The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded Sierra Nevada Corp. a contract to create an unmanned orbital outpost prototype based on the company's space transport vehicle design. SNC said Tuesday it will repurpose the 16-foot Shooting Star hardware that was originally designed to function as a Dream Chaser spaceplane attachment under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services 2 program.

The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded contracts to three companies to study concepts for small, unmanned space stations in low-Earth orbit, SpaceNews reported Sunday.