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Curt Godwin
October 9, 2018
The Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft low Earth orbit over our home world. Image Credit: Nathan Koga / SpaceFlight Insider
Lockheed Martin recently announced plans to take advantage of the commercial market for payloads co-manifested in future missions.
On October 5, 2018, at the 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, the company announced that it wished to evaluate the interest of opening commercial opportunities on the flights of its ship classified as crew.
The announcement ended a busy week for the company at the conference, which previously revealed its intention to develop a reusable Lander for use with the Lunar Gateway.
"Access to the moon and open spaces for commercial entities opens new worlds for all of us. It advances science, fuels innovation, and inspires a new generation of engineers, "said Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin Space's Orion Program Director and Vice President, Human Space Exploration and Commercial Civil Space, in a statement. a press release issued by the company.
Lockheed Martin, which uses commercial partners early in the program, will help customers standardize systems previously used to support payloads, not just for Orion, but for projects such as the Lunar Gateway and missions to March. To this end, the company has partnered with NanoRacks for the study. NanoRacks, which has a long-standing active payload program on the International Space Station, appears to be a natural choice for Lockheed Martin.
"We have seen this model run on the international space station in low Earth orbit, and now, in collaboration with NanoRacks, we are applying that same successful model to deep space," said Hawes.
Indeed, the partnership between the two companies could provide customers with a reliable and relatively affordable method to provide payloads beyond their low Earth orbit.
"At NanoRacks, we are proud to know exactly what our commercial customers need for a growing number of platforms in space and how to deliver efficient services at a competitive price. That's why we view this effort with Lockheed Martin as a win-win, "said the CEO and co-founder of NanoRack, Jeffrey Manber, in the same press release. "Lockheed Martin brings unparalleled capabilities in engineering, mission management and vehicle design in remote spaces.
The solicitation for commercial payloads is open to both US-based organizations and international organizations and covers a wide range of fields, from communications and STEM fields to art and entertainment. Lockheed Martin said it may be possible to steal payloads during NASA's first three flights on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS).
These missions, designated Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) Exploration Mission 3 (EM-3), will allow Orion and SLS to move from non-equipped test flight to the first one. phase of the construction of the Lunar entrance gate. It is important to note that although NASA is aware of the solicitation, there is currently no formal arrangement under which this could be formally undertaken.
Lockheed Martin solicits commercial ideas for payloads to fly with Orion on missions from deep space to the Lunar Bridge. Image Credit: Nathan Koga / SpaceFlight Insider
Tagged: Bremen International Astronautics Congress, Germany Lockheed-Martin NanoRacks Orion Leaders Stories
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Curt Godwin
Curt Godwin has always been a proponent of space exploration. He has stared at the sky since his youngest age. After studying nuclear engineering, Curt later decided that computers would be a better and safer career field. He has worked in educational technology for over 20 years and has been published in industry journals and by peers. He is a respected authority in wireless network engineering. Throughout this period of his life, he has maintained his love for space and recounted his experiences at various NASA events, both on his personal blog and as an independent media representative.
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