[Satellite TODAY 01-25-11] Lockheed Martin opened its Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL), an advanced technology and virtual simulation facility, which will be leveraged for a variety of programs, including the U.S. Air Force‘s GPS-3 and NASA‘s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, Lockheed Martin announced Jan. 24.
    The laboratory can be applied to a range of space systems, including satellites, exploration spacecraft, launch vehicles and missile defense systems. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has a similar facility, the Human Immersive Laboratory that alreadyis  being used to reduce the life-cycle cost of aircraft.
    “As customer budget pressures continue, and the need for critical space assets escalates, the CHIL will help increase the affordability and value of our programs. While similar technology is being used in the movie industry to create fictitious worlds, the CHIL is real, and it is driving affordability into our products,” Lockheed Martin Space Systems Director of Special Projects Jeff Smith said in a statement.