Will Work With NASA On Microgravity Lab

SPACEHAB, Inc. announced Friday the company has finalized a Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for use of the International Space Station (ISS), a designated US National Laboratory, for research, development and industrial processing purposes. This agreement marks the beginning of SPACEHAB's new subsidiary BioSpace Technologies, Inc. as one of the first commercial entities to have access to the International Space Station's national laboratory and can now process products in space to be commercialized on earth.

SPACEHAB provides a full spectrum of products and services to both the government and private sectors offers space access and payload integration services, production of valuable commercial products in space, spacecraft pre-launch processing facilities and services, development and extension of space-based products to the consumer market, and program and engineering support ranging from development and manufacturing of flight hardware to large scale government project management.

The company has pursued an agreement with NASA to develop and produce a multitude of products utilizing a microgravity environment since NASA's Announcement of Opportunity in late 2007. This finalized agreement specifies that NASA will provide SPACEHAB with flight opportunities on the space shuttle for the remaining assembly phase of the ISS, as well as appropriate on-orbit ISS resources during both the pre- and post-assembly phases. In return, SPACEHAB will provide NASA with ISS Operational Reports and Finding Reports on the research and development conducted under this agreement.

"The finalization of this agreement unlocks an entirely new market for us," said Thomas Pickens III, chairman and chief executive officer of SPACEHAB, Inc. "The ability to utilize the unique microgravity environment for industrial processing purposes is expected to revolutionize a myriad of industries. We believe the utilization of the ISS as a national lab will have a significant social and economic impact and shows great promise of saving lives and providing thousands of new jobs in the coming years."

FMI: www.spacehab.com, www.nasa.gov