A U.S. Air Force Milstar II military communications satellite is
ready for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., on Friday,
Feb. 24, aboard a Titan IV launch vehicle. The satellite and launch
vehicle were built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company at its
operations in Sunnyvale, Calif. and Denver, Colo., respectively.

Milstar II, the Defense Department’s most technologically advanced
telecommunications satellite, is the first to carry the Medium Data
Rate (MDR) payload which can process data at speeds of 1.5 megabits
per second. Two Milstar I satellites currently on-orbit are equipped
with a UHF and Low Data Rate payload, which transmits information at
rates between 75 and 2,400 bits per second. Lockheed Martin is under
contract to provide two more Milstar II spacecraft in addition to the
satellite currently set for launch.

The new MDR payload represents a transition to the new Block II
configuration, which will offer a variety of enhanced communications
features for the U.S. military. These include added security through
the use of specially designed antennas and faster data-rate
transmissions for all users.

The Milstar spacecraft constellation provides secure, global
communication links 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 block II system is specifically designed to provide
new capabilities more suitable to this era of regional conflicts. Our
team not only proposed a great solution with the MDR payload, but it
implemented that solution rapidly and under tight budget
restrictions,” said Len Kwiatkowski, Lockheed Martin vice president,
Military Space Programs. “We are proud to be on the Milstar team which
is providing U.S. forces with the capability to communicate without
betraying their locations and to do so securely, within close
proximity of enemy jammers.”

Milstar’s “switchboard-in-space” concept is a revolutionary
departure from all current communications systems and is designed to
provide adaptable, secure, and survivable communications between
fixed-site, mobile, and hand-portable terminals. The system does this
by utilizing five technologies not found in any previous military
satellite communication system: 1) on-board signal processing, 2)
on-board signal routing, 3) on-board resource control, 4) crossbanding
(receiving a signal through one antenna at one frequency and
processing and relaying it through a different antenna at a different
frequency) and 5) satellite crosslinks (antennas that allow satellites
to beam signals directly to each other without using ground station
relays).

Milstar is used for communications among ships, submarines and
land-based Naval stations via Navy Extremely High Frequency Satellite
Communications Program terminals. The system provides communications
networks to Army units via the Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable
Tactical Terminals mounted on vehicles, and to individual troops and
small units from the Single Channel Anti-Jam Man-Portable terminals.
For the Air Force, the Milstar system provides links for Air Force
airborne command posts.

The Milstar team is led by the MILSATCOM Joint Program Office at
the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air
Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space operations is the
Milstar prime contractor, Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) provides the
Medium Data Rate payload and crosslink subsystem, and TRW Space &
Electronics Group provides the Low Data Rate payload.

Beyond Milstar, in May 2000, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Boeing
Satellite Systems and TRW formed a National Team to build the
Department of Defense’s next generation of highly secure communication
satellites known as Advanced Extremely High Frequency (Advanced EHF)
system. Formation of the team accelerates development of the new
system by 18 months. The early deployment of Advanced EHF will
increase military communication coverage.

Under the National Team arrangement, Lockheed Martin will serve as
overall system integrator and prime contractor, issuing contracts to
Boeing and TRW. The roles and responsibilities of each team member
will take advantage of their strengths in building highly secure
military communications satellites.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, headquartered in Denver,
Colo., 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 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.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation
is a highly diversified global enterprise principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture and integration of
advanced-technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s
core businesses span space and telecommunications, electronics,
information and services, aeronautics, energy and systems integration.
Employing approximately 170,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had
1998 sales surpassing $26 billion.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For the complete press kit, including program
profiles, images and live video streaming of the launch, please visit
the Milstar Flight. 4 News Center at:
http://lmms.external.lmco.com/about/milstar4.html

For more information about Lockheed Martin Space Systems, see our
websites at:
http://lmms.external.lmco.com
http://www.ast.lmco.com