FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPACEHAB’s
ASTROTECH SUBSIDIARY SUPPORTS ATLAS V DEBUT LAUNCH
Payload Processing Contracts in Place to Support Future EELV Missions
Washington, D.C., August 23, 2002 – SPACEHAB Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS: SPAB) subsidiary Astrotech Space Operations Inc. (Astrotech) celebrates the beginning of a new era in space development marked by the successful debut launch of the new Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) on August 21. Astrotech supported this first Atlas V mission by providing payload processing services at its new $30 million Spacecraft Processing Facility (SPF) in Titusville, Florida.
The payload for this first Atlas V mission was Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 6 communications satellite. HOT BIRD 6 was delivered to the Astrotech SPF on June 13, 2002. Spacecraft processing activities conducted at the Astrotech facility included post-shipment inspections and functional testing, assisting with loading and pressurization of the propulsion system, completion of launch closeouts, and encapsulation of the spacecraft in the Atlas V payload fairing.
Astrotech’s new SPF was designed and built specifically to accommodate EELV payloads -- both 4-meter- and 5-meter-class satellites with weights in excess of 25,000 pounds and payload fairings up to 75 feet long. The SPF is the only satellite processing facility at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch complex with the capability to accommodate satellites and payload fairings for Atlas V and Delta IV EELV missions. The SPF was featured on the cover of the August 12 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology (http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst.jsp?view=story&id=news/aw081256.xml).
Astrotech’s Florida payload processing facility, of which the SPF is a part, is located on a 62-acre tract approximately three miles west of Kennedy Space Center in Titusville. Astrotech has supported the processing of over 150 major payloads to date.
Astrotech has a long-term contract with Lockheed Martin to provide payload processing for Atlas V payloads through 2006, with contract options through 2010. Astrotech will also provide payload processing for the first Delta IV EELV mission, scheduled for early October, under a long-term contract with Boeing.
With more than $100 million in annual revenue, SPACEHAB Inc. is a leading provider of commercial space services. The company develops, owns, and operates habitat and laboratory modules and cargo carriers aboard NASA’s Space Shuttles. Its Johnson Engineering subsidiary provides orbiter crew compartment integration and space station stowage and configuration management, supports astronaut training, and builds space-flight mockup trainers at the NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. SPACEHAB’s Astrotech subsidiary provides commercial satellite processing services at facilities in Florida and California. Additionally, through The Space Store, Space Media provides space merchandise to the public and space enthusiasts worldwide (www.thespacestore.com).
For more information,
contact:
Linda Billings
Director of Communications
SPACEHAB, Inc. – Washington Office
Phone 202/488-3500 x. 201
Fax 202/488-8251
billings@hqspacehab.com