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Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Space

Major aerospace division delivering satellites, spacecraft, and strategic defense systems

Overview

Lockheed Martin Space is the space systems division of Lockheed Martin Corporation and one of the largest prime contractors in national security space, strategic and missile defense, and civil space. From its base in the Denver area of Colorado it designs, builds and operates satellites, crewed spacecraft, missile-warning constellations and interceptors for NASA, the U.S. Space Force, the Missile Defense Agency, the Space Development Agency and allied governments. It employs roughly 20,000 people.

The division was reorganized in May 2023 into three lines — commercial civil space, national security space, and strategic and missile defense — a structure aimed at proliferated low Earth orbit architectures and next-generation missile defense. In August 2024 Lockheed Martin agreed to acquire smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital, closing the deal in October 2024 and bringing in-house the bus production it had already been buying for Space Development Agency work.

Its most visible program is Orion, NASA's crewed deep-space vehicle: on 1 April 2026 Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon and back, the first crewed lunar mission since 1972, splashing down on 10 April. On the defense side the division holds a $17 billion Missile Defense Agency contract for the Next Generation Interceptor, builds Tracking Layer satellites for the Space Development Agency and produces GPS III. Space segment sales reached $13 billion in 2025, up 4% year over year, with operating profit up 10% to $1.3 billion, driven by missile defense programs and Orion.

Products & Vehicles

Orion Spacecraft

Orion is NASA's crew vehicle for deep space, built by Lockheed Martin as prime contractor. On Artemis II, launched 1 April 2026 on the Space Launch System, Orion carried NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon — the first crewed lunar mission since 1972 — flying past the far side at about 6,545 km on 6 April and setting a record for the greatest distance humans have travelled from Earth before splashdown in the Pacific on 10 April. The capsule provides life support, launch-abort capability and deep-space habitation for up to 21 days free-flying or six months docked.

LM 2100 satellite bus and GPS III

The LM 2100 is the division's geostationary-class platform for communications, weather and national security payloads, supporting 1,500-6,000 kg spacecraft with a design life beyond 15 years. It underpins the GPS III satellites, which the U.S. Space Force credits with roughly three times better accuracy and eight times improved anti-jam performance over legacy GPS. Lockheed Martin built the GPS IIR and IIR-M blocks before GPS III and GPS IIIF, though not every GPS block: the IIF satellites were built by Boeing.

LM 400 satellite platform

LM 400 is a mid-size, multi-mission bus aimed at proliferated LEO constellations and responsive missions, produced in Colorado and offered to both government and commercial customers. It cleared critical design review in 2024, but its flight demonstrator was lost on 29 April 2025 when Firefly's Alpha FLTA006 suffered a stage-separation anomaly and failed to reach orbital velocity, dropping the satellite into the Pacific. The platform remains on offer while the company works toward an orbital demonstration.

Tracking Layer satellites (SDA)

Lockheed Martin is a repeat supplier to the Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, which provides persistent infrared tracking of ballistic and hypersonic threats. It won 10 Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites in 2023 for $187.5 million, 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites in January 2024 for about $890 million — with launches beginning in late 2026 — and in December 2025 one of four Tranche 3 Tracking Layer awards, together worth roughly $3.5 billion for 72 satellites. Terran Orbital, now part of Lockheed Martin, supplies buses for the work.

Next Generation Interceptor (NGI)

NGI is the next-generation homeland missile defense interceptor, intended to replace the current Ground-based Midcourse Defense fleet and expected to serve as a core element of the Golden Dome architecture. The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth about $17 billion for 20 interceptors in 2024. The company opened Missile Assembly Building 5 in Courtland, Alabama on 1 June 2026 for NGI production, and in August 2026 completed a second-stage motor case burst test ahead of critical design review, keeping the program on track for fielding around 2030.

Terran Orbital smallsat buses

The October 2024 acquisition of Terran Orbital added a seven-class bus line spanning nano to small satellites — Enterprise, Ambassador, Nebula, Excelsior, Voyager, Renegade and Triumph — for rapid, lower-cost LEO missions. The Ambassador is built to the largest deck allowed by the ESPA-Grande rideshare standard; Triumph is the smallest and most flight-proven of the line.

