WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2021) Production of the Orion spacecraft for future US missions to the Moon and Mars will take place at a former NASA visitor center converted into a spacecraft factory with a $20 million renovation, Lockheed Martin said.
"Lockheed Martin opened its Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center today. The STAR Center features business and digital transformation innovations that will expand manufacturing, assembly and testing capacity for NASA's Orion spacecraft program and ultimately, future space exploration," a company press release said on Thursday.
Lockheed Martin acquired the building that formerly housed the Astronaut Training Experience tourist attraction in the US state of Florida and spent 18 months and nearly $20 million converting the facility into what the release called a spacecraft factory of the future.
Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I and II Moon missions is currently being built at the nearby Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the release said.
The addition of the STAR Center provides much-needed space for a new production phase for Orion - starting with the Artemis III mission - to be built faster, the release also said.
The third Artemis mission is slated to land two astronauts - a man and woman - on the lunar South Pole in 2024, the release added.
NASA has committed to purchase Orion vehicles for six missions with the potential to add another six through 2030, according to the release.
