Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ASTC), formerly Spacehab Inc., is an aerospace company headquartered in Webster, Texas near the Johnson Space Center.
SpaceHab provides commercial space products and services to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, international space agencies, and global commercial customers. Since its inception in 1984, Spacehab modules and integrated cargo carriers (ICC), which fly nestled inside the cargo bay of the space shuttles, have provided 22 Space Shuttle missions with supplemental ferrying and space capabilities including eight resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and seven to the Russian space station, Mir. The inaugural flight of Spacehab’s research double module, which launched January 2003 on STS-107 ended when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry. In January 2004, Spacehab filed a formal claim against NASA for the amount of $87.7 million for the loss caused by the Columbia accident. In February 2003 Spacehab received $17.7 million from the proceeds of its commercial insurance policy, and in October 2004 NASA paid the company $8.2 million. [1] In February 2007 Spacehab dropped all litigation against NASA.
Spacehab’s most recent hardware design is its permanently deployable ICC known as the External Stowage Platform (ESP-2). The ESP-2 is currently attached to the International Space Station’s airlock providing the only permanent, commercial “spare parts” facility for the ISS crew. Another Spacehab ESP, the ESP-3, was deployed during Space Shuttle mission STS-118, on August 8, 2007.
The Spacehab Government Services (SGS) business unit, formerly Johnson Engineering (JE), supports NASA in the areas of large-scale Configuration and Data Management programs including the International Space Station; specialized hardware design, development, and fabrication; low- to high-fidelity mockup design and construction; and, safety and quality support services. Throughout its more than 20 year history, Spacehab has contracted over $1 billion dollars in total sales.
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History
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The company was founded by Bob Citron with the help and support of CSP Associates from Cambridge, MA. The team from CSP Associates included founder David W. Lippy along with his partners Brad Meslin and Marc Oderman. It was one of CSP's consultants, Dr. David Williamson who conceived of the idea to increase the cargo space on the Shuttles as the primary focus of the SpaceHab mission. Early venture capital was supplied by Al Zesiger of BEA Associates in New York City as well as Dr. Shelley Harrison also from New York. CSP Associates and its venture contacts were responsible for raising most of the early seed monies to get the company off the ground and funded.
Astrotech Space Operations
Astrotech also provides both the government and commercial space markets with satellite processing services through its Astrotech Space Operations (ASO) subsidiary located in Titusville, Florida, three miles (5 km) from the Kennedy Space Center. It has more than 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of clean room processing space, and services payloads, or satellites, for Lockheed Martin’s Atlas, Boeing’s Delta and Orbital Sciences’ Taurus and Pegasus launch vehicles. Astrotech owns and operates processing facilities located on Vandenberg Air Force Base at the Western Range in California. New construction, adding 5-meter fairing capabilities begins in 2007. Also in California, ASO provides payload processing and facilities management support for the ocean-going Sea Launch program at the Home Port Facilities in Long Beach. To date, Astrotech has processed more than 230 satellites, accommodating the industry’s largest five-meter class satellites and payload fairings.
ARCTUS
On December 10, 2007, Spacehab released details about its upcoming ARCTUS spacecraft designed to deliver cargo to, and return cargo from, the International Space Station.[2]
References
- ^ - Two Spacehab press releases from January 2004 and 2005 regarding the claims filed against NASA for STS-107 [1][2]
- ^ "Spacehab to update website with ARCTUS details". Flight Global. 7 December 2007. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/12/07/220151/picture-spacehab-to-update-website-with-arctus-details.html.
External links
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