Astro Pak new Florida facility, located just outside of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), opened its doors in July. The newly renovated 38,000 square foot facility, located at 8855 Grissom Parkway in Titusville, represents a new chapter for the nearly 60-year-old high purity and precision cleaning company.
On the one hand, it marks the completion of the process that began when Astro Pak acquired Chemko Technical Services in 2016. Chemko has been meeting the needs of its clients – both private and government – since 1972. Astro Pak looks to continue that tradition of supporting on-site work at KSC on such projects as the ongoing work at the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) in support of NASA’s upcoming Space Launch System (SLS).
On the other hand, the new facility offers greatly expanded capabilities enabling more services to be offered to the company’s local and regional clientele. “This facility represents both the completion of the Chemko acquisition and an evolutionary step forward for Astro Pak,” says Jonathan Hopkins, General Manager of Chemko. “We will be combining our world class precision cleaning services and our industry-leading field operations teams under the same roof. As a result, we will be able to support our customers both on the Space Coast and throughout the southeast region with an unmatched level of efficiency and value.”
The Titusville location more than quadruples the floor space available in its current Northern Brevard County building and joins the company’s 35,000 square foot legacy facility in Downey, California. The new location’s signature feature is a 15’x15’ enclosed tower (70’ vertical) which enables the processing of hoses up to 60’ in length. In addition to the larger footprint, Astro Pak’s capabilities in Florida are also expanding. An ISO 7 cleanroom and accompanying ISO 6 lab are joined by a shop area with a 4K bridge crane and large aqueous processing tanks, a pre-clean area with multiple work stations and ultrasonic units and expanded hydraulic, pneumatic and hydrostatic pressure testing capabilities.
Astro Pak made its name with precision cleaning services back in the 1960’s and Titusville ensures that it will remain at the forefront of the industry. Processing in a controlled environment, cleanliness verification for particle count, TFS, NVR, vacuum sealed packaging, cold shock, and pressure testing are just a few of the cleaning, packaging and testing services available. Additionally, the Astro Pak team is able to meet numerous industry specifications including KSC-C-123J, CGA G-4.1-2009, ASTM G-93-03, IEST Std cc 1246E, MIL-STD-1246C, and many others. The facility is further supported by its brand-new, state of the art cleanroom trailer, which allows for on-site support in addition to the in-house services.
Mr. Hopkins summed it up by saying, “In a time of unparalleled growth in the space sector, the need for precision cleaning services on the Space Coast has never been clearer. Astro Pak is proud to demonstrate our commitment to this industry with our new, state-of-the-art cleaning facility in Titusville, FL. The capacity and capabilities of this site are simply unmatched in the industry.”