AeroAstro and Arianespace Team to
Increase Launch Opportunities for Auxiliary Payloads

Agreement Links AeroAstro's SPORT Orbit Transfer System
With Arianespace Launch Services

Herndon, VA – May 25, 2000

AeroAstro, Inc., the world's premier small satellites technology company, and Arianespace, the world's commercial launch services leader, today announced an agreement to develop and offer flexible, low-cost launch and orbit delivery services for small spacecraft using a combination of the Ariane 5 auxiliary payload capability and AeroAstro's SPORT (Small Payload ORbit Transfer) system.

The SPORT system will be used to transfer small satellites from the orbit provided by Ariane to their final operational orbits.

Dr. Rick Fleeter, President and CEO of AeroAstro, said, "We are very excited about the combination of SPORT with the Ariane ASAP [Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads] accommodation to offer a unique path to orbit for small spacecraft operators to use existing assets and technology to get to the orbit they want for the right price."

"Arianespace continues to be committed to providing access to space to a wider range of potential users," said Phil Balaam, Marketing Director at Arianespace. "The real beneficiary of the AeroAstro-Arianespace partnership is the small spacecraft community. One more barrier to effective missions has now been removed. We are looking forward to working with AeroAstro and benefiting from their 12 years of experience in satellite and mission design."

In the past 20 years, Arianespace has orbited more than 34 auxiliary payloads to serve the scientific and research community.

The SPORT system can be used from any number of initial orbits for orbit transfers and plane changes. It consists of a propulsion unit integrated with an electronics and navigation package, based on the Bitsy™ microspacecraft core module developed by AeroAstro under NASA funding for flight on the Space Shuttle in 2001. SPORT takes up a small portion of an auxiliary payload launch slot, leaving room for the payload and enabling delivery to equatorial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or transfer to other final orbits.

AeroAstro and Arianespace will work together in both technical and business areas to offer this solution to the small satellite community. The two companies plan to release a common user's guide for the ASAP 5/SPORT combination.

The agreement was signed by Jacques Rossignol, Chief Operating Officer of Arianespace, and Rick Fleeter, President and CEO of AeroAstro, Inc. The final deal was finalized between Arianespace and, on AeroAstro's behalf, the London Satellite Exchange team, a satellite industry online marketplace (www.e-sax.com). The agreement was finalized at last week's International Launch Summit in Paris.

About AeroAstro (www.aeroastro.com)

AeroAstro, a pioneer of micro- and nano-spacecraft applications in science, remote sensing, and communications, is a leader in innovative small satellite applications that open the space frontier. It led the trend towards high technology in miniature satellites - now the industry standard - with its highly successful ALEXIS satellite begun in 1988 and currently in its seventh year operating on-orbit.

AeroAstro is now leading the way to a new age of commercial space with flexible tools that enable users to benefit from unprecedented access to space systems. AeroAstro has designed, constructed, tested and supported the launch of several small satellites. It has delivered numerous spacecraft design programs and manufactures low-cost small rocket engines, micro-satellites and spacecraft components. NASA, the Air Force, and commercial and university customers have all employed AeroAstro throughout its 12-year history.

About Arianespace (www.arianespace.com)

Arianespace is the world's commercial launch services leader holding more than 50 percent of the international market for satellites launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Created in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company, Arianespace has signed contracts for the launch of more than 210 satellite payloads and orbited over 170 satellites. The company's headquarters is located in Evry, near Paris, and launch operations are performed from the Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (South America).