Michigan Aerospace Corporation

Michigan Aerospace Corporation is pleased to introduce our recently formed Products Division. This new division was launched to meet the increasing number of requests for products based on our core business areas: Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems to measure the wind in the atmosphere from the ground and space, enhancing the accuracy of long-term weather forecasts; optical systems to improve the performance of manned and unmanned stealth aircraft and weapon systems; mechanisms for autonomous vehicles operating in space and undersea environments; and a line of standard products, such as fixed-gap and tunable etalons and control systems, nanopositioning devices (piezo and ferro-electric), fiber optic assemblies, as well as custom optical design and fabrication services. Our Products Division website provides specifications as well as automated on-line ordering and information request handling.

Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC), a provider of optical products and advanced engineering services, today announced that it has been awarded a U.S. patent for its Autonomous Satellite Docking System (U.S. Patent No. 6,742,745). This mechanism was developed under funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to allow unmanned spacecraft to rendezvous and dock without human intervention. The technology has wide-ranging potential for autonomous vehicle docking in many different environments, including applications with space-based, land-based, airborne, and underwater systems.

With a new chief executive at the controls, Ann Arbor-based Michigan Aerospace Corporation is launching a new business group as it explores the universe of commercialization. CEO Peter Tchoryk Jr. said Michigan Aerospace formed an optical products group as part of a larger reorganization to focus on commercializing products from the company's eight years of basic research. In addition to the optical group, specific business units have been created around the company's core systems for measuring high-altitude wind speeds and its various docking mechanisms for satellites and underwater vehicles. Technologies from those areas eventually will be commercialized through the new optical group. The company does have specific optical components that can be sold now. The change in direction is possible because the company expects its core business of government contracting to do well next year, said Tchoryk. "We're in a great position now." The company's strategy is to maintain its conservative nature and ramp up slowly in the optical products group by introducing products as cost efficiently as possible, Tchoryk said. The company, which has not had outside investment since it was formed in 1996 to commercialize research from the University of Michigan, would consider venture capital to help its expansion, he said. Tchoryk expects to hire some people next year to add to its current staff of 25. Company revenues should approach $4 million this year - its best year to date, Tchoryk said - mostly from government contract work. "We're anticipating to do much better in 2005," he said, adding that talks are under way for a partnership with a major aerospace industry player. Tchoryk also said he wants the company to diversify by doing more business with Michigan companies. Some technologies could be applicable, he said, to the automobile and biomedical industries. The company also has newer technology that is applicable to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-technology applications, which are both growing areas in Michigan. Michigan Aerospace's wind-measurement technology can be incorporated into products for airports and high-speed aircraft, while its docking technology can be used in space missions as well as unmanned underwater vehicles that look for mines. Excerpts from Business Review article, Vol. 2, Issue 40, 2004.

As part of a larger restructuring to position the company for expected growth in 2005, Michigan Aerospace Corporation today announced the promotion of Michael Dehring, Jane Pavlich, Anthony Hays, and Scott Lindemann to managers of its core business units. Mr. Dehring will lead LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Systems, Mr. Hays will lead Mechanisms, Mr. Lindemann will lead Optical Products, and Ms. Pavlich will lead the New Initiatives Business Unit. Michigan Aerospace Corporation is an optical products and advanced engineering company that provides innovative optical, opto-mechanical and mechanical systems, from conceptual design through production and implementation in the field. Its core business areas include Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems to measure the wind in the atmosphere from the ground and space, enhancing the accuracy of long-term weather forecasts; optical systems to improve the performance of manned and unmanned stealth aircraft and weapon systems; mechanisms for autonomous vehicles operating in space and undersea environments; and a line of standard optical products as well as custom optical services. Michigan Aerospace Corporation develops products for space, airborne, ground and undersea applications.

SPIE DEFENSE and SECURITY SYMPOSIUM 2005

Call for Papers - Abstracts will continue to be accepted by email (contact Pete Tchoryk at ptchoryk@michiganaerospace.com)

Michigan Aerospace Corporation invites you to attend this highly-regarded symposium in Orlando, FL, March 28 -April 1, 2005. There are several new conferences this year in the Space Technologies and Operations Track, chaired by Pete Tchoryk, CEO of Michigan Aerospace. You are invited to submit a paper to one of the conferences in this track, which include: Spaceborne Sensors; Spacecraft Platforms and Infrastructure; Modeling, Simulation and Testing of Spacecraft Systems; MEMS and Nano Technologies for Space; and Satellite Communications Technologies. The intent of the Space Technologies and Operations Track is to bring together scientists, engineers, and policy makers involved in advancing technology, with the focus on space-based defense and homeland security applications. Contact Pete Tchoryk at ptchoryk@michiganaerospace.com for more information.

