Lockheed Martin-Built Milstar Satellite Constellation Repositioned to Enhance Global Coverage

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A combined U.S.
 Air Force/Lockheed Martin ( LMT) team has successfully completed an
 on-orbit reconfiguration of the five-satellite Milstar constellation to
 maximize the system's capabilities to provide secure, reliable and robust
 communications to U.S. and Allied Forces around the globe.
     Orbiting the earth at over 22,000 miles in space, the Milstar
 constellation -- which has now surpassed 40 years of combined successful
 operations -- provides a protected, global communication network for the
 joint forces of the U.S. military and can transmit voice, data, and
 imagery, in addition to offering video teleconferencing capabilities.
     The Milstar system is the only survivable, endurable means that the
 President, the Secretary of Defense and the Commander, U.S. Strategic
 Command have to maintain positive command and control of this nation's
 strategic forces.
     This reconfiguration, which entailed repositioning the satellites
 relative to one another to maximize and improve the constellation's earth
 coverage visibility, was successfully executed during a seven-month period
 by a team of engineers from Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale,
 Calif., the Milstar prime contractor, working with the 4th Space Operations
 Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., the Air Force's team which flies and
 maintains the Milstar constellation.
     This proven ability to realign the operational location of the entire
 spacecraft constellation with no unplanned service disruptions to military
 forces deployed around the globe will be vital to bringing the follow-on
 Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites into the nation's
 survivable, secure MILSATCOM architecture.
     "We are proud of the capability we have demonstrated to increase the
 effectiveness of this critical system to our customer, said Leonard F.
 Kwiatkowski, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of
 Military Space Programs. "Designed, built and operated by a talented and
 dedicated group of people, Milstar continues to deliver critical secure,
 real-time, connectivity to the warfighter and we look forward to achieving
 mission success as we prepare to launch the first AEHF satellite next
 year."
     The AEHF team is led by the MILSATCOM Systems Wing, located at the
 Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
     Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000
 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
 development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced
 technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2006
 sales of $39.6 billion.
     NOTE TO EDITORS: Low- and high-resolution JPEG image files of Milstar
 satellites are available at: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/Milstar
     Media Contact: Steve Tatum, 408-742-7531; e-mail,
 Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com
 
 

SOURCE Lockheed Martin