AeroAstro Opens Albuquerque Office

Ashburn, VA – May 08, 2006

Ashburn, VA, May 1, 2006— AeroAstro, Inc. announced today that it has opened an office in Albuquerque, NM to provide highly responsive, close proximity support to many of its largest customers.

“The Albuquerque area, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Detachment 12, as well as Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), all contribute significantly to the nano- and microsatellite community,” said Dr. Richard Fleeter, President and CEO, AeroAstro.  “AeroAstro is also planning several launches from the newly developed Spaceport New Mexico.  We believe this Albuquerque office will allow us to better serve our New Mexico customers and provide AeroAstro greater opportunities in the nano and microsatellite industry.”  

AeroAstro has an 18-year heritage of successful space product and system delivery, from ultra-low cost R&D type programs using commercial components, to sophisticated, highly capable systems ­ with a proven track record in the design, engineering, and manufacture of microsatellites.  To date, AeroAstro has delivered four complete spacecraft platforms beginning with the ALEXIS mission (launched in 1992 for LANL and operational for 13 years) and followed by HETE, TERRIERS and SPASE.  

AeroAstro is developing a wide range of spacecraft platforms and related microspace technologies for New Mexico customers.  The company currently serves as the prime contractor for the DoD Space Test Program (STP) STPSat-1 satellite scheduled for a Fall 2006 launch, and was also selected by STP along with Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. to develop the Standard Interface Vehicle (SIV).  The STP Program Office, in the SMC Detachment 12, is located at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB).

In October 2005 AeroAstro was awarded a contract to develop the Fast Angular Rate Miniature Star Tracker (FAR-MST) by the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate at KAFB.  AeroAstro is also developing a low-cost highly modular spacecraft called the Flexible Extensible Bus for Small Spacecraft (FEBSS) under contract to AFRL.

AeroAstro is also the prime contractor for the Sherpa vehicle currently being developed jointly with the AFRL and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).  Sherpa provides the capability to perform orbit transfers from an initial launch orbit (as a secondary payload) to the final desired mission orbit, and to provide propulsive capability for extensive on-orbit maneuvers.  Successful development of Sherpa will provide a host of technologies, components, and system architectures suitable for a broad range of future space missions.

Founded in 1988, AeroAstro is a leader in microsatellite and nanosatellite systems, components, and technology. AeroAstro develops complete space systems, spacecraft buses, components, and advanced communications technologies in addition to concept development, prototyping, engineering and consulting services.