Will the ISS get another space plane visit before falling back to Earth in 2030? The dream may be fading

The International Space Station (ISS) may never again be visited by a space plane.

NASA's space shuttle orbiters were instrumental in building the ISS, and in keeping it operational for its first decade; these reusable spacecraft ferried astronauts to and from the orbiting outpost until the fleet was fully retired in 2011. Five years later, the agency opened the door to more space plane meetups, signing a cargo deal with Sierra Space, the Colorado-based company behind the robotic Dream Chaser vehicle.

That 2016 contract awarded Sierra Space a minimum of seven ISS resupply flights with Dream Chaser and its companion cargo module, called Shooting Star. Nine years later, however, Dream Chaser has still not reached space — and its cargo deal has just been changed.

"After a thorough evaluati