BLACKSBURG, Va., BUC, France and MIAMI, Sept. 09, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI.A) (NYSE:HEI) today reported that its VPT, Inc. and 3D Plus subsidiaries supplied mission-critical components for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx program, which launched from Cape Canaveral, FL last night.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is designed to rendezvous with, study, and return a sample of the asteroid Bennu to Earth. It will be the first US mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth and the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era.
VPT, Inc. supplied parts onboard the Atlas V launch vehicle and DC-to-DC power converters on the laser altimeter on the spacecraft. 3D Plus supplied Space Memory Modules on the spacecraft, which will rendezvous with the asteroid.
Blacksburg, Virginia-based VPT, Inc. and Buc, France-based 3D Plus have, between them, supplied critical components on numerous NASA missions, including the Juno, New Horizons, Dawn and Curiosity spacecraft.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. The University of Arizona leads the science team and observation planning and processing. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the agency’s New Frontiers Program for its Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Launch and countdown management is the responsibility of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Laurans A. Mendelson, HEICO’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Victor H. Mendelson, HEICO’s Co-President, jointly stated, “HEICO congratulates the entire NASA team on yet another spectacular launch. We also congratulate the entire VPT and 3D Plus teams on their roles in the mission. We’re proud to be affiliated with such a remarkable group of people.”
HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services to certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, Florida-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, Florida-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO's customers include a majority of the world's airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide, in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers. For more information about HEICO, please visit our website at http://www.heico.com.
The Company has two classes of common stock traded on the NYSE. Both classes, the Class A Common Stock (HEI.A) and the Common Stock (HEI), are virtually identical in all economic respects. The only difference between the share classes is the voting rights. The Class A Common Stock (HEI.A) has 1/10 vote per share and the Common Stock (HEI) has one vote per share. The stock symbols for HEICO's two classes of common stock on most web sites are HEI.A and HEI. However, some web sites change HEICO's Class A Common Stock symbol (HEI.A) to HEI/A or HEIa.