Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] has opened a new space Exploration Development Laboratory (EDL) that will support NASA‘s Project Orion and Constellation Program. Orion is the nexgen human spaceflight vehicle for transporting as many as six astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and as many as four astronauts to the moon, all starting in 2015, after the space shuttle is retired. The new 10,000 square foot lab is a state-of-the-art facility. It is funded by Lockheed Martin and teammates United Space Alliance and Honeywell as part of an integrated EDL network that includes facilities in Denver, Colorado, Glendale, Arizona, and Arlington, Virginia. The EDL in Houston is located adjacent to NASA Johnson Space Center.
Initial testing of critical systems will be done in the EDL, including the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C), Automated Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D), crew interfaces, and software development processes. Avionics system testing will be performed to reduce risk prior to abort flight testing at White Sands Missile Range and NASA Kennedy Space Center. EDL testing also will include system integration tests and mission tests that employ the team’s “test like you fly” philosophy. The Lockheed Martin team also is working closely with NASA on a Human Engineering mockup that will be used to perform fact finding activities, such as reach zone, panel displays, internal lighting assessment, seat mockup and development, docking hatch development, crew stowage, hand controller development, and other human interface devices—Houston, Texas
