Space Day 2001: Lockheed Martin Spacecraft Survey the Heavens and Serve the Earth.

Business Editors/Aerospace & Defense Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2001

As the employees of Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale mark Space Day 2001, they look with pride to past achievements, and with excitement and anticipation of those to come. Space Day, May 3rd, is a national day dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits and opportunities in the exploration and uses of outer space.

For over 45 years, Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale has been a leading supplier of satellites to military, civil government and commercial communications organizations around the world. These spacecrafts have enhanced military and civilian communications; provided new, extensive and timely remote-sensing information; and furnished new data for thousands of scientists studying our planet, the space around it, and the solar system and universe beyond.

The spacecraft of Lockheed Martin have made proven contributions to the quality of life on our planet. Those currently in space, or being prepared for upcoming missions, are listed below.

Hubble Space Telescope -- In the eleven years since launch, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has proven to be a premier astronomical observatory that is performing dramatic observations and making discoveries at the forefront of astronomy. It has made over 300,000 observations, and given rise to thousands of scientific reports and research papers.

The telescope was designed to give scientists an unprecedented views of the solar system, a view of the birth and death of stars and galaxies, and an opportunity to study mysterious objects such as quasars and black holes, in a universe estimated to be between 9 and 14 billion years old.

Space Systems has played a leading role on the HST team since being selected by NASA in 1977 to design and build the spacecraft and provide spacecraft systems integration. Since the 1990 launch, Space Systems and Lockheed Martin Technical Operations in Sunnyvale, California, and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, have helped NASA manage the day-to-day spacecraft operations and have provided extensive preparation and training for the telescope servicing missions.

Lunar Prospector -- The Lunar Prospector spacecraft was designed, built and tested at the Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale facility. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Lockheed Martin Athena II launch vehicle on January 6, 1998. The mission was brought to a conclusion on July 31, 1999 when Lunar Prospector made a targeted impact at the Moon's south polar-region in an attempt to verify the presence of water ice.

During its year-and-a-half polar orbiting mission, Lunar Prospector mapped the Moon's surface composition, gravity and magnetic fields, and volatile release activity. Six scientific instruments were mounted on three booms to isolate them from the bus and simplify the spacecraft-instrument interfaces. On March 5, 1998, it was announced that Lunar Prospector had discovered the presence of water ice at both the north and south poles of the Moon.

The Lunar Prospector mission was proposed as a joint effort of Lockheed Martin, NASA Ames Research Center, and the Lunar Research Institute. Additional important contributions came from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of California Berkeley Space Science Laboratory, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

A2100 Satellite Bus -- The Commercial Satellite Center at Space Systems is the world's first facility designed exclusively for assembly, integration and testing of a single commercial-satellite product line, the A2100. The A2100 bus is engineered for performance, flexibility, and value. Its modular design allows for customization without costly re-engineering. Fewer parts mean maximum reliability and ease of production. The use of lightweight composite structural components reduces launch weight and costs.

CRSS: Commercial Remote Sensing System -- Space Systems is developing remote sensing satellites that provide one-meter resolution black and white and multispectral digital imagery and other geographical information products to commercial, civil and government customers. Remote sensing involves the generation of accurate, high-resolution images from satellites or aerial photography. The images are used for applications in civil engineering and construction, land management, agriculture, mining, environmental monitoring, tax assessment, infrastructure planning and management, and other areas.

The first IKONOS satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems for Space Imaging EOSAT of Thornton, CO was launched on September 24, 1999. Space Systems is nearing completion of the second remote sensing satellite for Space Imaging EOSAT. The heart of both Space Systems and Space Imaging EOSAT spacecraft is the LM900 satellite bus. The LM900 has several major components: a support structure, attitude control and pointing, electrical power, propulsion, command and data-handling subsystems, wideband communications, and a solid state recorder for data storage. The main payload is a digital imaging sensor; the other is a wideband communications subsystem.

Earth Observing System (EOS) -- Lockheed Martin Space Systems built NASA's AM-1 (Terra), the first in a series of EOS spacecraft. The powerful imagery produced by EOS will show how the Earth is affected by pollution, drought, and other environmental conditions, providing the world's scientists important new understanding of the Earth's finite resources.

Launched on December 18, 1999, Terra carries five high-resolution instruments comprising eight separate sensors that gather data on clouds, aerosols, and the Earth's radiative balance, and measure surface properties and their interaction with the atmosphere. EOS is the centerpiece of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise that focuses exclusively on the Earth's resources and atmosphere.

Landsat-7 -- For 29 years, Landsat's collection of land images has served those who observe and study the Earth, those who manage and utilize its natural resources, and those who monitor the changes brought on by natural processes and human activities. The images provide information applicable to the broad and diverse needs of business, science, education, and government.

Lockheed Martin heritage companies built all seven Landsat spacecraft since the beginning of the program in 1972. Landsat-7 was built at the Space Systems Valley Forge, PA facility, and was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on April 15, 1999.

International Space Station -- Under NASA's leadership, the International Space Station program aims to place unique scientific laboratories in orbit to enable high-value research bettering the quality of life on Earth. NASA is joined by the space agencies of Europe, Canada, Japan, and Russia, making the space station the largest peaceful international scientific project ever.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems will provide eight solar array wings, two rotary joints each for the solar arrays and the thermal radiators, and two Trace Contaminant Control System units, which will revitalize the atmosphere on the station.

