Lockheed Martin is opening a new technology center in its Palo Alto research and development facility to focus on advanced optical systems that could be used in satellites, lasers, telescopes, and targeting systems, the company announced. The Optical Payload Center of Excellence will unite design teams into one “fast acting, collaborative unit to develop optical payload technologies that are more powerful, precise, and affordably than today’s systems,” the company said in a Sept. 10 release. The center will unite experts from across the world, from Lockheed, its industry partners, and leading research universities, allowing those experts to collaborate, develop, test, and produce advanced optical payloads and to find ways to deliver new capabilities faster and more affordable, states the release. The center “will benefit from the digital tapestry that links all stages of development, from initial concept and design to production and qualification,” said Rick Ambrose, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
