Lockheed’s Local Footprint GROWS

September 1, 2020 — The 46,000 sq. ft. building that once housed the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame will soon be a Lockheed Martin facility for sub-assembly related to the Orion spacecraft, Kelly DeFazio, director of Orion production for Lockheed, told Orlando Business Journal.

Orion capsule
Artist rendering of Orion capsule. Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin

“We are thrilled to be leasing the building to Lockheed Martin, a leader in the space industry and sponsor of the Astronaut Training Experience at the visitor complex, to create an Orion program production facility that brings multiple benefits to the Space Coast, says Scott Socha, president of Delaware North’s parks and resorts division.

This new facility for Lockheed Martin will add to its already large local presence. In 2019, Lockheed moved its Fleet Ballistic Missile Headquarters, along with 300 jobs to the Space Coast. Along with the company’s two Orlando campuses, Lockheed Martin employs approximately 8,000 people and those numbers are growing.

Florida’s Space Coast is a hub of aerospace and defense companies, and home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Plus, the Boeing Co. space and launch division now headquartered here. Other corporations with a major presence in the area include aerospace giant, Northrop Grumman and L3 Harris, a global technology company with more than 48,000 employees, which is headquartered in Brevard County.

The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame attraction is now located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Source: Orlando Business Journal