Lockheed Martin Steps Up Satellite Game with RF Payload Center of Excellence

The R&D experts for the center of excellence are at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center which accelerates generation-after-next systems for RF technologies and other payload systems. Photo: Lockheed Martin

[Via Satellite 07-08-2015] Lockheed Martin has opened a new development center in Denver Colo. for Radio Frequency (RF) payloads known as the RF Payload Center of Excellence. The facility brings together researchers, manufacturers and analysts in one place, and collocates the majority of payload development, production and testing, which is a first for Lockheed Martin. The facility will focus on developing reconfigurable payloads and advancing satellite systems.

The opening of the RF Payload Center of Excellence follows that of the Optical Payload Center of Excellence, which Lockheed Martin established earlier this year. The RF facility will mirror the payload strategy of the optical facility, taking the company’s digital tapestry approach to interweave virtual design, 3-D printing and automated assembly, test and inspection. According to Lockheed Martin, this approach maximizes common products and cuts cost and cycle times. Lockheed Martin has produced 176 different types of RF payloads. The center will develop a variety of technologies commonly incorporated in such payloads, including antennas, arrays, and transmitters.