CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE
STATION, Fla., June 22, 2016
/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) are
ready to launch the fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS)
secure communications satellite, MUOS-5, here on Friday, June 24, aboard a United Launch Alliance
Atlas V rocket. The launch window is between
10:30 a.m. and 11:14 a.m. EDT.
Californians may be particularly interested in the Florida launch of the MUOS-5 satellite. The
Navy's Program Executive Office for Space Systems and its
Communications Satellite Program Office responsible for the MUOS
program are based in San Diego.
Lockheed Martin assembled and tested all five MUOS satellites at
its Sunnyvale, California,
facility.
WATCH THE LAUNCH LIVE ONLINE:
- A live launch webcast at www.ulalaunch.com will begin at
10:10 a.m. EDT.
FOR BROADCAST MEDIA:
- A live launch satellite feed can be received by following these
instructions: http://ow.ly/oTYN301tF9q
- B-roll of MUOS-5 (animation, video footage, stills) is
available at: http://ow.ly/C5ib301wRT8
- Downloadable MUOS-5 satellite images are available at:
http://ow.ly/RsNIp
For the Navy, MUOS-5 completes a network of orbiting satellites
and relay ground stations that is revolutionizing secure
communications for mobile military forces. Users with MUOS
terminals will be able to seamlessly connect beyond line-of-sight
around the world and into the Global Information Grid, as well as
into the Defense Switching Network. MUOS' capabilities include
simultaneous, crystal-clear voice, video and mission data over a
secure high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.
"Users of the legacy satellite communications system can 'talk,'
but they are limited to conversations between users under the
footprint of the same satellite," explains Mark Woempner, director of Lockheed Martin's
Narrowband Communications Systems. "MUOS is a game-changer for our
forces, establishing a global military cellular network through
which they can reach out to each other – and exchange mission data
– almost anywhere around the world."
MUOS-5 joins a network of four already-on-orbit MUOS satellites
and four operational relay ground stations, providing near-global
coverage, including communications reach deep into polar
regions.
Like its predecessors, the MUOS-5 satellite has two payloads to
support both these new Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA) waveform capabilities, as well as the legacy Ultra High
Frequency (UHF) satellite system. MUOS-5 will augment the
constellation as a WCDMA spare, while actively supporting the
legacy UHF system, currently used by many mobile forces today.
Once fully operational, the MUOS network will provide users with
16 times more communications capacity than the legacy system it
will eventually replace. More than 55,000 currently fielded radio
terminals can be upgraded to be MUOS-compatible, with many of them
requiring just a software upgrade.
For additional information, photos and video visit:
www.lockheedmartin.com/muos
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture, integration and
sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and
services.
Media Contact:
Chip Eschenfelder, +1 303-977-8375;
chip.eschenfelder@lmco.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/count-down-us-navy-lockheed-martin-to-launch-muos-5-secure-communications-satellite-june-24-300288817.html
SOURCE Lockheed Martin