Michigan Aerospace is pleased to welcome Peter Tchoryk, Jr. as our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Tchoryk previously served the company as Executive Vice President and has been with the company since its inception. Mr. Tchoryk will now be responsible for all financial and engineering operations of the company. Michigan Aerospace is expanding its optical products line and forming new business units to meet expected growth in its core business areas. The internal changes will better position Michigan Aerospace to meet the increasing demands for its products and services. Paul Hays will continue to serve as President and Lennard Fisk as Chairman of the Board of Directors

MICHIGAN AEROSPACE AWARDED $2.1 MILLION CONTRACT BY NOAA TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR MEASUREMENT OF UPPER ATMOSPHERIC WINDS

New Technology Offers Promise of Increasing Accuracy of Long-term Weather Forecasting

Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC), an advanced opto-mechanical engineering firm, today announced that it had received a $2.1 million, two-year contract from the University of New Hampshire as part of a larger grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to demonstrate its proprietary ground-based light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system (GroundWinds) for measurement of high altitude winds from a platform looking down on the atmosphere (BalloonWinds). Such global wind measurements will significantly enhance the accuracy of long-term weather forecasts. The success of BalloonWinds will ultimately pave the way for permanent satellite-based systems in the future.

The GroundWinds system is a technologically advanced instrument which is distinguished by its ability to measure atmospheric wind profiles utilizing both the molecular and aerosol components of the scattered return signal. This allows for landmark measurements of both the tropospheric and lower stratospheric winds. GroundWinds systems are currently in operation in New Hampshire and Hawaii. The BalloonWinds system will develop this proven technology for placement on a high altitude balloon platform enabling it to measure winds in the upper stratosphere. At present, four flights of the instrument are planned over 12 months.

MAC is the premier company in the United States for the development of LIDAR wind measurement and related optical systems, and holds patents on several devices that increase the efficiency of these instruments to unprecedented levels. The company manufactures, integrates, assembles, and tests these instruments, whether for ground, aircraft or space applications.

February 1, 2004

MICHIGAN AEROSPACE AWARDED $220K CONTRACT TO REFINE DOCKING MECHANISM FOR SPACECRAFT

Docking Mechanism Design Offers Unprecedented Performance, Size and Scalability for Any Size Spacecraft

ANN ARBOR, MI, February 1, 2004 -- Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC), an advanced mechanical engineering firm, today announced that it had received a $220K, one-year contract from Microcosm, Inc. as part of a larger grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to refine its docking system for spacecraft. Earlier prototypes have been tested on the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) flat-floor as well as on the Johnson Space Center (JSC) KC-135 micro-gravity aircraft. Under this contract, refinements will be made to the mechanism based on the lessons learned from these tests. The Boeing Company will be performing simulations under this program to evaluate the design.

World events have proven how the United States has come to rely on its space assets, especially during times of crisis. It has become clear that the ability to autonomously rendezvous, dock, inspect and service both military and civilian assets is no longer a nicety, but a necessity.

MAC is a leading-edge developer of mechanisms for docking and servicing of spacecraft and holds patents on several devices that increase the compliance, robustness, and reliability to unprecedented levels. The company manufactures, integrates, assembles, and tests these and other instruments for ground, aircraft and space applications.

January 16, 2004

MICHIGAN AEROSPACE IS FUNDED TO DEVELOP 3D SATELLITE DOCKING SENSOR ALGORITHMS

Michigan Aerospace Corporation has been funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) over the past several years to investigate on-orbit satellite docking and servicing technology. One of the key technologies required for all of those operations (rendezvous, docking, and inspection) is the sensor. For rendezvous and docking, the guidance sensor(s) must measure bearing angle, separation, closing rate, and the six degree of freedom (6-DOF) orientation between the two spacecraft. Currently, multiple sensors are required to measure these variables under limited dynamic conditions.

Under a recently awarded NASA JSC Phase I SBIR, Michigan Aerospace Corporation proposes to take one of the steps in establishing the feasibility of using the Sandia Scannerless Laser Radar (SLR) as an end-to-end rendezvous, docking and inspection sensor. This Phase I effort will focus on developing a methodology and preliminary algorithms for processing the range data to extract information about a target spacecraft, such as position, orientation and rates. Sensor performance requirements, hardware development and risks will also be assessed.