Aerospace tour brings ideas for locals Part III

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Joe Rice is the director of government relations for Lockheed Martin. At the recent aerospace tour he went indepth about the services that Lockheed Martin is in need of and what exactly their business does in the aerospace industry. Jordan Leonard, Emery County Economic Development director is busy looking for ways to diversify the Emery County economy. The recent downswing in the extraction industries has left the county wondering where to turn for economic development.
One avenue the state office of economic development is pursuing is the aerospace industry. They believe it’s a great fit for rural Utah to become suppliers to this needy industry.
In Utah Lockheed Martin is located at the Hill Air Force base and 10 other locations. They have over 400 employees and partner with 200 suppliers from throughout the state. Rice said they are always looking for new suppliers and invited Emery County businesses to check into what they need to do to become involved in this industry.
Lockheed Martin is currently competing for the ground based strategic deterrent contract, the successor to the existing Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system. If they were to receive this contract it would significantly add to their facilities, employment and supplier base in Utah. With a long track record with intercontinental ballistic missile systems, starting with the first ever system, the continued legacy of Lockheed Martin includes 700 missiles and 3,000 reentry vehicles delivered to the United States Air Force.
Rice said they have been working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Air Force and Navy to determine viable approaches to maintain the United States air dominance capabilities into the future. The spirit of innovation and development of aircraft like the SR-71; F-22 and F-35 are what customers of Lockheed Martin have come to rely on throughout their 70 year history.
Rice said quality control is very important.
Another division they actively pursue is manned aircraft. They have been involved with Orion and the Space Launch System Rocket. They are working on developing advance capabilities to bring in a new era of space exploration by man. They will travel deeper and deeper into space and await discoveries which will inspire future generations. Rice said they pride themselves in leading the way with further exploration. Their work with the Orion multi-purpose crw vehicle will begin a new chapter in space exploration.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the construction of Orion. This will be NASA’s first spacecraft designed for long duration, human rated deep space exploration. Orion will transport humans to interplanetary destinations beyond low Earth orbit such as asteroids, the moon and Mars and return them safely back to earth. “We are working with our customer to develop advanced deep-space radiation protection capabilities to keep astronaut crews safe and to protect electrical systems on long duration space missions beyond low earth orbit,” said Rice.
The company is also developing a variety of new spacecraft that will explore planets and asteroids in our solar system. Lockheed Martin has played a role in every mission to Mars and have build 10 spacecraft and eight aeroshells supporting Mars missions. Their involvement with NASA and Mars continues with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution and the Interior Exploration using seismic investigations and Geodesy and Heat Transport spacecraft which promise to increase the knowledge of the planets upper atmosphere and deep interior.
The Juno spacecraft launched in August 2011 and arrived at Jupiter in July 2016, the Juno mission will allow scientist and researchers to better understand Jupiter’s origin and evolution and will study the planet’s interior, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
Lockheed Martin is also working with the University of Arizona to develop the Near Infrared Camera which will serve as the primary image instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. The company also designed, built and manages the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph which launched June 27, 2013, it is operational and gathers images that will lead to new insights about the genesis of solar systems.
Not only does Lockheed Martin create space exploration equipment, but technologies that explore earth’s, climate, terrain, interior and oceans. These instruments will improve weather forecasting quality and timeliness and monitor climate, ecosystems management, commerce and transportation.
Satellites are also part of their expertise. They were selected by DigitalGlobe to build the company’s next generation high resolution, earth imaging satellite and associated command and control systems.
Worldview4 will deliver critical geospatial situational awareness and global security information to intelligence analysts, warfighters and decision makers. SpaceFence will enhance the way the United States detects, tracks, measures and catalogs more than 200,000 orbiting objects and space debris with improved accuracy, better timeliness and increased surveillance coverage.
Unmanned aerial systems have increased the capacity of drones. INDAGO gives civilians as well as the military an eye in the sky almost immediately. It will accomplish diverse missions including precision agriculture, firefighting, first response, mapping, surveying and inspections.
Rice instructed anyone interested in helping to supply Lockheed Martin as well as other manufacturers in the aerospace industry to visit: lockheedmartin.com/us/suppliers.html
Lockheed Martin has a dedicated system, Supplier Wire, to assist suppliers interested in doing business with Lockheed Martin and the defense industry. Supplier Wire provides various resources designed to help suppliers learn how to do business with Lockheed Martin as well as expand small businesses.
Another purpose for the tour was to introduce local students to possible career options in the space industry. Students visited many booths set-up around the gym to explore these options.
Jordan Leonard, Emery County Economic Development director said, “I feel the Aerospace Tour was very positive for the community and the businesses involved. We were able to visit Industrial Electric where they showed us the components of making and rebuilding an electric motor. We then visited EAO Services, a precision metal fabrication company, who showed us some of the projects they are currently working on. Conductive Composites gave a presentation at the morning breakfast where they talked about their company’s plans for the future and the work they are currently doing in the aerospace field. There were other business owners in attendance who we hope made good contacts that will help further their business endeavors. We had very positive feedback from the participants and we believe that it will continue to be beneficial for those who attended via the connections made.
“The aerospace tour had a large impact on the high school students. There were demonstrations and exhibits in the gymnasium and on the football field that highlighted aerospace industry and the jobs related to the aerospace trade. The students were able to drive the robots, shoot rockets, fly drones, and experience a virtual reality game that puts the user as the player. These outlets will hopefully get the youth in our County interested in the STEM fields. One of the most popular avenues for the students to explore, and get familiar with the STEM program, is Robotics. We currently have over 100 students ranging from Kindergarten age through 12th grade enrolled in the robotics program. Emery School District just received a grant that will help push STEM into our schools curriculum which will allow the students to explore future industry interests. The benefits of a robotic program include, but are not limited to, programming, technology, engineering, critical thinking, mechanical engineering, team building, and also provides an outlet to students who may not have other after school extra-curricular activities. This program helps the students to work towards a goal and accomplish tasks as a team. We want to thank Rob Murray for bringing this program to our County, along with the Emery County School District for all of their hard work and support to bring the program into the schools.