Ball Aerospace Hands Orion’s Antennas to Lockheed, NASA; Jim Oschmann Comments

Ball Aerospace & Technologies has delivered four phased array antennas for the Orion spacecraft to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and prime contractor Lockheed Martin, as preparations are underway ahead of Orion’s inaugural flight in September.

The antennas are intended to help comprise of Orion’s voice, video and data communications systems and be installed on Orion’s exterior, Ball Aerospace said Monday.

“A phased array antenna electronically steers transmit and receive beams without physically moving the antenna array, which increases the antenna’s flexibility, responsiveness and capacity from launch through all flight operations and finally splashdown,” said Jim Oschmann, vice president and general manager for Ball Aerospace’s civil space and technology division.

Orion is built to carry an astronaut crew on extended deep-space missions and the spacecraft’s first voyage will be an uncrewed flight to travel 3,600 miles into Earth’s orbit.