Weather Satellites -- For over forty years, long range weather forecasts have been based on data provided by Lockheed Martin weather satellites. Now, Space Systems has opened a state-of-the-art spacecraft highbay that will house two meteorological satellite programs for the Air Force and NASA. The 5,000 square foot highbay incorporates a variety of new design technologies to provide both a people-friendly environment and a production line for the Air Force's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and NASA's Television Infrared Observation Satellite Program (TIROS).

Two TIROS spacecraft and two DMSP spacecraft comprise the active constellation for both NASA and the Air Force. TIROS spacecraft provide around-the-clock, global meteorological and environmental data for more than 140 nations and have provided continuous service since the first spacecraft was launched on April 1, 1960. TIROS and DMSP data are routinely made available to news outlets and television networks when reporting on hurricanes and other natural disasters. The most recent TIROS launch took place on September 21, 2000. The latest DMSP satellite was launched on December 12, 2000.

Global Positioning System IIR (GPS) -- GPS provides highly accurate position location to military and civilian users around the world. Missiles & Space, Valley Forge, PA produced the GPS IIR satellites, six of which are successfully on orbit. 14 more GPS IIR spacecraft are scheduled for launch over the next several years and will provide upgraded navigational capability for government, commercial and private users. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force in 2000 awarded Space Systems a $53 million contract to begin development of modernization changes for up to 12 GPS IIR satellites. The satellites will be modified to incorporate, among other improvements, a second civil signal and two new military signals, thus providing military and civilian users of the navigation system a system with improved capabilities much sooner than previously envisioned.

SXT: Soft X-ray Telescope -- If a picture is, indeed, worth a thousand words, then the two million-plus images of the Sun that have been captured by Lockheed Martin's Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) speak volumes. The SXT built at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto was launched on Yohkoh on August 30, 1991 from Kagoshima Space Center in Japan in a cooperative mission between Japan, Great Britain, and the United States.

TRACE: Transition Region and Coronal Explorer -- The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), a scientific instrument package designed by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, and selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Small Explorer Program, was launched on April 1, 1998. The objective of the TRACE science investigation is to explore the connections between magnetic fields and plasma structures on the sun.

SIRTF: Space Infrared Telescope Facility -- Space Systems was selected by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work with Ball Aerospace to build, integrate and test NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), a cryogenically-cooled space observatory that will conduct infrared (IR) astronomy during a mission scheduled to begin in 2002. Incorporating the latest in large-format infrared detector array technology, SIRTF will offer orders-of-magnitude improvements in sensitivity over previous IR missions. The mission is baselined for two and one-half years, with a goal of five years of operation.

Gravity Probe B Relativity Mission -- The Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto has delivered the first two major pieces of Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) flight hardware to Stanford University. The dewar, a massive thermos bottle, is the key structural component around which the GP-B spacecraft will be built. The flight probe, a nine-foot-long cigar-shaped vacuum chamber, will house the delicate experimental apparatus that will attempt to verify two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Stanford has also selected Space Systems as the contractor for the spacecraft, currently under construction at Lockheed Martin.

IMAGE -- In 1996, Space Systems was chosen by the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio to build the spacecraft for IMAGE -- the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration. IMAGE is one of the first two science missions selected by NASA's Office of Space Science for the new Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) program. Space Systems also was involved with development of the scientific instruments. The IMAGE mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 25, 2000. IMAGE uses three-dimensional imaging techniques to study the global response of the Earth's magnetosphere -- the region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field -- to variations in the solar wind, the supersonic stream of charged particles flowing out from the Sun.

SIM -- Space Systems was selected by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena to become the instrument industry team member that will design and build the interferometer for NASA's Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). The Space Systems Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto provided the design and associated technology for the SIM interferometer. TRW Inc., Space and Electronics Group was selected to become the spacecraft industry team member.

SIM, a major observatory in NASA's Origins Program, will be the agency's first space interferometer designed specifically for measuring the positions of stars. The Origins Program follows the 15-billion-year-long chain of events that began with the birth of the Universe at the Big Bang. It seeks to understand the entire process of cosmic evolution from the formation of chemical elements, galaxies, stars and planets, through the mixing of chemicals and energy that cradles life on Earth, to the earliest self-replicating organisms and the profusion of life. In short, Origins hopes to answer the fundamental question: Are we alone in the Universe?

Milstar -- Milstar is an advanced military communications satellite system that provides rapid, secure and jam-proof multiservice communications worldwide, supporting tactical command and control and intelligence dissemination needs of joint operations. The program is led by the Air Force and also serves the Army and Navy. The first two Milstar I satellites are on orbit. The first Milstar II satellite was launched successfully Feb. 27, 2001 and two more Milstar II spacecraft are in production. Missiles & Space leads a contractor team that also includes Hughes and TRW.

Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) -- DSCS is the workhorse of the U.S. military's secure communications with troops in the field and commanders at multiple locations. DSCS III, the most recent configuration, provides uninterrupted secure voice and high data rate communications to DoD users, essential tools in monitoring events and deploying forces anywhere in the world. DSCS was used throughout Operation Desert Storm and as the primary communications link for U.S. forces in other operations. The DSCS III B11 spacecraft, the second of four super high-frequency communications satellites to feature Service Life Enhancement Program (SLEP) upgrades, was launched in October 2000, with two more SLEP satellites remaining to be launched.

For more information about Lockheed Martin Space Systems-Sunnyvale, see our website at http://lmms.external.lmco.com.