International Launch Services And Lockheed Martin Launch Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter For NASA

International Launch Services And Lockheed Martin Launch Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter For NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Aug. 12, 2005 - An Atlas V rocket
sent a NASA spacecraft on its way to Mars this morning, scoring a double
success for International Launch Services (ILS) and its parent company,
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT).

Liftoff of the 19-story launcher occurred at 7:43 a.m. from Launch Complex
41 at Cape Canaveral. After 58 minutes, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
(MRO) separated from the vehicle, departing Earth orbit for a seven-month
journey to the Red Planet.

This was the fifth mission of the year for ILS, a Lockheed Martin joint
venture that manages launches aboard the Lockheed Martin-built Atlas V
vehicle. It was the first U.S. government mission as well as the first
interplanetary mission using the Atlas V, which has had five successful
flights for commercial customers. The Atlas family has achieved 77
consecutive successful launches spanning 12 years.

Lockheed Martin also built the MRO spacecraft. MRO will advance exploration
for evidence of water on Mars. It also will identify and evaluate potential
landing sites for the next several Mars surface missions, leading to
search-for-life and sample-return missions, and eventually a human Mars
landing.

"We're pleased that our first mission for NASA on Atlas V is such an
exciting and important project," said Mark Albrecht, president of
International Launch Services. "Atlas vehicles have carried 133 other NASA
missions, to both Earth orbit and Deep Space. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
will provide more new information about Mars than all previous missions to
that planet combined."

The MRO launch recalls another successful Mars mission that recently marked
its 40th anniversary. Atlas launched the Mariner missions to Mars in the
1960s, and Mariner 4 provided the first-ever close-up images of another
planet in our solar system during its Mars flyby in 1965.

The MRO spacecraft is the largest to be launched to Mars since the 1980s,
weighing 4,796 lbs (2,180 kg) at liftoff. After it arrives at Mars, it will
orbit for four years in a near-polar orbit at altitudes ranging from 255 km
(158 statute mi) to 320 km (199 mi). MRO has an ambitious investigative
agenda; it carries six science instruments, and the spacecraft itself will
be used for two other science investigations. They are as follows:

High-resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), to image selected
features with the most powerful telescopic camera ever built for use at
another planet.

Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM), to survey the planet
for water-related minerals.

Mars Color Imager, to monitor changes in the atmosphere and on the surface
through daily global imagery.

Context Camera, to complement imagery collected by HiRISE and CRISM. It will
cover swaths 30 km (18.6 mi) wide.

Mars Climate Sounder, to study water vapor, dust, ices and temperatures in
the atmosphere.

Shallow Subsurface Radar, to probe up to 1 km (0.6 mi) below the surface to
find and map underground layers of ice, rock, and if present, liquid water.

Gravity Investigation, tracking variations in the orbiter's movements to map
the effects of variations in Mars' gravity.

Atmospheric Structure Investigation, using sensitive accelerometers to
measure the vertical structure of Mars' upper atmosphere.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and
services.
International Launch Services is the global leader in launch services,
offering the industry's two best launch systems: Atlas and the Russian-built
Proton. With a remarkable launch rate of 76 missions since 2000, the Atlas
and Proton launch vehicles have consistently demonstrated the reliability
and flexibility that have made them preferred choice among satellite
operators worldwide.

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info