On Wednesday, privately-held space exploration company Sierra Nevada Corp announced that it has added Lockheed Martin's (LMT -0.55%) Space Systems division to its "SNC Dream Chaser" team.
Lockheed will help Sierra with its work on a $10 million, Phase 1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Certification Products Contract, aimed at certifying Sierra's Dream Chaser space shuttle as safe to use as an "orbital crew transportation system." Lockheed will also be responsible for building the Dream Chaser's composite structure.
Along with fellow privately-held space company SpaceX and, also, Boeing (BA 0.39%), Sierra is seeking a Commercial Crew Program contract from NASA to build a next-gen space shuttle. This would be used for transportation to and from space (the "to" part being piggybacked atop an Atlas V rocket), ferrying astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station.
