Previously known as SPACEHAB, Incorporated, Astrotech Corporation is focused to identifying and commercializing space technology for terrestrial use. To that end, Astrotech has spun off three firms one of which - 1st Detect - is also SBIR involved. The original CBD SBIR Award made to Astrotech was moved by the firm's management to that spin off. 1st Detect Corporation has developed a mass spectrometer that was designed for use on the International Space Station, but also revolutionizes the chemical detection and analysis market by delivering laboratory performance mass spectrometry in a small, affordable, and portable package. That technology is useful in the food & beverage, process control, research, explosives detection, and chemical warfare markets. Astral Images was created to commercialize identified government funded satellite image correction technologies. Along with the acquisition of certain established defect correction technologies, first funded by IBM and Kodak, Astral has technology useful to convert and repair feature films and film based television series to the new digital Ultra-High Definition 4K standards. Astrogenetix Corporation is the result of over $4 Billion spent by NASA over a 25 year period on experiments conducted in sustained microgravity, where results were only achieved while orbiting in space Astrotech designed and flew 1,113 of these experiments and after an extensive review, discovered that microgravity greatly enhanced the discovery of valuable vaccine and therapeutics. The company has completed 12 successful biomarker discovery missions to the International Space Station and have identified a salmonella vaccine candidate, while 10 additional discoveries are in the pipeline. NASA has awarded Astrogenetix 26 free flights to the $130 Billion ISS National Laboratory, along with full crew support.
