Construction of Spectrum Astro’s
all new satellite manufacturing facility called the “Factory of the Future”
moved into full operation on December 27, 2001 the company announced today.
The initial construction is a partial build-out of the company’s Phase 1 plans
and provides the manufacturing and test capacity required to support Spectrum
Astro’s on going and emerging product base.
Completion of the new factory
located in Gilbert, Arizona is scheduled for December 2002.

The manufacturing facility is dedicated to the manufacture, integration,
and final assembly of high performance space systems, providing 124,200 square
feet of manufacturing and test space.
This includes all necessary
manufacturing shops, component level integration and test areas, a thermal
vacuum chamber, and an acoustics chamber.
The space vehicle Integration and
Test bays encompass 28,600 square feet of floor space that can handle up to
27 space vehicles in various stages of assembly.

Activities completed previously include the acquisition of the 80 acre
parcel (23 acres are needed for Phase 1), completion of all architectural
plans, application for and approval of all permits, long-lead pre-fabrication
material procurement, selection of and negotiation with a general contractor,
and acquisition of initial funding.
Spectrum Astro retained ownership and is
using traditional bank financing for this phase to ensure close management and
on-time completion of the project.
The general contractor for the project is
Joe E. Woods, Inc. and the architect is Deutsch Associates.

The 80 acre campus is located approximately 2 miles from Spectrum Astro’s
current headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona and is designed to enable 20 years of
corporate growth.
The long-term plan encompasses nine individual buildings
and provides office facilities for up to 3,000 employees and roughly
750,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
Phase 1 features three separate
buildings with a combined 270,000 square feet of engineering, manufacturing,
test, office, and support space.
The centerpiece of the campus is the
124,200 square foot manufacturing facility.
The main office building
comprises 101,290 square feet and houses 600 employees, satellite mission
operations centers, and satellite integration and test operations centers.
A
40,300 square foot support building houses a recreation facility, cafeteria,
daycare, and a 450 seat auditorium.

Spectrum Astro is a privately held, rapidly growing high technology
company, specializing in the design, development, integration, test, and
production of high performance satellites, space-based satellite systems and
subsystems for sophisticated defense, science and commercial opportunities.
The company is headquartered in Gilbert, Arizona and maintains additional
offices in the Los Angeles, Pasadena, Tucson, Colorado Springs, and Washington
D.C. areas.
For more information, visit www.spectrumastro.com .