Washington DC - U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today applauded the Air Force award of a $915 million contract to Lockheed Martin to build a Space Fence radar system at its Mission Systems and Training facility in Moorestown NJ, protecting hundreds of jobs.

"I am thrilled that New Jersey will continue to lead the nation's critical efforts in improving space situational awareness and tracking of debris in space," said Senator Menendez. "Not only will this award keep talented New Jersey workers on the job, with the amassing amount of lingering man-made space junk, it will help avoid catastrophic collisions or disruptions to the satellite functions we rely upon daily."

"Investments to the Space Fence program will improve how we track and catalogue debris aimlessly floating around our planet and I applaud the Air Force for allocating this contract for use in the state of New Jersey, said Senator Booker. "This award will preserve good-paying jobs for New Jerseyans and will also protect and promote the functionality of satellites currently in orbit that we regularly rely on for research and information."

According to the Air Force, this system will allow the U.S. to better track and catalogue over 200,000 pieces of debris currently floating in orbit around the Earth.

Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems and Training sector employs more than 3,900 people in its Moorestown facility. More than 200 employees will be part of the Space Fence team.

A Space Fence prototype in Moorestown, NJ has already demonstrated the ability to successfully identify and track small objects in low Earth orbit.

Space Fence construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2014 to meet the programs 2018 initial operational capability goal.Space Fence will use powerful S-band radar which will be constructed at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

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