CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The High Bay Facility of the Operations & Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center is ready to begin preparations to build the new Orion crew exploration vehicle. Built in 1964, the O&C facility has been the final integration and checkout building for manned spacecraft beginning with the Apollo program. The State of Florida, Lockheed Martin and NASA invested $55 million renovate the facility for the Constellation Program. Flight hardware is being fabricated at locations nationwide for final integration at the O&C facility, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia. (Source: PRNewswire, 01/26/09) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed will build large structures and composite parts for Orion at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans
