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Kelly Appoints Davis CEO
San Bernardino Ca - July 7, 1998 - Michael Kelly, chairman of Kelly Space & Technology Inc. Board of Directors, formally announced Monday the selection of Robert M. Davis Jr. as the company's new president and chief executive officer.

Davis has more than 27 years experience in domestic and international Aerospace and Defense management and operations. He recently concluded a 20-year career at Sacramento, Calif.-based GenCorp Aerojet, where he last served as vice president of Strategic Business Development and Chief Technology Officer.

According to Davis, "I believe in Mike Kelly's vision for reusable space transportation and its inherent ability to provide routine and inexpensive access to near earth orbit. The company's Tow Launch Technology, which was invented by Mike, is an intelligently elegant solution to employing the benefits of the environments of near earth orbits."

Kelly also announced today the appointment of Marc. T. Constantine as president and chief executive officer of Kelly Aerospace, a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Kelly Space & Technology.

Constantine will be responsible for the design, development and production of the Astroliner reusable aerospace plane. As Kelly Space's flagship, the Astroliner will provide a cargo delivery service, ranging from deploying satellites and delivering intercontinental packages, to ultimately enabling the general public to travel in space.

Kelly Aerospace will have headquarters at Kelly Space's corporate offices at the San Bernardino International Airport, formerly Norton Air Force Base, in San Bernardino.

Kelly, who co-founded Kelly Space in 1993, brought Davis in to fulfill the president/CEO function while he assumes the full-time position of Chief Technical Officer. Kelly will continue to oversee the corporation as its board chairman.

According to Kelly, "Kelly Space & Technology has reached a stage where specialization is required to maintain progress. The daily operation of Kelly Space & Technology requires a respected strong leader with great managerial skill. Bob Davis brings these qualities to the job, and it is with great pride that I welcome him on board as president and CEO.

"As a bonus, Bob and Marc pioneered U.S. relationships with Russian and other global aerospace suppliers whose products and services are important to Kelly Space's business plan," said Kelly. "Their experience in this field will greatly facilitate the further development of our relations with these suppliers, and keep us on a fast track to success."

Davis is the former chair of both the Space Transportation Technical Committee for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Sub-Committee for the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). Kelly recently succeeded Davis to chair the new COMSTAC RLV Working Group, an official entity whose operation is subject to federal law. Under Kelly's leadership, the sub-committee's status was elevated to a Working Group because Kelly is a full member of the COMSTAC.

Davis is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Executive Advanced Management Program and the University of California at Davis Executive Management Program. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from California State Polytechnic College in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Davis retired two years ago as a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves, where he served for 29 years as a naval officer and aviator. Davis was commissioned in 1970 and earned his Aviator Wings in 1971. He served active duty for five years in several squadrons in the U.S. and Western Pacific.

Constantine most recently was vice president of Business Development for the Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the market strategies to advanced Alliant's position in strategic and space launch systems, conventional munitions and defense systems.

Previously, he was the director of Strategic and Space Propulsion Programs for GenCorp Aerojet in Sacramento, Calif. During his 13-year career at Aerojet, he held a number of executive management positions in the company's space and strategic launch propulsion businesses, including general manager and vice president of Advanced Systems.

As the Aerojet senior executive responsible for capturing market share in the launch system propulsion business, Constantine was instrumental in securing the company's position as the propulsion supplier for several emerging RLV concepts.

From 1990 to 1993, he served as vice president of Aerojet's National Launch System Program, and was responsible for the formation of a consortium/joint venture between Aerojet, Pratt & Whitney and Rocketdyne to develop the Advanced Launch System Space Transportation Engine. He also served as director of the Space Transportation Propulsion Team, the general partnership between the three companies.

An earlier position Constantine held at Aerojet was vice president of Advanced Development. In this capacity, he was responsible for business growth in advanced launch systems, new aeropropulsion, satellite propulsion, and Strategic Defense Initiative programs.

Prior to joining Aerojet, Constantine worked for the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International Corp. (i.e. Boeing) in a variety of technical, engineering and management positions.

Constantine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Va., and is president of the WVU Academy of Chemical Engineering.

He is a member and former director of both the American Astronautics Society and the California Engineering Foundation, and a past member of both the Space Sciences Technical Advisory Committee to NASA/OAST and the COMSTAC to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to Constantine, "The Astroliner has the most realistic near-term opportunity of becoming the commercial carrier to space and breaking the transportation cost, reliability and schedule barriers to a commercial space business. I am fortunate to have been selected to be the leader of a team that will accomplish this objective."

Noted Kelly, "I am pleased to have Marc Constantine on board as president and CEO of Kelly Aerospace, the manufacturing entity for Astroliner launch vehicles. Marc brings to this position a wealth of almost 40 years of technical and management experience in the aerospace business. He is a recognized leader in this business, and he will provide the leadership of a company and team dedicated to making space a highly profitable, commercial business venue."

About Kelly Space & Technology Inc.

Kelly Space & Technology is in business to provide affordable and routine commercial access to space via the company's patented, commercially-funded, reusable Tow Launch Technology and reusable aerospace planes.

The Kelly Space family of transport vehicles will operate like airplanes, taking off from and landing at a conventional runway. During takeoff and initial flight, the piloted transport vehicle will be an unpowered glider, and will be towed to launch altitude behind a transport aircraft.

Last December through February, Kelly Space successfully demonstrated its Tow Launch Technology during all six flight demonstrations conducted with NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and the Air Force Flight Test Center under a Small Business Innovation Research contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Kelly Space has a $89 million contract with Motorola Inc. to launch 20 communications satellites into orbit for Iridium satellite-based global personal communications system, which Motorola is developing. Kelly Space's flights will be launched on an as-needed basis to replenish the Iridium constellation, with the earliest Kelly Space launch on the Astroliner aerospace plane set for early 2002.

  • Kelly Space and Technology Inc.


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