Upgraded GPS satellite Shipped to Cape for July Launch as Lockheed Martin Team Achieves New Record for On-Orbit Readiness

As the U.S. Air Force prepares to launch its third Global Positioning
System (GPS) satellite this year, prime contractor Lockheed Martin has set a
new record for operational checkout of the recently-launched GPS IIR-9
satellite.

Following the March 31 launch of GPS IIR-9, Lockheed Martin executed an
accelerated on-orbit payload initialization in just 11 days — a record for
any GPS satellite — so that the satellite could be quickly placed into
service in support of the current military operations. Two months earlier,
the team achieved a 20-day check out of GPS IIR-8, which was launched on Jan.
29.

The next satellite, designated GPS IIR-10, was recently shipped to Cape
Canaveral from Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Valley Forge, Pa. for a
scheduled launch in late July. The satellite features significant performance
upgrades, including a modernized antenna panel and increased power for GPS
receivers. There are eight new-generation GPS IIR spacecraft currently on
orbit out of a total GPS constellation of 28 satellites.

“Turning over a spacecraft 11 days after liftoff is a tremendous
achievement and I congratulate the entire GPS IIR team on a job well done,”
said Dave Podlesney, Lockheed Martin GPS program director. “Lockheed Martin is
extremely proud of the on-orbit performance of the GPS IIR spacecraft and we
look forward to extending our mission success record for our Air Force
customer.”

GPS IIR satellites are designed to improve global coverage and increase
the overall performance of the GPS constellation. Lockheed Martin has
delivered 21 of these satellites to the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile
Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. After the IIR-10 mission,
eleven more satellites will be launched to sustain the GPS constellation.

The Global Positioning System allows any properly equipped user to
determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude, longitude and
altitude to within a few meters. Although originally designed as a guidance
and navigational tool for the military, GPS has proven beneficial in the
commercial and civil markets for transportation, surveying and rescue
operations.

The GPS IIR satellites are compatible with the current system and provide
improved navigation accuracy, achieved by using an ITT Industries payload
system. Additionally, increased autonomy and longer spacecraft life are
inherent in the Lockheed Martin satellite design.

To bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, Lockheed Martin is
under contract to modernize eight existing GPS IIR spacecraft already built
and in storage. These spacecraft, designated GPS IIR-M, will incorporate two
new military signals and a second civil signal, thus providing military and
civilian users of the navigation system with improved capabilities much sooner
than previously envisioned.

GPS modernization is being performed at the Space & Strategic Missiles –
Valley Forge, Pa. facilities and ITT Industries, Clifton, N.J. facilities. The
first launch of a GPS IIR-M satellite is scheduled for July 2004. The U.S. Air
Force Space and Missile Systems Center, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting
agency.

Space & Strategic Missiles is part of Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., 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.