NEW ORLEANS, LA, 22-NOV-05 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has named Ron Wetmore, vice president, Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicles & deputy general manager for Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Michoud Operations. The company has also named Wanda Sigur as vice president, External Tank Project and Paula Hartley as director, Safety & Product Assurance.

All three work at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility where Lockheed Martin builds the Space Shuttle External Tank and is preparing for the next phase of space exploration.

In his new capacity, Wetmore will be responsible for properly positioning the company in pursuit of future NASA space exploration launch vehicle requirements. Wetmore joined Lockheed Martin in 1981 as a field engineer. Progressing through a series of engineering positions, he was named director, Kennedy Space Center Operations in 1995, and then promoted to vice president, External Tank Project in 2000. He also served as Return to Flight manager.

Prior to his Lockheed Martin career, Wetmore served as a U.S. Navy engineering officer for 10 years. A native of Miami, Florida, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy, a graduate degree from the Naval Nuclear Power Program and a master’s degree in business administration from Florida Tech.

Sigur will be responsible for the assembly of the External Tank, the largest element and structural backbone of the Space Shuttle propulsion system. She began her Lockheed Martin career as a materials engineer in 1979, gaining experience in a number of engineering positions. In 1996, she was named manager, Design & Analysis and then promoted to director, Engineering & Technology Laboratories in 2000.

A native of New Orleans, Sigur graduated from Rice University in 1979 with a mechanical & materials sciences and engineering degree. She also holds a master’s in business administration from Tulane University.

In her new position, Hartley will be responsible for safety and quality assurance in the manufacturing of the External Tank. She also serves as Lockheed Martin’s lead on a management team overseeing the foam loss investigation from the most recent shuttle launch, STS-114.

Hartley began working as a metallurgist for Lockheed Martin in 1985 and later served as principal investigator for research programs that concentrated on advanced metallic materials and processes. Previously, she assumed the role of risk reduction test manager for the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle program.

A native of Butler, Pennsylvania, she earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering and materials science from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in business administration from Tulane University.

Photos of Ron Wetmore, Wanda Sigur and Paula Hartley are available at http://www.lockheedmartin.com/michoudgallery