Lockheed Martin today opened its doors in Huntsville and Courtland, Ala., to students, aged six to 18 years, for the company's annual Young Minds at Work Day. Approximately 160 students in Huntsville and 30 students in Courtland participated.

A Lockheed Martin employee, contractor or customer sponsored each student. Each student "shadowed" his or her sponsor during part of the day and participated in hands-on activities and tours of the company. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company annually hosts Young Minds at Work Day at company facilities across the country to motivate young people to pursue science and technology careers.

In Huntsville, student activities included: studying the constellations inside Star Lab, an inflatable mobile planetarium; looking inside computers to see how they work; and making "snow" in April by mixing water with a super-absorbent polymer. In Courtland, students built and launched a rocket, toured the facility and played an "Are You Smarter than a Rocket Scientist?" live game show with Lockheed Martin experts.

"By providing meaningful learning experiences in the world of science and technology, we help to increase the future prospects of each student and make our nation's future more secure," said Jim Tevepaugh, vice president of North Alabama Operations, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "Our employees share their passion for science and technology as they organize and conduct these activities."

"Our Young Minds at Work program allows those students who are interested to better define their goals and to develop their plans for entering the exciting fields of science and technology," said Bruce Thompson, director of the Courtland facility, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company employs more than 700 people in Huntsville and Courtland. The company's Huntsville facility performs program management and engineering for key missile defense contracts and is the home of the corporation's Battle Management Center of Expertise. The company's Courtland Operations provides missile defense assembly, integration and test services.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of several major organizations in the Lockheed Martin Corporation with operations in the Huntsville area. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; fleet ballistic missiles; and missile defense systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 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 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

                                 Media Contact:

      David Carney, Huntsville, 256-217-6311; david.r.carney@lmco.com

              Lynn Fisher, 408-742-7606; lynn.m.fisher@lmco.com

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin