Newsweek, July 29, 2020 – The Department of Defense is developing orbital space outposts that may one day act as miniature space stations, and a potential precursor will fly to the International Space Station next year.
In June 2019, the Department of Defense put out a solicitation calling for "a self-contained and free flying orbital outpost." One contract, awarded by the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit and announced mid-July of this year, went to the Sierra Nevada Corporation (not the beer), whose existing technology is just a few steps away from the desired unmanned orbital outposts.