June 22, 2007

Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-3749

George Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468

CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-26

NASA AWARDS PAYLOAD PROCESSING CONTRACT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla - NASA's Launch Services Program has awarded a pair of indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla , and Spaceport Systems International in Colorado Springs, Colo The companies will provide the necessary facilities to perform payload processing services for NASA missions launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif The aggregate value of available firm-fixed-price orders under the two contracts could be worth up to $35 million over a maximum of four years, which includes two 1-year options

Astrotech and Spaceport Systems International will use their respective Vandenberg facilities to support the final assembly of spacecraft and encapsulate them before they are taken to the launch pad While processing requirements differ depending on the spacecraft and mission, they usually include final assembly and testing, integration with a third stage or adapter, propellant loading and spin balancing Such tasks typically begin about three months before the scheduled launch

Astrotech is a subsidiary of SPACEHAB, Inc , Webster, Texas, and operates payload processing facilities in Titusville and at Vandenberg The company was incorporated in 1984 as a commercial launch payload processor

Spaceport Systems International is in partnership with ITT Corporation, White Plains, N Y The company's facilities are used to process payloads for NASA and commercial interests

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

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