Track Record

Heritage

1950s - The division traces its origins to Lockheed's missile and space work in Sunnyvale, California, formalized as the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in 1956.

1972-1999 - Built the early Landsat spacecraft through Landsat 7, establishing the longest continuous Earth observation record in existence. (Landsat 8 and 9 were built by Orbital Sciences and Northrop Grumman.)

1990 - Built the Hubble Space Telescope, launched that year and serviced across five Space Shuttle missions.

1990s-2020s - Delivered the GPS IIR and IIR-M blocks and then GPS III, alongside NASA planetary spacecraft including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, InSight, Juno and OSIRIS-REx.

2021 - Signed a block-buy with ABL Space Systems covering 26 RS1 launches with options for up to 58 through 2029; the arrangement lapsed after ABL exited the commercial launch market in November 2024.

2023 - Won a $187.5 million Space Development Agency contract for 10 Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites, its entry into proliferated LEO missile-tracking constellations.

May 2023 - Reorganized the space business into three sectors: commercial civil space, national security space, and strategic and missile defense.

January 2024 - Awarded about $890 million for 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites.

2024 - Selected by the Missile Defense Agency for the Next Generation Interceptor under a contract worth roughly $17 billion for 20 interceptors.

October 2024 - Completed the acquisition of smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital, announced in August, after years of buying its buses for SDA programs.

April 2025 - The LM 400 technology demonstrator was lost when Firefly's Alpha rocket failed between stage separation and second-stage ignition.

December 2025 - Secured one of four Tranche 3 Tracking Layer awards from the Space Development Agency, a round worth about $3.5 billion in total for 72 satellites.

January 2026 - Reported 2025 space segment sales of $13 billion, up 4%, with operating profit up 10% to $1.3 billion.

1 April 2026 - Artemis II launched with the Lockheed Martin-built Orion, sending four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed lunar mission in 53 years; the crew splashed down on 10 April.

June 2026 - Opened Missile Assembly Building 5 in Courtland, Alabama to produce the Next Generation Interceptor.

Roadmap

The near-term defense priority is the Next Generation Interceptor: after an August 2026 second-stage motor case burst test, the program heads into critical design review with production standing up in Courtland, Alabama and fielding targeted for around 2030, as a core element of the Golden Dome missile shield.

In proliferated LEO, Lockheed Martin is building 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites with launches beginning in late 2026, and has moved on to the Tranche 3 Tracking Layer awarded in December 2025, with Terran Orbital supplying buses in-house after the 2024 acquisition.

For civil space, the division continues Orion production for the Artemis campaign following the Artemis II flight, working toward a crewed lunar landing later this decade. The LM 400 mid-size bus still needs an orbital demonstration after its 2025 launch loss, and GPS III and IIIF deliveries continue for the U.S. Space Force.

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FAQ

What does Lockheed Martin Space do?

Lockheed Martin Space designs, builds and operates satellites, crewed spacecraft and missile defense systems for government and commercial customers. It builds NASA's Orion spacecraft, GPS III navigation satellites, missile-tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency and the Next Generation Interceptor for homeland missile defense.

Who is the president of Lockheed Martin Space?

Robert Lightfoot is president of Lockheed Martin Space, a role he took up in 2022. He joined the company after 29 years at NASA, where he served in senior roles including Acting Administrator.

Where is Lockheed Martin Space headquartered?

Lockheed Martin Space is headquartered in the Denver area of Colorado, where it runs major satellite and spacecraft manufacturing. It also operates in Sunnyvale, California, Courtland, Alabama and other U.S. sites, with roughly 20,000 employees.

Is Lockheed Martin Space publicly traded?

Lockheed Martin Corporation is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker LMT. Lockheed Martin Space is one of its four business segments, not a separately listed company.

Did Lockheed Martin build the Orion spacecraft that flew Artemis II?

Yes. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for Orion, which carried four astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II after launching on 1 April 2026 — the first crewed lunar mission since 1972 — with splashdown on 10 April 2026.