 |
 |
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Last DSCS satellite ready for military service LOCKHEED MARTIN NEWS RELEASE Posted: December 22, 2003 A U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin team has successfully completed on-orbit checkout and testing of the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft launched on Aug. 29, 2003 from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. aboard a Delta IV rocket. The satellite, the last of 14 DSCS III spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, has now begun its controlled drift to its operational location.
This satellite joins the 13 other DSCS satellites on-orbit, including DSCS A3, which was launched successfully on March 10, 2003, and is operational. The very first DSCS III spacecraft was launched on Oct. 30, 1982 aboard a Titan 34D launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral and is currently used for testing. Air Force Space Command, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., operates the DSCS constellation for the Department of Defense. "This spacecraft is the final vehicle delivered to the Air Force in an outstanding program spanning decades of excellence and mission success," said Leonard F. Kwiatkowski, vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale. "Since its' inception, the program has had an extraordinary team of dedicated, talented individuals who have been focused on delivering the best quality communications spacecraft to the military. Congratulations to the entire Air Force/Aerospace/DISA/Lockheed Martin team on successfully completing the DSCS constellation." Each DSCS III satellite has a design life of 10-years, although more than half of the DSCS satellites on-orbit today have far exceeded their design life expectancy and continue to perform with outstanding results. The DSCS constellation supported military operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom and will continue to provide vital communications links to U.S. and Allied Forces around the globe well into the future. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, 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 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.
|
|
|
|
Apollo 12 tribute DVD set New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail.  Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide  Fallen Heroes special patch  This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space  Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster  This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.Choose your store:U.S. Current Shuttle Mission Patch  The official embroidered patch for shuttle Endeavour's flight to finish building Japanese section of the space station.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREHubble Patch  The official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREAres Patch  The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.U.S. STORE Project Orion  The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.U.S. STOREFallen Heroes Patch Collection  The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORESoviet Space  For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Viking patch  This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 7 DVD  For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Gemini 12  Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Get e-mail updates Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose).
|
|
|
INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE ADVERTISE © 2009 Spaceflight Now Inc. |
|||||
