Overview

Currently headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin (LM) was founded in March, 1995 when Martin Marietta and the Lockheed Corporation merged. [1] Since that time, LM has been at the forefront of the U.S. Aerospace and Defense industries. They currently employ  114,000 people worldwide, and they are principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. [2]

Multi-Layer Space Network

In April 2022, Lockheed Martin proposed a multi-orbit data transport network in space that would share data via optical links. Currently, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) is spending billions of dollars on missile-warning space sensors located in GEO and polar orbits. However, there are no plans to connect these sensors with the new constellations that DoD plans to launch in LEO and MEO.

The SDA is planning a LEO constellation to defend the U.S. and allies from newer types of hypersonic missiles developed by China and Russia. The tracking satellites could determine the location of an incoming hypersonic missile and pass that information to a constellation of data-relay satellites known as the data transport layer. The data containing the location of the incoming missile would move through space via the transport layer. It would then be downlinked to radar and weapon systems on the ground or at sea, so they can try to intercept the incoming missile. LEO tracking satellites are necessary because heat-seeking sensors in GEO would not be able to detect low-flying hypersonic missiles, as the heat signature dissipates when the target flies lower in the atmosphere.

Lockheed Martin is one of the prime contractors selected to build the SDA’s data transport layer, and also is the prime contractor for the Space Force’s new geostationary missile-warning satellites. The Space Force is looking to deploy missile-warning satellites in MEO to add another layer of defense. The ability to use data from multiple assets for missile defense data means data transfers from one asset to another to keep awareness of a target. For Lockheed Martin’s concept to work, satellites would need optical crosslinks. The SDA requires all its transport and tracking satellites to have laser communications terminals. But GEO satellites do not, so they send missile warning data directly to the ground. Lockheed Martin is proposing adding data-relay payloads and optical crosslinks to GPS satellites to fill the gap in MEO until more satellites have been launched. [3]

Related Links

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