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Lockheed Martin Selected for NASA's Lunar Lander Payload Commercial Service Contract
Press release
From: Lockheed Martin Corporation
Posted: Thursday, 29 November 2018
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will apply its expertise in interplanetary spacecraft to a new program designed to provide commercial payloads on the surface of the Moon. NASA announced today that it has selected Lockheed Martin's McCandless Lunar Lander for the delivery of payload delivery services under the agency's commercial lunar payload service (CLPS) contract.
The design of the Lockheed Martin landing gear is based on four decades of experience in space mission engineering, including the Mars landing gear. The McCandless Lunar Lander is based on the proven design of the InSight lander – which just landed on the Martian surface on Monday, November 26 – and the Phoenix lander – which arrived at Mars in May. 2008.
"We are excited to leverage our interplanetary landing gear design and experience to help NASA build a new economy on and around the moon," said Lisa Callahan, Vice President and General Manager of the Civil Space. and Lockheed Martin. "Lockheed Martin has built more interplanetary spacecraft than any other American company combined, including four landers on Mars. Thanks to our expertise in Orion and the NextSTEP lunar habitat, we can maximize the value of SPDP for lunar scientific operations as well as the path forward to reach the reusable human undercarriage of tomorrow. "
The McCandless Lunar Lander is capable of carrying large payloads weighing hundreds of kilograms – including stationary scientific instruments, deployable rovers, or even sample return vehicles – on the surface of the Moon. The LG uses a proven propulsion landing approach that relies on embedded radars and a set of jet engines that fire 10 times per second to slow down to just 5 mph before touching the ground. Once on the lunar surface, the undercarriage can provide power, communications and thermal management for sophisticated payloads.
"We are no strangers to commercial space models, having built more than 100 commercial satellites and launched numerous commercial ATV and Titan payloads," said Callahan. "In our last 10 interplanetary NASA missions, we delivered on time and within budget. We want to ensure payload customers who choose Lockheed Martin that we can deliver on time and within budget. "
The McCandless Lunar Lander is named in honor of the late Bruce McCandless, NASA astronaut and former employee of Lockheed Martin, a pioneer in space exploration. McCandless is best known for leading the very first exit into the unitless space using the manned maneuver unit built by Lockheed Martin during a flight aboard the space shuttle. He first joined the astronaut corps during the Apollo program and was the mission control spokesperson for Neil Armstrong's famous moonwalk. After retiring from NASA, he played a key role in the design of exploration technology and in training the next generation of planetary explorers during his tenure at Lockheed Martin.
About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is a global security and aerospace company employing approximately 100,000 people worldwide. She is mainly specialized in researching, designing, developing, manufacturing, integrating and maintaining advanced technology systems, products and services. This year, the company received three Edison Awards for its breakthrough innovations in battery life, satellite technology and managed energy.
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