Astrotech Key For Spacecrafts’ Payload Processing
SPACEHAB, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPAB – News), a leading provider of commercial space services, announced today that its Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary is proud to be a key contributor of NASA’s THEMIS spacecraft mission through the support of fueling, testing, and spacecraft encapsulation operations leading up to Saturday’s successful launch. ADVERTISEMENT
The Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft holds a unique constellation of five satellites designed to resolve the mystery of what triggers geomagnetic substorms – atmospheric events visible in the northern hemisphere as a sudden brightening of the Northern Lights. The five probes represent the largest number of scientific satellites NASA has ever launched aboard a single rocket.
Before Saturday’s liftoff atop a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, THEMIS had a six-week stay at Astrotech’s Titusville facilities where the probes underwent performance testing, fueling, and were each individually mated to the payload carrier and finally, to the upper stage booster.
“We congratulate the NASA Explorer Program and all those contributing to this exciting ‘first’ in the satellite industry,” said SPACEHAB Executive Vice President, Jim Royston. “Along with our NASA customer, we anxiously await the discoveries THEMIS will reveal in the coming months.” Astrotech provides satellite processing facilities and services from its nine-building compound in Titusville, Florida as well as its Vandenberg Air Force Base location in California. The Company also provides facilities management and spacecraft processing services for the ocean-going Sea Launch program at the Home Port Facilities in Long Beach, California. The three sites combined have supported the processing of nearly 250 spacecraft.
About SPACEHAB, Incorporated
Incorporated in 1984, SPACEHAB (www.spacehab.com) is a leading provider of commercial space products and services to NASA, international space agencies, Department of Defense, and private customers worldwide. The Company offers end-to-end space access solutions, space systems development, mission integration and pre-launch processing facilities and services, and large-scale government program support services. From securing a spaceflight opportunity and facilitating the integration of spacecraft and payloads for launch, to developing human habitats, supplying the International Space Station, and coordinating the transport and operation of cargo and experiments to and from orbit, SPACEHAB clearly demonstrates that “We Mean Business in Space.”
The statements in this document may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, continued government support and funding for key space programs, product performance and market acceptance of products and services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations described in the company’s Securities & Exchange Commission filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
SPACEHAB, Inc., Houston
Corporate Marketing and Communications
Eva-Marie deCardenas, 713-558-5071
edecardenas@spacehab.com
