The Dream Chaser, the long-awaited reusable spaceplane inspired by the Space Shuttle, could be chasing its own dreams for a little while longer.

NASA announced on Thursday that it significantly changed the terms of the contract it awarded in 2016 to Louisville-based Sierra Space, the aerospace and defense company behind Dream Chaser.

The company and the U.S. space agency said they came to an agreement that will no longer require NASA to hire Dream Chaser’s services for a minimum of seven missions to the International Space Station and the target timeline for its first flight is delayed by another year.

Now, under the new terms, the company will only get a “free flight demonstration,” NASA said.

After that, the space agency said each mission will be ordered on a case-by-case basis.

Dream Chaser was expected to launch this year for its first flight, but the company and NASA announced that the new target is “late 2026.”

Under the new terms, NASA said it will provide “minimal support” for the rest of Dream Chaser’s development.

The space agency added that it would consider hiring Dream Chaser for missions if its test flight goes well, but it will no longer be contractually obligated to — meaning there’s no guarantee the spaceplane will service the ISS as originally planned.

“As NASA and its partners look toward space station deorbit in 2030, this mutually agreed to decision enables testing and verification to continue on Dream Chaser, as well as demonstrating the capabilities of the spaceplane for future resupply missions in low Earth orbit,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program, in a news release.

Delays after delays for spaceplane

The Dream Chaser, also known as the DC-100, would be the only spaceplane able to land on commercial runways, giving it flexibility to land almost anywhere in the world, according to the company. It could potentially land at the Colorado Air and Space Port, though a company official explained earlier this year that it wouldn’t be easy and more flight data is needed to allow such a landing.

It was built in Sierra Space’s manufacturing facility in Louisville.

The spaceplane was meant to help NASA decommission the ISS, as it still has valuable technology and tools onboard that could be used in other space assets. The space agency plans to retire the space station by the end of the decade.

Sierra Space was also looking to have the Dream Chaser ready for the proliferation of commercial space stations in the works to replace the ISS.

Now, the question is whether Dream Chaser will be used for the ISS’s retirement at all.

The Dream Chaser was originally supposed to launch last year on the Vulcan Centaur rocket made by the United Launch Alliance, another Colorado-based aerospace company. Sierra Space couldn’t make ULA’s deadline without risking the launch needed by U.S. Space Force to certify the Vulcan and set up ULA to compete against SpaceX for mission contracts.

At the time, a spokesperson said it would still launch by the end of 2024.

Then earlier this year, Sierra Space told The Denver Gazette that it planned to launch by the end of 2025 and no earlier than May.

Now, that has also been delayed.

In its own news release, Sierra Space said the new contract terms would give its team more flexibility to “address the nation’s most pressing National Security Space challenges.”

“This transition provides unique capabilities to meet the needs of diverse mission profiles, including emerging and existential threats and national security priorities that align with our acceleration into the Defense Tech market,” said Fatih Ozmen, executive chair at Sierra Space.

Sierra Space is working with NASA to preserve the Dream Chaser’s “potential,” Ozmen added, and make sure it’s ready “for the next era of space innovation.”