Lockheed Martin Opens Advanced Manufacturing Facility to Expand Orion Spacecraft Production
July 19, 2021 | PRNewswireEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

Lockheed Martin opened its Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center. The STAR Center features business and digital transformation innovations that will expand manufacturing, assembly and testing capacity for NASA's Orion spacecraft program and ultimately, future space exploration.
Lockheed Martin currently assembles the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I and II Moon missions at the nearby Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The addition of the STAR Center provides much-needed space for the new production phase of Orion, allowing future Orion spacecraft – starting with the Artemis III mission – to be built faster.
"The STAR Center is a spacecraft factory of the future and is the centerpiece of our commitment to build sustainable and affordable capabilities for NASA to send astronauts to explore the Moon and eventually Mars," said Lisa Callahan, Commercial Civil Space vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Space. "We are using advanced manufacturing capabilities and digital-first technologies to speed production and improve quality to get Orion from factory to space faster than ever before."
Lockheed Martin acquired the building that formerly housed the Astronaut Training Experience attraction and spent 18 months and nearly $20 million renovating and modernizing the 55,000 square-foot space into a digitally-transformed factory of the future.
Digital Transformation Means Efficiencies
The STAR Center showcases Lockheed Martin's ability to implement the latest digital transformation technologies, along with the company's existing production expertise, to scale Orion production and deliver spacecraft faster than ever before.
Those include integrating the STAR Center into Lockheed Martin's Intelligent Factory Framework (IFF), an edge computing platform that secures, scales and standardizes device connectivity through various IT platforms. This digital-first approach streamlines production and maximizes agility by connecting devices virtually. Lockheed Martin has already deployed IFF to seven locations and is scaling across the entire company.
In addition, more than 30 machines at the STAR center will be connected to this IFF, as well as machines at NASA's O&C, giving all production team members at both facilities real-time access to valuable data. The center also employs remote access, monitoring and alerting technologies for equipment, plus smart tools such as virtual reality and augmented reality.
Room to Grow
Under Lockheed Martin's production contract with NASA, the agency has committed to order Orion vehicles for six missions, with the potential to add another six through 2030.
Elements of the spacecraft that take large amounts of floor space and that are built and tested outside the normal spacecraft assembly flow will be moved to the STAR Center. This gives production teams more room at the O&C facility to assemble and test more Orion spacecraft simultaneously and quicker.
Production activities include:
- Assembly and test of Orion aeroshell heat shield and backshell panels, including thermal protection system installation
- Crew module and crew module adapter wire harness fabrication and testing
- Propulsion and environmental control and life support systems assembly and testing
- Electrical ground support equipment production
Suggested Items
Lockheed Martin Technology Demonstration to Showcase Faster On-Orbit Sensor Calibration
11/28/2023 | Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin will soon launch a unique wideband Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) payload demonstrator to show the company's investment in advanced technology to perform missions faster once on orbit. The payload demonstrator, which will launch aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket, extends Lockheed Martin’s significant investment in scalable wideband ESA technology development to showcasing an actual on-orbit capability. This technology is critical to future remote sensing architectures.
PAC-3 Successfully Integrates With LTAMDS Radar
11/21/2023 | Lockheed MartinFor the first time, Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 (PAC-3) successfully integrated with the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radar to defend against an Air Breathing Threat (ABT).
Lockheed Martin Opens 25,000-Square Foot, $16.5M Missile Defense Lab
11/14/2023 | Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin opened a $16.5M engineering facility at its Huntsville campus, introducing more capabilities for missile defense innovation in North Alabama. This facility is a Lockheed Martin capital project and provides evidence of Lockheed Martin's investment in the Huntsville community, increasing opportunities for growth and advanced capability in North Alabama at the company's Huntsville campus. The new Missile System Integration Lab (MSIL) is where Lockheed Martin plans to conduct development, testing, and system integration for the nation's next long range ballistic missile defense interceptor.
Aegis Combat System Fully Engages Multiple Targets During Flight Test
10/26/2023 | Lockheed MartinThe USS CARL M LEVIN (DDG 120) successfully completed Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-48 (FTM-48), also known as Vigilant Wyvern, north of the Pacific Missile Test Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.
Terran Orbital Selected by Lockheed Martin to Build Satellite Buses for SDA’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer Constellation
10/24/2023 | BUSINESS WIRELockheed Martin has awarded Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) a contract to build 36 satellite buses for Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Beta constellation.