MICHIGAN AEROSPACE CORPORATION AWARDED PATENT FOR DOCKING MECHANISM

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.

About Michigan Aerospace

Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC) is an advanced engineering and products company that provides innovative remote sensing, intelligent systems and software solutions for space, air, and earth-bound applications. Our roots are in developing atmospheric measurement systems for aerospace customers, but we are also applying these same technologies and expertise to solving problems closer to home, including clean energy, water management, and early stage disease detection.