NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY,
Point Mugu, Calif., Sept. 2, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System
(MUOS-4) satellite, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), is
talking from space to the satellite control team at the Naval
Spacecraft Operations Control facility here after its Florida launch this morning. MUOS-4 will
enable near-global coverage for a new secure military
communications network offering enhanced capabilities for mobile
forces.
The MUOS-4 satellite launched at 6:18
a.m. EDT this morning aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas
V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. A Lockheed Martin-led initialization
team, stationed at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu,
California, is operating the
satellite from its transfer orbit to its test slot.
The Navy's Program Executive Office for Space Systems and its
Communications Satellite Program Office responsible for the MUOS
program are based in San Diego.
Lockheed Martin assembled and tested MUOS-4 at its Sunnyvale, California facility.
Downloadable images of the MUOS-4 satellite are available at
this link: http://ow.ly/RGtgz
MUOS-4 is the latest addition to a network of orbiting
satellites and relay ground stations that is revolutionizing secure
communications for mobile military forces. Users with operational
MUOS terminals can seamlessly connect beyond line-of-sight around
the globe and into the Global Information Grid. MUOS' new smart
phone-like capabilities include simultaneous, crystal-clear voice,
video and mission data, over a high-speed Internet Protocol-based
system.
The addition of MUOS-4 completes the initial constellation and
provides the MUOS network with near-global coverage, extending the
reach of communications further toward the North and South poles
than ever before.
This morning, the MUOS-4 satellite separated from its Atlas V
rocket approximately three hours after its successful launch. Over
the next few days, MUOS-4 will transition to reach its
geosynchronous orbit location approximately 22,000 miles (37,586
km) above the Earth. The satellite's solar arrays and antennas will
then be deployed, and on-orbit testing will start for subsequent
turn-over to the Navy for test and commissioning to service.
"The most dangerous part of a satellite's life is launch and
getting into orbit. I really want to thank our entire team whose
hard work prepared MUOS-4 for this mission-critical event and the
Atlas team who ultimately carried us safely to our transfer orbit,"
said Iris Bombelyn, vice president
of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin. "We look forward
to completing our on-orbit health checks and delivering this
important asset to the U.S. Navy and these new capabilities to our
mobile forces."
In June, Lockheed Martin completed and shipped the MUOS-4
satellite from California to the
Cape. In August, technicians encapsulated the satellite in its
protective launch fairing.
The MUOS-4 satellite joins a network, which already includes
MUOS-1, MUOS-2 and MUOS-3, launched respectively in 2012, 2013 and
January 2015, and four required MUOS
ground stations already completed. Once fully operational, the MUOS
network will provide comparatively 16 times the capacity of the
legacy ultra high frequency communications satellite system, which
it will continue to support, and eventually replace.
More than 55,000 currently fielded radio terminals can be
upgraded to be MUOS-compatible, with many of them requiring just a
software upgrade.
As part of Lockheed Martin's "Launch and Learn" program, company
volunteers visited Ronald McNair Magnet Middle School, in nearby
Rockledge, Florida, to tie the
MUOS launch into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
education. Employees led a hands-on Engineering Design Challenge
for nearly 500 McNair middle school students to demonstrate the
important principles of space engineering.
For additional MUOS information, photos and video visit:
www.lockheedmartin.com/muos
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace
company that employs approximately 112,000 people worldwide and is
principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services. The Corporation's net sales for
2014 were $45.6 billion.
Media Contact:
Chip Eschenfelder, +1 303-977-8375;
chip.eschenfelder@lmco.com
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin