The Lockheed Missile Systems Division was established in
Van Nuys, California, in late 1953 to consolidate work on the
Lockheed X-17 and
X-7. The X-17 was a three-stage solid-fuel research rocket designed to test the effects of high mach atmospheric reentry. The X-17 was also used as the booster for the
Operation Argus series of three high-altitude nuclear tests conducted in the
South Atlantic in 1958. The Lockheed X-7 (dubbed the "Flying Stove Pipe") was an American uncrewed test bed of the 1950s for ramjet engines and missile guidance technology. Lockheed Missiles Division moved from Van Nuys, California, to the newly constructed facility in
Palo Alto, California, in 1956, then to the larger facility in
Sunnyvale in 1957. The
Polaris missile was the first major new program for both locations, followed later by satellite programs, thus the name change to Lockheed Missiles and Space Division. The
UGM-27 Polaris was a
Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) built during the
Cold War by Lockheed Missiles & Space Division in Sunnyvale, California, for the
United States Navy. The Polaris program started development in 1956, with its first flight test in 1958. In 1962, the successfully fired a Polaris A-1 missile against a test target in 1960. The SLBM has evolved through Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3),
Poseidon (C3),
Trident I (C4) and ongoing with the
Trident II (D5). All of these were designed and managed at the Sunnyvale facility. Together, these are known as the Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Program. Lockheed Martin has been the sole provider of FBM missiles since 1956. Lockheed Missiles & Space became prime contractor for elements of Military Satellite System (WS 117L), calling for the development of a strategic satellite system. The core element was Lockheed's
Agena spacecraft, the world's first multipurpose spacecraft with boost and maneuvering engines, also acting as the 2nd stage of the launch vehicle and/or carrier vehicle for the reconnaissance system. WS-117L and Agena lead to the development of the
Corona (satellite)—the nation's first photo reconnaissance satellite system, collecting both intelligence and mapping imagery from August 1960 until May 1972. Over 800,000 images were taken from space, with imaging resolution originally equaling , later improved to . The program was declassified in February 1995. Approximately 365 Agena spacecraft supported a wide variety of missions, from NASA's early interplanetary efforts; to the US Navy's SeaSat, the USAF's Corona, Midas and Samos series between January 1959 and February 1987, when the last Agena D was launched. The
Corona program led to the development of the
KH-7 Gambit and
KH-9 Hexagon programs. The first Gambit system, launched in 1963, was equipped with a focal length camera system. The second system,
KH-8 Gambit 3, was equipped with the camera system that included a focal length camera. The system was first launched in 1966 and provided the U.S. with exquisite surveillance capabilities from space for nearly two decades. Hexagon was first launched in 1971 to improve upon Corona's capability to image broad denied areas for threats to the United States. Twelve of the 19 systems flown also carried a mapping camera to aid in U.S. military war planning. In addition, Gambit and Hexagon were launched aboard rockets built by Lockheed Martin heritage companies. Gambit 1 was launched on an
Atlas launch vehicle with the orbiting
Agena D upper stage and Gambit 3 was launched using a
Titan IIIB booster. Hexagon was launched aboard the larger
Titan IIID launch vehicle. Lockheed achieved the first hit-to-kill of an
Intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM reentry vehicle in 1984 with the
Homing Overlay Experiment, using the
Kinetic Kill Vehicle (KKV) force of impact alone to destroy a mock warhead outside the Earth's atmosphere. The KKV was equipped with an
infrared seeker, guidance electronics and a
propulsion system. Once in space, the KKV could extend a folded structure similar to an umbrella skeleton of diameter to enhance its effective cross section. This device would destroy the
Minuteman RV with a closing speed of about at an altitude of more than . Further testing produced the
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System, the
Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and the
Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV). The
Titan I was the first version of the Titan family of rockets, developed in October 1955, when the U.S. Air Force awarded the then
Martin Company in Denver, Colorado, a contract to build an
Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It was the United States' first two-stage rocket and formed an integral part of their strategic deterrent force. In the early 1960s, the rocket was adapted to launch the
Gemini capsule that carried two people at a time into space.
Titan II succeeded in launching 12 Gemini spacecraft and has also helped to launch the
Viking missions to Mars,
Voyager 1 and
2 and most recently
Cassini–Huygens to Saturn. It began as a backup ICBM project in case the Atlas was delayed. It was a two-stage rocket powered by RP-1 and LOX. The Titan I and Atlas ICBMs using RP-1/LOX fuel did not have a quick launch sequence. They took about 30 minutes to fuel up and fire. Most Titan rockets were derivatives of the Titan II ICBM. The
Titan II ICBM had one
W-53 warhead with a 9 megaton yield, making it the most powerful ICBM on-standby in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The
Titan III was a modified Titan II with optional solid rocket boosters. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force as a heavy-lift satellite launcher to be used mainly to launch U.S. Military payloads such as
Defense Support Program (DSP) early-warning, intelligence (spy), and defense communications satellites. The
Titan IV is a stretched Titan III with non-optional solid rocket boosters. It could be launched either with the
Centaur upper stage, with the
Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) or without any upper stage. It was almost exclusively used to launch U.S. military payloads, though it was also used to launch NASA's
Cassini–Huygens probe to Saturn in 1997. On 8 February 2020, Lockheed announced it selected Los Angeles-based rocket-builder ABL Space to launch a mission from Scotland in two years, which the companies expect to be the first from the U.K. and first from European soil.
Mergers and acquisitions RCA Astro-Electronics Division, a division of
RCA. In March 1958, RCA established Astro Electronics Products (AEP) as a division of RCA Defense Electronic Products. This
spacecraft design and manufacturing facility, also referred to as the RCA Space Center was located in
East Windsor,
New Jersey. On 18 December 1958, RCA Astro successfully launched its first communications satellite from
Cape Canaveral. It was called
SCORE, (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment).
SCORE brought the world's first voice message from space. RCA Astro went on to become one of the leading American manufacturers of
satellites and other space systems, including the world's first
weather satellite,
TIROS, launched in 1960. In 1985, two members of the Astro Electronics
engineering staff,
Bob Cenker and
Gerard E. Magilton, == Lines of business ==