Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Denver, Colorado with additional sites in Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the US and UK. The division currently employs about 16,000 people, and its most notable products are commercial and military satellites, space probes, missile defense systems, NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and the Space Shuttle External Tank. The Lockheed Missile Systems Division was established in Van Nuys, Ca. in late 1953 to consolidate work on the Lockheed X-17 & X-7. The
Lockheed Martin later named "Orion" for the Ares I rocket in the Constellation Program. In 2009, NASA reduced the capsule crew requirements from the initial six seats to four for transport to the International Space Station. On August 13, 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired the government business unit of Nantero, Inc., a company that had developed methods and processes for incorporating carbon nanotubes in next-generation electronic devices. In 2009, Lockheed Martin bought Unitech. On November 18, 2010, Lockheed Martin announced that it would be closing its Eagan, Minnesota location by 2013 to reduce costs and optimize capacity at its locations nationwide. In January