AKRON, OH, 30-APR-03 -- Lockheed Martin will navigate 1,000 Akron-area students to new heights at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Space Day celebration on May 1. Soaring on the wings of their years of engineering experience, Lockheed Martin will team with the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) Society to educate the next generation of space pioneers and celebrate the future of flight. These students will be the engineers, architects and scientists developing the aircraft of the future, said Joe Huber, LTA Society board of trustees chairman. We are excited to bring the science of lighter-than-air vehicles to this exploration of space and flight.

Physics and competitive spirit will come into play as Space Day students build, test and fly their own hot air balloons at the LTA activity center. By the power of household blow dryers, these airships could reach the 36-foot ceiling if they factor glue quantity, competition obstacles and heat intensity in the right amounts. The students can learn building and engineering fundamentals while enjoying the spectacle of their multi-colored paper balloons filling the flight-testing area.

We plan on taking flight lessons beyond the Wright brothers and bringing the celebration closer to home with some of Akron's contributions, he said. This year marks the 130th anniversary of the first balloon flight in Akron by John Crazy Legs Johnson. He received his name during the 1873 Summit County fair when his balloon was released early and he was seen with his legs dangling as he tried to climb into the basket. That story along with hands-on artifacts is sure to spark the interests of future helium heads.

Other on-site activities such as Space Quiz Show, Building Big: Space Shuttle Creation, Meet the Inventors and Crater Corner boost visitors into an interactive orbit of space. Also, NASA Glenn and NASA Goddard will be special guests showcasing an astronaut's life and work.

Now in its seventh year, Space Day inspires young people to achieve academic excellence in science, math and technology. Each year, thousands of students worldwide participate to Embrace Space and commemorate the accomplishments in space exploration. Over 70 Space Day community and business partners, including Senator John Glenn, chairman of Space Day and the Space Day Foundation Advisory Council, support this initiative.

Lockheed Martin and the National Inventors Hall of Fame welcome Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic to proclaim May 1 the official Space Day. The fizz-pop of Alka-Seltzer rockets and a towering NASA space shuttle balloon amongst the chattering of children on the NIHF plaza will set the atmosphere for the proclamation ceremony.

Students also participate in International Space Day projects such as the Signatures in Space (S3) program. S3, sponsored by Space Day Partner Lockheed Martin, allows hundreds of international school children's signatures to go aboard an upcoming space shuttle mission. After the flight, the signed space posters are returned to the schools along with a certificate of their mission's crew. Local school participants for 2003 are Nolley Elementary School, Akron; Portage Elementary School, Barberton; and Indian Valley Middle School, Tuscarawas.

Lockheed Martin in Akron provides laser-based commercial and electronic warfare products, sensor systems, aircrew simulation and training systems, antisubmarine warfare and surveillance systems to customers worldwide. It is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) headquartered in Bethesda, Md. The corporation's principal business areas are aeronautics, space, systems integration and technology services.