On October 25, 2001, Astrotech Space Operations celebrated the completion of a new $30 million Spacecraft Processing Facility (SPF) expansion in Titusville, Florida and held a ceremony dedicating the building to the late Capt. Chester M. (Chet) Lee, USN (ret.), a former president of SPACEHAB and chairman of Astrotech’s board of directors. The new facility would not have been possible without the commitment and support of two anchor customers, The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation. This expansion demonstrates the company's commitment to them and to the future of the commercial space industry.

The building will accommodate both 4-meter and 5-meter class satellites with weights in excess of 10,000 pounds and payload fairings up to 75 feet long. The SPF is the only satellite processing facility specifically designed to accommodate these large payload fairings for Lockheed Martin Atlas V and Boeing Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) missions, scheduled to begin launching in calendar year 2002.

Astrotech’s Florida operations are located on a 62-acre tract approximately three miles west of Kennedy Space Center in Titusville. The complex consists of nine major buildings, including the new SPF, dedicated to spacecraft processing, payload and support equipment storage, and customer office accommodations. The new building increases the company’s total Florida space by 50 percent adding over 50,000 square feet.