Lockheed Martin celebrates a decade at Stennis Space Center

HANCOCK COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - Lockheed Martin is celebrating a decade at Stennis Space Center. Leaders from throughout the company flew into Hancock County Wednesday to celebrate all the accomplishments.

Vice President of Production Dennis Little said, "We built it, they came and 32 satellites later we are still building propulsion systems and actually now we have our largest demand, biggest manifest in the ten years."

From building systems for the government for space exploration and missile defense to producing commercial items some of us have in our homes.

"We have provided A 2100s for home satellite systems we produced, as well as the first two commercial satellites to Vietnam," Vice President of Manufacturing Mark Stewart said.

Leaders say the future looks bright for Lockheed Martin, although the space shuttle mission has ended, the company is working closely with NASA to further exploration in other areas.

"We have missions that are taking us to Jupiter, Mars, we actually have one that we built that will go and study the sun," Stewart said.

Little said, "Components are being made now, they will be built here and ultimately shipped down to Kennedy and they will take those parts from Stennis and put them into the Orion vehicle, and we will be flying that first vehicle shortly."

In addition employees are currently working on projects for commercial contracts as well as for the Air Force and Navy.

"I want to thank the employees as well as their support group they have at home, their friends and families, and the community here for making it all happen for our customers," Stewart said.

"It's all about our performance," Little said. "I believe these employees keep executing, doing what they have been trained and taught to do, they build this hardware with their hearts. "

Leaders say they expect the next ten years will bring about many more accomplishments.

Copyright 2012 WLOX. All rights reserved.