The merger will enable the resulting company to provide both build-to-print and built-to-specification space structures.

"There are very few companies in the marketplace that can provide the capabilities that the merged company can offer and probably no company that can be as agile and cost effective in providing those capabilities" said Ted Cheng, Vision's president and chief executive officer.

ASI currently partners with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on composite structures under a five-year support contract, and also has designed and delivered several optical benches to Raytheon.

Both ASI and Vision have contributed to NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. ASI developed and built the robotic arm for each rover, and Vision produced the rovers' equipment deck. Both rovers continue to operate and return scientific findings more than two years after their planned three-month missions.

ASI is building the camera to be mounted on the robotic arm of the Phoenix Mars Lander mission, due to arrive in 2008, and another camera for the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled to land in 2010.

The companies already have partnered on several space projects and share many of the same principal customers, including NASA, JPL, the Air Force, Northrop Grumman Inc., Boeing, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

ASI and Vision also both originating as spin-offs in 1997. ASI was founded by JPL engineers, and Vision Composites was established by engineers from space satellite giant TRW Inc. - acquired in 2002 by Northrop Grumman Inc.

Rene Fradet, the chief executive officer of ASI, will become CEO of the new company and Vision CEO Cheng will become a vice president of the new company. Both companies' current facilities will be maintained.

Related Links
Alliance Spacesystems
Vision Composites