Awards

Virginia Vanguard Award and the Fantastic 50

Each year, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce highlights Virginia's fifty fastest-growing companies on a statewide basis, bestowing Virginia's most prestigious award for small, entrepreneurial companies – Virginia's Fantastic 50 Awards. Of these top fifty companies, those with the highest growth rates in each of four sectors – technology, retail/wholesale, manufacturing, and services – as well as those with the highest revenues and highest growth rates overall, are honored as Virginia Vanguard Award winners.

In Spring 2004, AeroAstro was awarded the Virginia Vanguard Award from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, recognizing its position as the fastest-growing technology company in the Commonwealth. This marked the second consecutive year AeroAstro has been named to Virginia's Fantastic 50 list – moving up to number 4 in 2004 from number 12 in 2003 – and its first year as a Virginia Vanguard Award winner. AeroAstro made the list again in 2005.

Tibbetts Award

The US Small Business Administration holds an annual, nationwide competition among small businesses and organizations, government agencies, universities and individuals working under Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to honor those with outstanding performance. Named after Roland Tibbetts, a key proponent of the SBIR Program, the Tibbetts Awards are given based on two criteria: 1) economic impact of technological innovation, and 2) business achievement and effective collaborations.

In October 2000, AeroAstro received the Tibbetts Award for its design of miniature X-band transponders for small satellites. In June 2006, three AeroAstro X-band transponders performed flawlessly on NASA’s ST-5 mission.  The transponders were matured from Phase I concepts through Phase III sole source builds.

SBIR/STTR Hallmarks of Success

In 2003, NASA selected ten companies across five categories – Exploration Capabilities, Biological/Physical Research, Space Science, Earth Science, and Aeronautics – to feature in the SBIR Hallmarks of Success Videos, a collection of short videos about successful companies that have participated in the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) Programs.

AeroAstro was selected for participation in this unique program – in both the Earth and Space Science categories – recognizing its successful contribution to the SBIR Program, particularly in development of its miniature X-band transponder for the NASA NMP ST5 mission.