FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPACE MEDIA POSITIONED TO MEET MARKET NEEDS
Subsidiary Focusing on Education, Online Sales, Content Development
Houston, Texas, March 12, 2001 -SPACEHAB, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS: SPAB), a leading provider of commercial space services, today announced a reorganization of its Space Media, Inc. (SMI) subsidiary to further concentrate on the development and implementation of its core business initiatives.
Space Media was formed in 2000 to develop space-related media and edutainment opportunities for its Enterprise™ commercial module, planned for the space station. Over the past year, the SMI management team undertook an aggressive campaign to establish itself in this emerging market, focusing on the excitement of space. In light of changing market trends in the media and e-commerce industries, as well as delays in the International Space Station (ISS) and shuttle research schedules, SMI has refocused its short-term strategy on key revenue generating opportunities.
"Adjusting to changes in the market and economy, Space Media, Inc. will focus on its three core business competencies; education, online sales, and content development," said Dr. Shelley A. Harrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of both SPACEHAB and SMI. "Larger projects involving in-space media productions and broadband TV/Internet space channels will be initiated upon successful external partnering and financing as we approach the one-year mark prior to Enterprise's 2003 launch to the ISS," said Harrison. He added, "The Russian Space Agency, Rosaviakosmos, has now fully endorsed the commercial Enterprise project."
The three core competencies are described as follows:
- The STARS education program
(www.starsprogram.com)
is an online, interactive cultural and scientific exchange program for students
aged 8-18. STARS enables young people to achieve a better understanding of
the connections between science and art; advance their technological skills;
and gain an appreciation of one's culture, history, and tradition while being
actively involved in research that makes the world a better place.
- Space Media's e-commerce
web site (www.thespacestore.com)
is the world's largest space-related retail site, offering over 500 quality
products. Since SMI acquired the business in July 2000, sales and visitor
hits have almost doubled.
- Content development comprises the acquisition, development, and use of space-related content for marketing and media initiatives (www.spacestation.com). Unreleased footage from Russian space archives and new footage developed on the ISS are representative of the possibilities. Space Media has several business deals underway to provide product placement and advertising opportunities onboard the ISS.
Founded in 1984, with more
than $100 million in annual revenue, SPACEHAB, Inc., is a leading provider of
commercial space services. The company is the first to develop, own, and operate
habitat modules and cargo carriers providing laboratory facilities and resupply
capabilities aboard NASA's Space Shuttles. It also supports astronaut training
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and builds space-flight trainers and
mockups. SPACEHAB's Astrotech subsidiary provides commercial satellite processing
services at facilities in Florida and California in support of a range of expendable
launch vehicles, including Lockheed Martin's Atlas and Boeing's Delta and Sea
Launch rockets. SPACEHAB's Space Media, Inc. subsidiary, will bring space into
homes and classrooms worldwide with television and Internet broadcasting from
the International Space Station.
This release contains
forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in
such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
whether the company will fully realize the economic benefits under its NASA
and other customer contracts, the timing and mix of Space Shuttle missions,
the successful development and commercialization of new space assets, technological
difficulties, product demand, timing of new contracts, launches and business,
market acceptance risks, the effect of economic conditions, uncertainty in government
funding, the impact of competition, and other risks detailed in the Company's
Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kimberly Campbell
Director of Marketing
SPACEHAB, Inc.
281.853.1031
campbell@spacehab.com