Satellite bus tech demo ready to launch mid-March, say Lockheed Martin and Firefly Aerospace
NewsMarch 06, 2025
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. Lockheed Martin and Firefly Aerospace announced that their LM 400 technology demonstration is ready to launch no earlier than March 15, having successfully passed its static fire test.
According to information from Lockheed Martin, the LM 400 demonstration satellite was specifically designed to showcase the work the company has done on its midsized LM 400 multimission satellite bus -- which the company says is aimed at military, commercial, and civil customers -- and can be customized to operate in any orbit and host a variety of missions and high-power payloads including remote sensing, communications, imaging, and radar.
This launch, say Lockheed Martin officials, will also serve as a valuable training opportunity for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Safari Responsive Space program and the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) construct.
The technology demonstration arrived in California on March 1, and is currently undergoing prelaunch payload processing at Lockheed Martin's Astrotech Space Operations facility.
