Final Refurbished Missile Completes 100% Mission Success Record
A
Lockheed Martin-built Titan II launch vehicle successfully placed the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Block 5D-3 spacecraft into orbit this
morning for the U.S. Air Force. The Titan II lifted off at 9:17 a.m. Pacific
Daylight Time from Space Launch Complex 4West at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif. DMSP will be used for strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid
the U.S. military in planning operations at sea, on land and in the air.
This launch marked the end of an era for the Lockheed Martin Titan team as
the final refurbished intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) — dubbed
Titan II — flew a perfect mission, capping an overall success record of 100
percent.
“Everyone at Lockheed Martin who has ever been a part of the Titan program
watched with pride this morning as we launched another important space asset
for our military forces,” said G. Thomas Marsh, executive vice president of
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “The Titan II program has been an
outstanding example of partnership between the Air Force and Lockheed Martin,
and we are very proud to fly the final rocket successfully and round out a
perfect Titan II record.”
Titan II ICBMs served as the vanguard of the United States’ strategic
deterrent for more than two decades. In the late 1960s, 10 Titan IIs also
successfully launched astronauts as part of the Gemini program. When the
Titan II ICBMs were decommissioned, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile
Systems Center, Los Angeles, Calif., contracted with Lockheed Martin to
refurbish 14 for use as space launch vehicles. Today’s mission marked the
13th consecutive successful Titan launch. There are no current plans to
launch the 14th vehicle.
DMSP, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), is used for strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid the U.S.
military in planning operations at sea, on land and in the air. Equipped with
a sophisticated sensor suite that can image visible and infrared cloud cover,
the satellite collects specialized meteorological, oceanographic and
solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions. The DMSP
constellation comprises two spacecraft in near-polar orbits, C3 (command,
control and communications), user terminals and weather centers. The most
recent launch of a DMSP spacecraft took place on Dec. 12, 1999 from Vandenberg
Air Force Base. That launch marked the first of the Block 5D-3 satellites.
The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
manages the DMSP and Titan programs.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is 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 a full-range
of space launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, 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.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 125,000
people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems,
products and services. The corporation reported 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.