While Lockheed Martin creates satellites of all sizes, our small satellites are doing big things.
From Pony Express, which is furthering the advanced cloud networking concepts among satellites, to Linus — a pair of 12U cube sats each the size of a four-slice toaster — to DARPA's Blackjack program and La Jument, we are working to better understand and prove out capabilities in the smallest, yet biggest, ways.
La Jument is a joint University of Southern California-Lockheed Martin satellite program that includes four nanosatellites, with the first launching at the end of 2020. The payload and bus will use our SmartSat™ software-defined satellite architecture first announced in 2019.
The software-defined payload houses advanced optical and infrared cameras utilized by Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center to further mature and space qualify artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.
Are you interested in receiving the SmartSat software development kit (SDK) and creating an app for La Jument?
We’re driving technology into proven platforms to create enhanced satellites that do more, cost less and get you to orbit faster.
Every space mission depends on the seamless work between payload and spacecraft. The bus drives satellites — in more ways than one. It generates power. It’s the propulsion. It steers. Its computers make missions work. That’s why buses are so important, and at Lockheed Martin we’re introducing a new lineup of more powerful and flexible buses to meet every mission. We’ve invested in modernized buses with strong commonality that means lower costs, greater performance and faster delivery to orbit.
Why? A simple, efficient family of buses means we can get your mission moving faster. Small sats, mid-sats and GEO-sats — we have a proven heritage in all these fields. In fact, we’ve built nearly 800 spacecraft. Now we’re inserting new capability into proven buses, creating upgraded products that deliver a unique blend of new technology + experience.
Lockheed Martin LM-Series Satellite Bus System
Nanosatellites can validate emerging technologies at a lower cost and higher risk profile. Our buses provide the gateway for future capabilities in science and commercial exploration as reliability and mission technology continue to improve. LM 50 offers flexible power management and can scale for a variety of operational concepts. Benefitting from the technology and experience of Tyvak, we bring a proven mission and spacecraft approach to both innovate and deliver new compact missions.
- Weight: ~2-330 lbs / 1-150 kg
- Power: 2-250 W
- Size: 1U to half ESPA
- Mission life: Three months to five years
This reconfigurable bus is inspired by our legacy of over 150 small satellite missions and improved by use of a common architecture. This new product line costs less than its predecessors despite improved performance, and can deliver more vehicles per launch to LEO , MEO and GEO orbits. The LM 400 bus can be delivered as quickly as 24 months from order and requires minimal engineering for payload integration. It also features higher power and more maneuverable propulsion than other satellites in this class.
Weight: 400-800 kg
Power: 1.3-16.0 kW
Size: ~1.1 x 1.7 m footprint / 1.5-3.0 m tall
Designed for various orbits with a medium-size payload capacity, this bus is ideal for remote sensing missions. If you need higher power without the weight, it delivers. The unique hexagonal structure allows more room for payloads and additional solar panels for power.
Weight: 606-4,850 lbs / 275-2,200 kg
Power: 1.5-10 kW
Size: ~6 ft / ~1.8 m tall hexagon
New name, upgraded performance – the modernized A2100 is now the LM 2100. Optimized for high-power missions, this bus leverages the strong history of more than 100 A2100 spacecraft. Recognized for reliability and performance, this platform has been enhanced through significant investments to deliver more power and flexibility at a lower cost and faster time to market.
Weight: 5,070-14,330 lbs / 2,300-6,500 kg
Power: 20 kW
Size: ~12x6 ft / ~3.7x1.8 m rectangle
SmartSat™
Imagine a satellite that combines the reliability, precision and durability of a traditional satellite with the agility of smart phone--one that can add, update and customize the applications you need quickly and accurately.
There’s no need to imagine. With SmartSat™—Lockheed Martin’s software-defined satellite technology— a new era of responsive, adaptable and cost-efficient satellite computing architecture and capability is here.
Lockheed Martin is committed to making SmartSat-enabled satellites the standard within the next decade. We’re engaged in a multi-year R&D effort that will see its first results in 2019 with the production and launch of five LM 50 nanosats equipped with SmartSat capabilities.
SmartSat plugs into any of Lockheed Martin’s satellite buses – from the LM 50 nanosat to the LM 2100 GEO flagship – as well as ground systems, and provide applications for customers in every sector, whether commercial, government, or military.