The Galileo radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) was built at the LMSSC facility in Valley Forge, Pa. Denver LMSSC personnel also built a key component of the attitude and articulation control system electronics that controlled the Galileo spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter, and provided three of the six scientific instruments on the probe. Solar systems exploration missions launched from the shuttle include the Magellan mission to Venus–for which LMSSC in Denver built the spacecraft and provided mission operations. Lockheed Martin payloads carried on individual shuttle mission are numerous, and fall into several categories. The Shuttle Tile Repair Kit has been carried on every post- Columbia mission, but fortunately has not been needed. The material is an ablator because the ceramic chars on reentry to dissipate heat and protect the orbiter from high temperatures. The material developed can be used by spacewalking astronauts to repair cracks and nicks in the tiles, utilizing a chemical process that uses a silicone condensation reaction to create a silicone rubber, which is pyrolized during reentry to a ceramic state. The LMSSC Advanced Technology Center annex in Denver provided a solution. The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbiaon February 1, 2003, from damage sustained to one of its RCC panels by falling foam from the External Tank, necessitated a way to repair damage to Space Shuttle Thermal Protection on-orbit. The RCC was also developed by Lockheed Martin. Following the loss of Challenger in 1986, Lockheed Martin provided a tile set for Endeavour.Įach time the Space Shuttle Orbiter makes its fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere, the RCC panels protect the vehicle's nose section, wing leading edges and chin panel against metal-melting temperatures approaching 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The original contract was to provide tile material for four orbiters– Columbia, Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis. The tiles are such poor heat conductors that they can be held in a bare hand while still red-hot. created and manufactured the reusable silica tiles that protected the Space Shuttle orbiters on every flight from the searing heat of re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere. Space Shuttle Thermal Protection comes in two forms: shuttle tiles and Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels. It has a propellant capacity of 537,000 gallons (1.6 million pounds) of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel that power the Space Shuttle Main Engines. At 154 feet long and 27.6 feet in diameter, the ET is the largest element of the Space Shuttle and the structural backbone of the system. The Lockheed Martin-built systems that were part of every space shuttle mission include the External Tank (ET) and the Space Shuttle Thermal Protection. We take enormous pride in being your partner, and look forward to working side by side to take America to new frontiers in space." "You have made history and laid the foundation for new voyages of discovery. For these extraordinary achievements, we salute the people on the ground and in space who have devoted their lives to this engineering marvel," said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "NASA's space shuttle has transformed Earth orbit from a frontier to a workspace-a place where humans live, build and create, where science thrives, where nations collaborate daily. In addition to important shuttle systems that were a part of every flight, the company has had payloads on at least 30 missions that included spacecraft, satellites, instruments, telescopes, experiments, and various components. SUNNYVALE, Calif., J/ PRNewswire/ - The final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program is underway, and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Space Systems Company (LMSSC) has played a significant role from the very beginning.
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