MEDIA ADVISORY: SPACE FOOD STICKS ARE BACK!

Washington, D.C., April 25, 2002 - Space Food Sticks are back on the market, at The Space Store (www.thespacestore.com), an online retail operation of SPACEHAB Inc. subsidiary Space Media Inc.

When kids all over the world started drinking Tang because they thought the astronauts drank Tang on orbit, The Pillsbury Company, which had been lending its support to NASA, saw an opportunity to catch a little "moon fever" for their company as well. Led by Dr. Howard Bauman, food scientists at Pillsbury whipped up an energy stick that was actually edible. Created as a contingency food, the long chewy stick could slide into an airtight port located in an astronaut's helmet to provide essential nutrition in case of an emergency. This uniquely textured energy snack secured a coveted spot on historic Apollo moon flights. Then, just prior to Neil Armstrong's "giant leap" in 1969, Pillsbury released a commercial spinoff of its cosmic creation, dubbing the product Space Food Sticks. Described as a "non-frozen balanced energy snack in rod form containing nutritionally balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fat and protein," the product came in several flavors including caramel, chocolate, mint, orange and the ever-popular peanut butter.

Aficionados will recall that Space Food Sticks were wrapped in special foil to give them a space-age look. When the space craze cooled down, so did sales of Space Food Sticks. Manufacture of the between-meal snack ceased in the early 1980s. A lone exception was Australia. The Space Food Sticks Preservation Society (there really is such an organization) found a way to import the sticks stateside. Currently, Space Food Sticks are only available at The Space Store (http://www.thespacestore.com/spacfoodstic.html). Their taste and consistency is somewhat like that of currently popular nutrition bars. Their shape is a little different from the ones that Pillsbury made, but the taste is definitely the same.

Space Store President Dayna Steele Justiz took one bite of a Space Food Stick and exclaimed, "Just like the ones I took in my lunch in elementary school -- I remember this taste!" Justiz said her favorite description came from a customer: "The sights and smells of my youth jumped out to greet me!"

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 supports astronaut training and space station configuration management 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 California and Florida. SPACEHAB's newest strategic growth initiative, SPACEHAB Huntsville, will provide customer-focused end-to-end services to the space research community at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Additionally, through The Space Store, SPACEHAB provides space merchandise to the public and space enthusiasts worldwide (www.thespacestore.com).