Lockheed Martin Orion Team Prepares for Integration and First Flight Test of Launch...

Lockheed Martin Orion Team Prepares for Integration and First Flight Test of
Launch Abort System

PARIS, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- PARIS AIR SHOW -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
announced today that two launch abort system (LAS) motors for NASA's Orion
crew exploration vehicle are now in place at White Sands Missile Range, New
Mexico for integration and preparation for the first flight test, known as Pad
Abort 1.

Lockheed Martin and NASA have planned a series of ground and flight tests for
the launch abort system over the next few years leading up to Orion's first
crewed flight to the International Space Station scheduled for 2015.

As the prime contractor to NASA for the Orion Project, Lockheed Martin is
responsible for designing and building this advanced-technology spacecraft
that will have more flexible space exploration capability than any previous
human space flight vehicle. The launch abort system that sits atop Orion is a
complex system designed to activate within milliseconds in the event of an
emergency on the launch pad or during initial ascent phase.

"Crew safety is of utmost importance in our vehicle design, so we have devoted
considerable thought and effort into the development of this innovative launch
abort system," said Cleon Lacefield, Lockheed Martin vice president and Orion
Program manager. "As we prepare for the Preliminary Design Review in August,
we continue to enhance the vehicle's safety and life support system designs to
ensure we move forward to build the safest and most reliable spacecraft
possible."

The launch abort system consists of three motors: the abort motor that fires
nearly 500,000 pounds of thrust to pull the crew module up and away from the
launch vehicle; the attitude control motor that exerts up to 7,000 pounds of
steering force to reorient the vehicle's position; and the jettison motor that
separates the crew module from the launch abort system so that parachutes can
be deployed for a safe landing. The jettison motor is the only motor that will
be activated on all nominal Orion missions to separate the spacecraft from the
launch abort system assembly shortly after second stage activation.

The system is required to provide a launch abort capability from the launch
pad after crew module hatch closure through orbital insertion. Several mission
abort modes are required to provide abort coverage extending from the launch
pad until Orion achieves a sustainable orbit.

The LAS aborts, referred to as Mode I aborts, are the most viable option until
the LAS is nominally jettisoned early in second stage. These aborts may be
commanded via the ground-based health management system, the on-board Orion
Abort Decision Logic, the crew, or ground personnel.

Mode II aborts, or Untargeted Abort Splashdown aborts, do not utilize the LAS.
Instead, the crew launch vehicle upper stage engine is shut down and the
Orion service module's reaction control system is used to provide adequate
clearance between the launch vehicle and Orion. The crew module then separates
from the service module so it can be maneuvered for a guided re-entry, and
descends using parachutes to a safe landing location.

Mode III aborts, commonly known as Targeted Abort Landings, are triggered by
late second stage failures during which Orion's trajectory is modified via a
targeted service module main engine burn followed by a crew module guided
entry to a target landing site.

The last type of abort -- Mode IV -- is called Abort to Orbit. In this
situation, an abort is performed following a premature shutdown of the upper
stage when the Orion service module has sufficient capability to achieve a
safe orbit insertion and de-orbit burn.

Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) is responsible for integrating the
LAS propulsion stack, which consists of three separate motors. Alliant
Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) supplies the LAS' launch abort and attitude control
motors, and Aerojet, a GenCorp company (NYSE: GY), supplies the escape
system's jettison motor.

The Lockheed Martin Orion Project office is based in Houston, Texas, near
NASA's Johnson Space Center. The team includes major subcontractors Aerojet,
Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell, Orbital Sciences Corporation and United Space
Alliance; and a network of 60 minor subcontractors and small businesses in 22
states across the United States.

Lockheed Martin is working closely with NASA to develop the Orion spacecraft,
the flagship of the Constellation Program's plan to return humans to the moon
and prepare for future voyages to other destinations in our solar system. The
Orion LAS program is managed by NASA's Langley Research Center with support
from Marshall Space Flight Center.

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 Contacts: Stephen Tatum, 408-742-7531; e-mail,
Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com
Chip Manor, 408-242-4046; e-mail, Charles.manor@lmco.com

Low- and high-resolution JPEG image files of Orion are available at:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/Orion/OrionToolKit/orionimages.html

SOURCE Lockheed Martin

Stephen Tatum, +1-408-742-7531, Stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com, or Chip Manor,
+1-408-242-4046, Charles.manor@lmco.com, both of Lockheed Martin