Lockheed Martin Solar X-ray Imager to be launched on NOAA GOES-Nspacecraft (Forwarded)

Lockheed Martin

Contact:
Buddy Nelson, (510) 797-0349

July 27, 2005

LOCKHEED MARTIN SOLAR X-RAY IMAGER TO BE LAUNCHED ON NOAA GOES-N SPACECRAFT

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) instrument, designed
and built at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Space Systems Advanced
Technology Center (ATC) for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
in Greenbelt, Md., is awaiting launch on the NOAA GOES-N spacecraft from
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. SXI is one of a suite of
instruments that resides on the current generation of Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES).

"We are extremely pleased to have our first SXI instrument ready for
launch and look forward to seeing it operating on-orbit," said Mons
Morrison, SXI program manager at the ATC. "While the other GOES
instruments provide near-constant viewing of the Earth, SXI is designed
to view the Sun and provide vital information regarding solar activity."

The SXI, one of a suite of instruments on the GOES-N satellite, will be
used to aid National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and
U.S. Air Force personnel in issuing forecasts and alerts of "space
weather" conditions, and in developing a better understanding of
Sun-related phenomena that affect the Earth's environment. Turbulent
"space weather" can affect radio communication on Earth, induce currents
in electric power grids and long distance pipelines, cause navigational
errors in magnetic guidance systems, upset satellite circuitry and
expose astronauts to increased radiation.

A prototype SXI was developed, tested, and calibrated by NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., in conjunction with GSFC, NOAA,
and the Air Force, and launched aboard the GOES-M satellite in July
2001. The new SXI on GOES-N has a factor of two greater spatial
resolution than the prototype, and like some high-end home video
cameras, it has active internal jitter compensation that provides a
stable picture even when the spacecraft is moving. Additionally, more
sophisticated computer control allows SXI to react automatically to
changing solar conditions.

SXI will observe solar flares, coronal mass ejections, coronal holes and
active regions in the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum from
6 to 60 A (Angstroms). These features are the dominant sources of
disturbances in space weather that lead to, for example, geomagnetic
storms. SXI will also examine flare properties, newly emerging active
regions, and X-ray bright points on the Sun.

SXI will provide continuous, near real-time observation of the Sun's
corona, acquiring a full-disk image every minute. The images cover a 42
arc-minute field of view with five arc-second pixels. The Sun, as viewed
from Earth, is approximately 32 arc-minutes in diameter. By recording
solar images every minute, NOAA observers will be able to detect and
locate the occurrence of solar flares. This is the name given to the
explosive releases of vast amounts of magnetic energy in the solar
atmosphere. Since scientists are not yet able to predict the occurrence,
magnitude or location of solar flares, it is necessary to continually
observe the Sun to know when they are happening.

When a flare erupts, it throws out large clouds of ionized, or
electrically charged, gas. A small fraction of the cloud is very
energetic and can reach the Earth within a few minutes to hours of the
flare being observed. These energetic particles pose a hazard to both
astronauts and spacecraft.

Coronal mass ejections, which are often associated with flares, take
several days to reach the Earth. Fast, powerful ejections give rise to
geomagnetic storms, which can disrupt radio transmissions and induce
large currents in power transmission lines and oil pipelines. They have
resulted in large-scale failures of the North American power grid and
greatly increased pipeline erosion. SXI also will monitor coronal holes
-- persistent sources of high-speed solar wind. As the Sun rotates every
27 days, these sources spray across the Earth like a lawn sprinkler and
cause recurring geomagnetic storms.

The Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory at the ATC has a long heritage of
spaceborne solar instruments including the Soft X-ray Telescope on the
Japanese Yohkoh satellite, the Michelson Doppler Imager on the ESA/NASA
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and the solar telescope on NASA’s
Transition Region and Coronal Explorer. The laboratory also conducts
basic research into understanding and predicting Space Weather and the
behavior of our Sun including its impacts on Earth and climate.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of
Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs, develops, tests, manufactures, and
operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil
and commercial customers. Chief products include a full-range of space
launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, 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.

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. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.