the coaxial helicopter \u201cIngenuity\u201d both were built and tested with help from Siemens software and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Webb Space Telescope<\/strong>
Just three months ago, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) designed to look deeper into the universe than its predecessor Hubble, and detect events occurring further back in time, lifted off. Today JWST is over a million miles away, and the telescope has already sent back its first test image. So far, everything is going as planned and the hopes and expectations of this engineering marvel are literally sky high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More than 1,000 people from 17 different countries worked on JWST. Siemens was asked to provide key technology which helped the entire program succeed. Designing, testing, building and assembling JWST was a team effort.

For the complete story, please visit this Siemens Simcenter blog<\/a>. 

There\u2019s also this pretty cool video.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Siemens?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Our space customers are discovering the powerful capabilities behind Xcelerator, an approach that meets demanding objectives both on a business level as well as on a product engineering and development level. Our customers are finding out quickly how to deliver new programs faster at much lower cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few advantages of Xcelerator<\/a> include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n