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stephen.o.tatum{at}lmco.com

Upgraded GPS satellite shipped to Cape for July launch as Lockheed
Martin team achieves new record for on-orbit readiness

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., April 24, 2003 -- As the U.S.
Air Force prepares to launch its third Global Positioning System
(GPS) satellite this year, prime contractor Lockheed Martin has set a
new record for operational checkout of the recently-launched GPS
IIR-9 satellite.

Following the March 31 launch of GPS IIR-9, Lockheed Martin executed
an accelerated on-orbit payload initialization in just 11 days -- a
record for any GPS satellite -- so that the satellite could be
quickly placed into service in support of the current military
operations. Two months earlier, the team achieved a 20-day check out
of GPS IIR-8, which was launched on Jan. 29.

The next satellite, designated GPS IIR-10, was recently shipped to
Cape Canaveral from Lockheed Martin's facilities in Valley Forge, Pa.
for a scheduled launch in late July. The satellite features
significant performance upgrades, including a modernized antenna
panel and increased power for GPS receivers. There are eight
new-generation GPS IIR spacecraft currently on orbit out of a total
GPS constellation of 28 satellites. 

"Turning over a spacecraft 11 days after liftoff is a tremendous
achievement and I congratulate the entire GPS IIR team on a job well
done," said Dave Podlesney, Lockheed Martin GPS program director.
"Lockheed Martin is extremely proud of the on-orbit performance of
the GPS IIR spacecraft and we look forward to extending our mission
success record for our Air Force customer."

GPS IIR satellites are designed to improve global coverage and
increase the overall performance of the GPS constellation. Lockheed
Martin has delivered 21 of these satellites to the U.S. Air Force
Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
After the IIR-10 mission, eleven more satellites will be launched to
sustain the GPS constellation. 

The Global Positioning System allows any properly equipped user to
determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude, longitude
and altitude to within a few meters. Although originally designed as
a guidance and navigational tool for the military, GPS has proven
beneficial in the commercial and civil markets for transportation,
surveying and rescue operations.

The GPS IIR satellites are compatible with the current system and
provide improved navigation accuracy, achieved by using an ITT
Industries payload system. Additionally, increased autonomy and
longer spacecraft life are inherent in the Lockheed Martin satellite
design. 

To bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, Lockheed Martin
is under contract to modernize eight existing GPS IIR spacecraft
already built and in storage. These spacecraft, designated GPS IIR-M,
will incorporate two new military signals and a second civil signal,
thus providing military and civilian users of the navigation system
with improved capabilities much sooner than previously envisioned.

GPS modernization is being performed at the Space & Strategic
Missiles - Valley Forge, Pa. facilities and ITT Industries, Clifton,
N.J. facilities. The first launch of a GPS IIR-M satellite is
scheduled for July 2004. The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems
Center, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting agency.

Space & Strategic Missiles is part of Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., one of the major operating
units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems designs,
develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of advanced
technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers.
Chief products include space, launch and ground systems, remote
sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government
customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary
spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems. 

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