Lockheed Martin
announced today that it has contributed $25,000 to help Tuskegee
University in Alabama establish a new Micro Satellite Program on
campus. The first satellite project, designated SKEGEENIK, will
provide the University’s students and professors with the knowledge
and training necessary to design, build and launch a satellite with a
functional payload.

“Lockheed Martin is pleased to support Tuskegee’s efforts to
establish a micro satellite program on campus,” said Jeff Harris,
president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems – Missiles & Space
Operations in Sunnyvale. “This initiative will help Tuskegee students
open the door to the exciting business of space and provide them with
the skills and abilities necessary to succeed in America’s high-tech,
aerospace industry.”

Harris further noted that the investment is a “win-win” for both
Tuskegee and Lockheed Martin. The students will benefit from on-campus
training in the space industry and the Corporation benefits from
having a broader pool of high-quality graduates from which to choose
future employees. Lockheed Martin’s chairman and CEO Vance Coffman was
also on hand for the announcement which took place during a Tuskegee
faculty tour of Space Systems facilities in Sunnyvale.

The Tuskegee program is designed to create a total satellite
systems environment on campus. The program will incorporate the
University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical
Sciences; the College of Business & Information Science; and the
College of Agricultural, Environmental and Natural Sciences in the
design, construction and launch of the satellite. A portion of the
funds will also go to the Tuskegee University Business and Engineering
(TUBE) Student Organization.

Specifically, participants from the school of business will mimic
the business operations at Lockheed Martin facilities in Sunnyvale,
Denver and Huntsville. Some of the parts needed to complete the
construction of the satellite could be purchased from Lockheed Martin
and some of its suppliers. This interaction is designed to give
students valuable insight and hands-on training in the procedures and
methods for purchasing parts.

Participants from the school of engineering will mimic the
engineering structures in Sunnyvale, Denver and Huntsville. These
participants will be responsible for designing, fabricating and
testing the satellite’s sub-systems. The computer hardware/software
requirements and capabilities will be a cooperative effort of the
computer science and computer engineering departments. The school of
agriculture & environmental sciences will define and design the major
payload for the first satellite. This payload will download data that
is valuable to the farm and forestry communities in the southeastern
United States.

“The Micro Satellite Program represents a tremendous opportunity
for our University and a challenge for our students,” said Legand
Burge, dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical
Sciences. “We are grateful for Lockheed Martin’s support of this
important program, which will educate our students in the design,
manufacture, integration, and operation of a satellite in a real-world
setting and create a smooth transformation from undergraduate studies
to industry.”

The program participants at the University and the Lockheed Martin
site will conduct design reviews in all phases of the project. The
ground station will also be located on campus.

Lockheed Martin has collaborated with other universities on
similar programs including San Jose State, Stanford and California
Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The Sapphire micro satellite,
built by students at Stanford University, is now fully operational and
providing education, amateur radio outreach and technology
demonstration following its successful launch aboard a Lockheed Martin
Athena rocket from the Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska on Sept. 29,
2001. Tuskegee plans to consult with these Universities to study their
respective satellite designs and to seek advice from those programs so
that we can benefit from their experience, reduce costs and save time.

Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University, an Historically Black University (HBCU), was
founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, and is nationally and
internationally recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and
outreach. In addition to its nationally accredited program in teacher
education, Tuskegee University is setting the pace in such programs as
engineering, business and information science, architecture, and
veterinary medicine, all holding national accreditation, and
bioscience. More African American aerospace science engineers graduate
from Tuskegee than from any other university in the nation. Tuskegee
also has more African American engineering graduates in chemical,
electrical and mechanical engineering.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, headquartered in Denver,
Colo., is one of the major operating units of the world’s largest
defense contractor, Lockheed Martin Corporation . Space
Systems is a global leader in the design, development, test and
production of space launch systems, ground systems, scientific
spacecraft, satellites for commercial and government customers, fleet
ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin 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. Lockheed
Martin had 2000 sales surpassing $25 billion.

For more information about Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company,
Missiles & Space Operations, see our website at
http://lmms.external.lmco.com/