Sierra Space planning astronaut academy on Florida's Space Coast

BREVARD, Fla. - One of the biggest private space companies plans to build a "space school" at the Kennedy Space Center. 

With rocket launches happening about every week from multiple private companies, Sierra Space has plans to create the world's first fully-integrated Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy. 

"We are starting our own human spaceflight office and will be selecting our own astronauts!" said Dr. Janet Kavandi, president of Sierra Space.

Sierra Space, which is based out of Nevada, is building Dream Chaser, billed as "the world’s first commercial spaceplane," expected to make its first flight from Cape Canaveral in 2023. "A crewed variant of the Dream Chaser spaceplane is currently in development and will be operational in 2026," the company says. 

Artist rendering of the Sierra Space Dream Chaser, billed as the world’s first commercial spaceplane. 

Sierra Space is also developing the world’s first commercial space station in partnership with Blue Origin, known as the Orbital Reef, expected to be in orbit and operational in 2027.

"After having served in the astronaut corps at NASA, there was always the question of why aren't we training in Florida," said Kavandi. "Florida is where we fly, it would make so much more sense.’

They plan to train three types of astronauts: professional career astronauts who will spend months in space operating the orbital reef, specialist astronauts who will work in other fields to support the orbiting lab, and experimental astronauts for customers who want to experience living on a space station.

Sierra Space is developing Orbital Reef, billed as the world’s first commercial space station, in partnership with co-lead investor, Blue Origin. The space station is expected to operation in 2027.

Sierra Space is developing Orbital Reef, billed as the world’s first commercial space station, in partnership with co-lead investor, Blue Origin. The space station is expected to operation in 2027.

Sierra Space is developing Orbital Reef, billed as the world’s first commercial space station, in partnership with co-lead investor, Blue Origin. The space station is expected to operation in 2027.

"There have been many companies who have proven successfully that they can take people commercially to space and get cargo and hardware to space," said Kavandi. "It is the new frontier that many companies want to get into."

The company is going over designs for the training academy and reviewing an opening date. The academy is hoping to begin the professional astronaut selection process in late 2023, with training for the first class of selected astronauts to begin in 2024. The company would be able to start flying those astronauts by 2026 to begin construction of the Orbital Reef.