The Pentagon has commissioned the development of a space station to carry out important experimental work – with the US military set to benefit.

It's hoped the new station, which is set to be built by the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), will aid the Federal government with training and operational missions.

The aerospace company announced the deal on July 14 in conjunction with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) but stopped short of revealing how much it will cost.

DIU, which has headquarters in the Pentagon, has a mission to "accelerating the adoption of leading commercial technology throughout the military".

It is believed the SNC will look to modify existing plans for its 15ft-long Shooting Star space cargo transport vehicle rather than going back to the drawing board.

The newly commissioned Unmanned Orbital Outpost with compliment the Shooting Star project which has been in development since 2016 for NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program to delivery cargo to the International Space Station.