Fortune 500
Welcome to spaceport Lockheed
May 23, 2012: 5:00 AM ETTo the moon and beyond: Lockheed Martin is prepping the launch pad for the future of space travel.
By Ryan Bradley, senior editor
A mockup of the Orion capsule (left) simulating a docking maneuver
FORTUNE -- The future of manned missions into outer space begins atop a slab of red rock in Littleton, Colo. The Space Operations Simulation Center, owned and operated by Lockheed Martin (No. 58 on the Fortune 500), is 40,576 square feet of indoor test bays, one of which features a 50-foot robot arm that can move 2,000 pounds. There, engineers test navigation equipment in a mock zero-gravity environment for the Orion capsule (pictured), which, one day, could take humans to Mars.
By the numbers:
1,700 Feet: Depth of bedrock below the Littleton center. The building sits on a cushion of soil above rock, but its robot arm is sunk in the vein to keep it from moving.
$1 billion: Annual budget for NASA's Orion capsule program, $700 million of which goes to Lockheed (LMT). The company employs about 1,400 for its design and construction.
2017: Year the Orion is scheduled to travel unmanned to the moon. The capsule is unique in its ability to fly missions both autonomously and with a crew of four.
Source: Space Operations Simulation Center, Lockheed Martin
This story is from the May 21, 2012 issue of Fortune.
-
Rupert Murdoch's Motley Empire (Fortune Classics, 1984)
Editor's note: Every Sunday, Fortune publishes a favorite story from our archive. Rupert Murdoch looked a sorry sight when he took a pie in the face on July 19 during a parliamentary hearing about the phone hacking scandal at News of the World. But even when he was at the top of his game, there were clues of trouble to come. In 1984, Murdoch told Fortune, "I don't know any MORE
Jul 31, 2011 9:30 AM ET -
Introducing the Fortune 500+ Web app
Want to see the full Fortune 1,000? Or figure out how to sell to, meet with, or work for any of the country's biggest companies? Then our new tool is a must have.
The Fortune 500 has always been more than a list. Salespeople plumb it. Executives wield it as a yardstick to measure market share (99% of the Fortune 100 use our software). Entrepreneurs dream of appearing on it. For MORE
May 5, 2011 5:30 AM ET -
Today in the Fortune 500: JPMorgan loans $20 billion to AT&T for T-Mobile purchase, plenty of heirs at Berkshire and UPS takes the lead on fire safety
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
JPMORGAN LOANS AT&T $20 BILLION to buy T-Mobile. Analysts had been worried that JPMorgan would take on a huge credit risk by offering AT&T (T) the loan, but JPMorgan (JPM) dispersed pieces of it across 11 MORE
Apr 1, 2011 11:26 AM ET -
Today in the Fortune 500: David Sokol leaves Berkshire, Paul Allen publishes his version of Microsoft's history and Microsoft takes anti-trust claim against Google to the European Union
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
A SURPRISE RESIGNATION at Berkshire Hathaway as manager David Sokol leaves the company. While current CEO Warren Buffett has said he has no plans to retire any time soon, many believed that Sokol would be MORE
Mar 31, 2011 11:10 AM ET -
Today in the Fortune 500: Supreme Court Justices divided over Wal-Mart's sex discrimination case, more recalls for Johnson & Johnson and Amazon's Cloud Drive gives the company an edge
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
JUSTICES DIVIDED OVER WAL-MART SEX DISCRIMINATION CASE--not necessarily over whether 1.5 million women should get the backpay from Wal-Mart (WMT) that they're requesting, but whether a lawsuit of that size can even happen. The plaintiffs MORE
Mar 30, 2011 11:28 AM ETPosted in: Danisco, DuPont, Fortune 500, iTunes, Lawsuit, Supreme Court of the United States, Wal-Mart -
Today in the Fortune 500: GE to buy Converteam, BP employees could face manslaughter charges and eBay encroaches on Amazon's online turf
GENERAL ELECTRIC'S ENERGY UNIT EXPANDS with the coming $3.2 billion purchase of power conversion company Converteam. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011, should help GE Energy manufacture more efficient, eco-friendly products. According to GE (GE), the $30 billion energy efficient equipment manufacturing market is growing faster than the global economy. [New York Times]
BP EMPLOYEES MAY FACE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES Federal prosecutors are reviewing evidence from MORE
Mar 29, 2011 11:17 AM ET -
Today in the Fortune 500: Wal-Mart mobilizes relief effort in Japan, GE pays no American taxes and BP struggles for Arctic access
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
WAL-MART STEPS UP in the wake of the earthquake that shook Japan. Following the quake, Wal-Mart (WMT) mobilized a local relief effort to deliver supplies such as water and flashlights to survivors. The store has a MORE
Mar 25, 2011 10:43 AM ET -
Today in the Fortune 500: Goldman had a hunch about Galleon, Morgan Stanley takes a backseat to Goldman on trial and the Fed denies Bank of America's request for increased dividends
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
FROM THE GALLEON TRIAL Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said he had "an inkling" that during Rajat Gupta's time as director of Goldman (GS), Gupta passed classified information onto hedge fund founder Raj MORE
Mar 24, 2011 10:31 AM ETPosted in: Fortune 500, Galleon Group, Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley, Raj Rajaratnam, Rajat Gupta -
Today in the Fortune 500: Google can't provide e-books for free, Supervalu optimizes bagging and carmakers struggle for parts
The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
SO LONG, GOOGLE BOOKS A New York court ruled that Google (GOOG) couldn't just pay $125 million to a group representing authors and publishers who were upset about the company's plan to digitize every book MORE
Mar 23, 2011 10:53 AM ETPosted in: Alan Mulally, Ford, Fortune 500, Goldman Sachs, Google, Lloyd Blankfein, Raj Rajaratnam, United Auto Workers
