ST. LOUIS, May 4, 2004 – Richard
Covey, vice president of Support Operations for Boeing [NYSE: BA]
Integrated Defense Systems, was inducted Saturday into the Astronaut
Hall of Fame at a special ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Honorees were selected by a blue-ribbon committee composed of former
NASA officials and flight controllers, journalists, historians and
other space authorities. The Astronaut Hall of Fame honors astronauts
for their accomplishments in space and contributions to the advancement
of space exploration.

”We are honored to have Dick Covey on our team," Boeing
President and CEO Harry Stonecipher said. “The entire Boeing
Company salutes his achievements and we congratulate him on being
inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.”

Covey is a veteran of four space flights, beginning his astronaut
career in August 1979. He flew on Discovery in 1985 and Atlantis
in 1990. In 1993, Covey commanded Endeavour on a mission to repair
the Hubble Space Telescope – one of the most difficult missions
ever attempted. In 1998 Covey piloted Discovery, when he and four
other veteran astronauts were the first to fly the redesigned spacecraft
following the Challenger accident.

“I have always felt extremely fortunate to be a member of
America’s Astronaut core,” Covey said. “To be selected
by my peers to join the Astronaut Hall of Fame – to join those
early astronauts who preceded me – is truly a privilege.”

Covey joined The Boeing Company in 1996 as division director for
McDonnell Douglas’ Houston Operations. He has served as vice
president of Boeing Houston Operations and vice president of Boeing
Space Operations. In 2002, he became vice president of Boeing Support
Operations, an organization providing system engineering, facility/system
maintenance and operations, spacecraft operations support and logistical
support to the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government
agencies and commercial businesses at more than 20 locations worldwide.

Covey currently serves as co-chairman of the Stafford-Covey Return
to Flight Task Group, which is making an independent assessment of
NASA’s implementation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board
Space Shuttle return to flight recommendations.

Prior to joining NASA, Covey was the U.S. Air Force Joint Test Force
Director for F-15 electronic warfare systems developmental and production
verification testing. He is a highly decorated combat pilot, whose
honors include two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA
Distinguished Service Medal and five Distinguished Flying Crosses.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense
Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered
in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion
business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government
and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance; the world’s largest military aircraft
manufacturer; the world’s largest satellite manufacturer and a leading
provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator
for U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest contractor; and a global
leader in launch services. For more information, visit http://www.boeing.com/ids.

The Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 by the Mercury Seven Foundation,
a foundation established in 1984 by the six surviving members of
America’s original Mercury astronauts and Mrs. Betty Grissom,
widow of the seventh, to create a site where space travelers could
be remembered. The Foundation seeks to preserve the United States’ leadership
role in science and technology through the provision of scholarships
to college students pursuing degrees in the fields of science and
engineering. In 1995 the Foundation broadened its membership to include
astronauts from the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs
and changed its name to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Today,
the foundation funds $144,500 in scholarships annually.