AeroAstro Awarded Air Force Research Laboratory Contract
to Study Tactical Nanosatellites

Company Expands to Nano-Satellite Arena with Array
of Bitsy™ Core Module Programs and Awards

Herndon, VA – September 8, 1999

AeroAstro, Inc., a premier small satellite technology company, today announced it has been awarded a contract for $150,000 by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to study the tactical use of nanosatellites for military applications.

AeroAstro will incorporate its new Bitsy™ Nanosatellite Core Module in its research for the Air Force.

Bitsy integrates satellite subsystems such as power, communications, command, and data/guidance into a single component, known as a core kernel module. Systems such as structure, solar arrays, and attitude control are built up around it for each mission, thereby increasing flexibility while keeping costs low.

The company has also been recently awarded several contracts by NASA to develop Bitsy and other nanosatellite technology for Future-X, New Millennium, and Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs.

Dr. Rick Fleeter, President and CEO of AeroAstro, said, "Nanosatellites offer a way to use space in a radically different mode from traditional spacecraft. We can provide production runs of spacecraft, each cheaper than a sounding rocket payload, available on-demand. These not only enable new types of space missions, they also allow businesses, researchers and students immediate, affordable access to space.

"This spontaneity is already catalyzing new space applications, just as ease of access to PCs catalyzed new ways of computing, including spreadsheets, e-mail and, ultimately, the Web."

AeroAstro has launched a variety of Bitsy-based products including:

• The Small Payload Orbit Transfer (SPORT)™ vehicle to enhance piggyback launch opportunities, on the market for over six months
• The Escort™ product, a co-orbited nanosatellite 'doctor' to diagnose anomalies on larger science and communications missions to reduce risk and down-time
• Multiple science applications such as Bitsy-SX

Nanosatellites, which are at their core range in weight from one to ten kilograms but can support missions up to 100 kilograms, provide low-cost, rapidly-deployable, innovative systems well suited to commercial or scientific ventures. Similar in size to a small book or television set, they provide a reproducible, flexible foundation for mission planners and developers.

AeroAstro, a pioneer of micro and nanospacecraft applications in science, remote sensing, and communications, is a leader in innovative small satellite applications. It led the trend towards "smaller, better, cheaper, faster" spacecraft ™ that is now NASA's mantra ™ with its highly successful ALEXIS satellite begun in 1988 and currently in its seventh year operating on-orbit.

AeroAstro has since designed, constructed, tested and supported the launch of several other satellites; as well as completing numerous spacecraft systems programs and manufacturing low-cost small rocket engines, nano-satellites and spacecraft components. NASA, the Air Force, and commercial and university customers have all employed AeroAstro in its 11-year history.