The fifth in a series of eight modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellites built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force is ready for launch aboard a Delta II rocket on Dec. 20, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The spacecraft, designated GPS IIR-18M, is a modernized version of the Block IIR series designed to enhance the GPS constellation for military and civilian GPS users around the globe. The modernized series delivers increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal to provide users with an open access signal on a different frequency.

The GPS constellation provides critical situational awareness and precision weapon guidance for the military and supports a wide range of civil, scientific and commercial functions -- from air traffic control to the Internet -- with precision location and timing information.

"Built by a dedicated, experienced team, this advanced satellite will provide another step forward in our customer's goal to modernize the GPS constellation," said Don DeGryse, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Navigation Systems. "We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Air Force to maintain and enhance the vitally important GPS mission and we look forward to achieving mission success for our customer."

Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems, Valley Forge, Pa. prime contractor for the GPS IIR program and navigation payload provider ITT of Clifton, N.J. designed and built 21 IIR spacecraft and subsequently modernized eight of those spacecraft, designated Block IIR-M, for the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

The Global Positioning System enables properly equipped users to determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude, longitude and altitude to within a few meters. Air Force Space Command's 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2006 sales of $39.6 billion.

Media Contact: Steve Tatum, 408-742-7531; e-mail, Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com

  Low- and high-resolution JPEG image files of a GPS IIR-M satellite are
                              available at:
               http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/GPS/

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin