Contact: Jeffery Adams
Phone: (408) 742-7606
E-mail: jeffery.adams@lmco.com
Lockheed Martin Companies Launch Military Weather Satellite
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Dec. 13 –The U.S. Air Force Sunday launched the first of a new generation of
military weather satellites aboard a Titan II rocket. Lockheed Martin provided both the satellite and the Titan II space
launch vehicle.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., built the Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program (DMSP) Block 5D-3 spacecraft under contract to the U.S. Air Force and Denver, Colo.-based Lockheed
Martin Astronautics provided the booster. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force
Base, Calif., manages the DMSP and Titan programs.
“We are extremely pleased with the DMSP Block 5D-3 spacecraft and today’s successful launch of this latest weather
satellite for our nation’s military,” said Anthony Tuffo, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space. “The DMSP
program and the long-standing relationship with our Air Force customer is a source of genuine pride for our
company.”
“Titan II’s proven nine-for-nine record of reliability is a credit to the Air Force-Lockheed Martin Titan II team,”
said Astronautics President G. Thomas Marsh.
This was the ninth consecutive successful launch of a Titan II space launch vehicle and the first since June 19, 1999.
Titan IIs formerly served as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), key elements of the nation’s strategic
deterrent for more than two decades. Titan IIs also launched 10 manned and two unmanned missions for the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Gemini program in the 1960s. The Titan II rocket launched
today was one of 14 two-stage, liquid-fueled former ICBMs Astronautics refurbished for Air Force space launches.
The DMSP Block 5D-3 series can accommodate larger sensor payloads than earlier generations. They also feature a
larger power supply; a more powerful on-board computer with increased memory — allowing greater spacecraft
autonomy — and increased battery power that will extend the mean mission duration.
Within two hours of launch, the DMSP early-orbit team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) Space Operations Control Center in Suitland, Md., will begin checkout of the spacecraft. These procedures are
scheduled to take about 10 days. An instrument checkout will follow, requiring an additional two weeks. When the
spacecraft is declared operational, the satellite will be turned over to the National Polar Orbiting Environmental
Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office (IPO). The IPO assistant director of Operations will then
delegate operational responsibility to the NOAA Office of Satellite Operations.
DMSP, operated by 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 create visible and infrared
images of cloud cover, the satellite collects specialized meteorological and oceanographic information as well as data
about the sun’s affect on the Earth in all weather conditions. The DMSP constellation comprises two spacecraft in
near-polar Earth orbits and ground-based electronic control facilities and equipment for military users.
The most recent launch of a DMSP spacecraft took place April 4, 1997, from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Titan II.
That launch marked the last of the Block 5D-2 satellites.
Missiles & Space currently maintains a backlog of six completed spacecraft for storage, functional testing and
upgrading. The satellites are shipped to Vandenberg when requested by the Air Force. Since 1966, the Air Force has
launched more than 30 Lockheed Martin DMSP satellites. Now in its fourth decade of service, the DMSP has proven to
be a valuable tool in scheduling and protecting military operations on land, at sea and in the air.
Astronautics and Missiles & Space are two of the operating units of Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems business area.
Astronautics designs, develops, tests and manufactures a variety of advanced technology systems for space and defense.
Chief products include space launch systems, planetary spacecraft and other space systems and ground systems.
Missiles & Space is a leading supplier of satellites to military, civil government and commercial communications
organizations around the world. These spacecraft have enhanced military and civilian communications; provided new,
extensive and timely weather data; studied the Earth and space; and furnished new data for thousands of scientists
studying our planet and the space around it.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global enterprise principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services.
The Corporation’s core businesses are systems integration, space, aeronautics, and technology services. Employing
more than 160,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 1998 sales surpassing $26 billion.
NOTE TO EDITORS: High and low resolution images of DMSP are available for downloading at
http://lmms.external.lmco.com/photos/military_space/def_met_sat_dmsp/def_met_sat_dmsp.html