SPACEHAB, Inc. , a
leading provider of commercial space services, and its wholly owned subsidiary
Astrotech Space Operations last week celebrated the completion of Astrotech’s
new $30 million Spacecraft Processing Facility (SPF) expansion in Titusville,
Florida, in 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.

On October 25, SPACEHAB Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Shelley
A. Harrison and Astrotech Senior Vice President and General Manager John B.
Satrom officially named the building after Capt. Lee, who passed away in
February 2000, and recognized the contributions of company employees,
government officials, and finance officers who played a role in completing the
project.
The new facility “would not have been possible without the
commitment and support of our two anchor customers, The Boeing Company and
Lockheed Martin Corporation.
This expansion demonstrates our commitment to
them and to the future of the commercial space industry,” said Satrom.
“This
new facility will contribute to a number of goals that were important to Chet
— economic growth, national competitiveness, a strong aerospace industry —
and, of course, the promotion of space commerce,” said Dr. Harrison.

The new facility 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 at Florida’s
Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch complex
specifically designed to accommodate five-meter 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
anticipates that its satellite processing rate could increase from an average
of eight per year over the past 10 years to as much as 15 per year with the
SPF now open.

Astrotech’s Florida Payload Processing Facility is 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.
Astrotech has long-term
contracts in place with Boeing and Lockheed Martin/ILS for work at the SPF
that provide guaranteed minimum revenues through 2010.

Founded in 1984, 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. It also 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.
SPACEHAB subsidiary Space Media, Inc.(TM), brings space into homes
and classrooms worldwide with interactive education programs through STARS
Academy (http://www.starsacademy.com ) and space merchandise from The Space
Store (http://www.thespacestore.com ).

  • For more information, contact:
  • Linda Billings, Director of Communications
  • SPACEHAB, Inc. – Corporate Office
  • Phone: 202-488-3500, ext. 201
  • billings@hqspacehab.com

For pictures, see:
http://www.spacehab.com/dedication