Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has broken ground on a new $350 million facility at its Waterton Canyon campus outside of Denver. The new building, called the Gateway Center, will use state-of-the-art technologies such as 3D printing and virtual reality to design and develop next-gen satellites.
The Gateway Center, which is expected to span 266,000 square feet and is scheduled for completion in 2020, is part of Lockheed Martin’s broader effort to advance and accelerate its aerospace production using innovative technologies and processes such as additive manufacturing.
Earlier this year, the company invested $1 million into an aerospace 3D printing lab at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, a move that was also indicative of its interest in new and future-oriented manufacturing methods.
According to Lockheed, its new Gateway Center will include a top-line high bay clean room which will be used to simultaneously build “a spectrum of satellites from micro to macro”; an expansive thermal vacuum chamber which will be used to simulate space environments for testing the satellites; an anechoic chamber for testing sensors and communication systems; and an advanced test operations and analysis center.
The facility will also seek certifications and security clearances in order to take on projects of a national security level. 3D printing and virtual reality were listed as additional technologies that will help the Gateway Center to meet production demands by increasing manufacturing speeds and turnover times, as well as lowering costs.
“This is our factory of the future: agile, efficient, and packed with innovations,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “We’ll be able to build satellites that communicate with front-line troops, explore other planets, and support unique missions.”
“You could fit the Space Shuttle in the high bay with room to spare,” Ambrose added. “That kind of size and versatility means we’ll be able to maximize economies of scale, and with all of our test chambers under one roof, we can streamline and speed production.”
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Source: 3ders