1912 – Sustainability in our DNA

Malcolm and Allan Loughead and Glenn L. Martin, founders of our legacy companies, put their acumen for aircraft design and construction to work, successfully answering complex questions of fuel and flight sustainability in the early days of aviation.

Heritage Companies: Alco-Hydro Aeroplane Company and the Glenn L. Martin Company

1928-1937 – Sustainability in our DNA

Lockheed’s Sirius, Orion and Electra aircraft consistently set records for speed and distance beginning in the late 1920s. Gradually, the thirst for speed led to exploration of thinner atmosphere at greater altitudes. As a result, in 1937, the Army Air Corps called upon Lockheed to redesign a Hudson bomber to feature the first pressurized cabin, thereby creating a sustainable in-flight environment at altitude.

Heritage Company: Lockheed Aircraft Company

1942 – A Different Perspective on Fuel and Sustainability

Following Pearl Harbor, fuel rationing and shortages became routine by spring 1942. Lockheed Vega Aircraft Corporation did its part, giving 2,400 production employees who lived within four miles of the Burbank, CA factory the option of purchasing a bicycle through the company. When their shift was over, the employees peddled out of the facility in a mass exodus that became known as the “Bicycle Brigade.”

Heritage Company: Lockheed Vega Aircraft Corporation

1968 – Sustainability Takes on a New Meaning

Lockheed and Martin Marietta made critical contributions to the early U.S. space program, including the Apollo era. In 1968, Apollo 8 became the first space flight to leave Earth’s orbit. Astronaut Bill Anders captured the first photograph of Planet Earth from space. The impact of this single, iconic photograph spurred popular opinion toward a new outlook whose legacy continues to this day: sustainability and responsible stewardship of Earth’s limited resources.

Heritage Companies: Lockheed and Martin Marietta

1971-2011 – “Earth Resources” Observed

In 1971, the mission of Lockheed’s U-2 reconnaissance aircraft shifted to a better understanding of the Earth and its sustainability. Renamed ER-2 (Earth Resources), the aircraft used aerial photography capabilities to assess changing water levels and vegetation that affect food supply, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. ER-2’s atmospheric experiments have carefully studied ozone depletion over the Antarctic region and coordinated airborne, satellite and surface observations to investigate radiative properties of clouds and their impact on climate change. The ER-2 remains in service to this day.

Heritage Company: Lockheed

1973 – A Laboratory in Space, Examining Earth

Martin Marietta’s Multi Docking Adapter served as the laboratory and main experimentation hub for Skylab, Earth’s first space station. In addition, the company’s Denver division designed and produced 25% of Skylab’s experiment assemblies, including the control and display panel for the mission’s critical Earth Resources Experiments Package. This advanced image capturing equipment was used to view the Earth with sensors that recorded data in the visible, infrared and microwave spectral regions. Thousands of Earth photographs taken from Skylab expanded man’s understanding of our planet and its vegetation.

Heritage Company: Martin Marietta

1976 – Sustaining Power 140 Million Miles Away

Martin Marietta developed a unique lander as part of the Viking missions, which explored and delivered the first pictures of the surface of Mars. The success of numerous missions was due in large part to the lander’s innovative power source – two small radioisotope thermoelectric generators that provided 30 watts of continuous power at 4.4 volts, unerringly driving the lander’s computers, communications devices, investigative tools and mechanical operations. 

Heritage Company: Martin Marietta

1978 – Examining Earth’s Oceans

Lockheed’s 40-foot, Seasat satellite circled the globe 14 times a day for 106 days, collecting oceanography data that provided the meteorology industry with a flood of information on the impact of oceans on Earth’s atmosphere, including sea surface temperature readings, wind speed across the oceans and wave heights. Seasat proved the viability of more detailed satellite weather examination and led to future satellite deployments.

Heritage Company: Lockheed

1981-2011 – The Space Shuttle and Sustainability

One of the greatest legacies of the Space Shuttle program is Earth exploration – from atmospheric and oceanic investigations to Spacelab missions. We played an enormous role in bringing the Space Shuttle to fruition, including pioneering work on the heat shields and external tank design.

Heritage Companies: Lockheed and Martin Marietta

1984-present

Solar array technology developed at the Sunnyvale facility, and later used on the International Space Station (ISS), was tested during a space shuttle flight experiment in 1984. The solar arrays harness the Sun’s energy to generate reliable, continuous electric power for on-orbit operation of ISS systems. The ISS solar arrays are the largest deployable space structure ever built and are by far, the most powerful electricity-producing arrays ever put into orbit. 

1984 – The Space Shuttle and the Ultimate Recycling Mission

Martin Marietta designed and built the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), a jet pack that allowed shuttle astronauts to maneuver through space without being tethered to the ship. In 1984, MMUs successfully propelled astronauts on a complex retrieval and repair mission of the Solar Max satellite. The crew’s repair effort allowed the satellite to double its mission time of capturing critical data on the sun and solar flares. It may have well been the most valuable recycling effort in history.

Heritage Company: Martin Marietta

2003-present – Target Zero Safety Program

In 2003, Lockheed Martin launched its “Target Zero” safety program, aimed at reducing workplace injuries by 49% over a 5-year period. By 2008, the Corporation surpassed its goal, reducing the rate by 54%. Today, employees are aiming to further reduce injuries by another 50% by 2012. As part of “Target Zero,” Lockheed Martin hosts an internal safety awards program that recognizes outstanding sites, teams, programs and individuals for significant safety achievements and advanced Target Zero maturity.

2008 – Reducing Carbon, Waste & Water

In 2008, Lockheed Martin established its Corporate-wide “Go Green” initiative to reduce adverse environmental impacts from operations and achieve a 25% absolute reduction in carbon emissions, waste to landfills and water usage by 2012. Reductions are being achieved through continuous improvements in energy efficiency and resource conservation, green power purchases and renewable energy credit purchases.