BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The NOAA/NASA
Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite,
built by Ball Aerospace, was launched five years ago on
Oct. 28, 2011. Since then, Suomi NPP
has provided life-saving data to weather forecasters and has given
scientists new tools to help monitor the health of our planet.
"Suomi NPP is the result of Ball's deep expertise in
environmental satellite technology development, and we are proud of
its contributions to NASA/NOAA missions," said Rob Strain, president, Ball Aerospace. "We built
Suomi NPP from our Ball Configurable Platform spacecraft line,
which consists of satellites designed to meet a wide variety of
mission requirements, from smallsats with plug-and-play interfaces
to fully customizable large spacecraft for deep space
missions."
Since launch, data availability from the Suomi NPP spacecraft
stands at an impressive 99.75 percent. In addition to providing
global three-dimensional temperature and humidity information for
the National Weather Service and Department of Defense, Suomi NPP
measures cloud properties, measures and monitors the protective
layer of stratospheric ozone, images sea ice, captures the Earth's
changing vegetation, and tracks wildfires with high detail and
accuracy, providing environmental intelligence for decision makers
in government and industry and to the general public. NASA uses
Suomi NPP data to study long-term climate trends by extending the
more than 30-year satellite data record.
The satellite is the primary operational polar-orbiting
spacecraft for NOAA's critical environmental forecasting mission.
Suomi NPP's advanced imagery of clouds, ocean surface, land
features and other physical parameters is key data for civilian and
government forecasters. Precise observations from the satellite are
helping improve the accuracy and extend the range of global weather
forecasts three to seven days in advance of significant weather
events, including hurricanes and winter storms.
In addition to contributing vital information for global weather
forecasts and outlooks for severe weather, Suomi NPP supports
search and rescue operations, disaster response preparations,
military operations and environmental monitoring.
Ball Aerospace designed and built the Suomi NPP spacecraft in
collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and was
responsible for integrating the instruments and for performing
satellite-level testing and launch support. Ball also designed and
built one of Suomi NPP's five instruments, the Ozone Mapping and
Profiler Suite (OMPS).
Ball is building the next generation weather spacecraft, the
Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), due to be launched in
2017. JPSS-1 will carry improved versions of the five instruments
on the Suomi NPP satellite, including another Ball-built OMPS
instrument.
Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our
customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters
most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more
accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our
planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those
who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely.
For more information, visit www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with
us on Facebook or Twitter.
Ball Corporation (BLL) supplies innovative,
sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household
products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and
services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and
its subsidiaries employ 18,700 people worldwide and pro forma 2015
net sales were $11.0 billion. For
more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on
Facebook or Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
"forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial
performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates"
and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and
uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which
are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might
affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand
fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials; competitive
packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and
weather; competitive activity; failure to achieve synergies,
productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory
deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier
consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major
customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or
supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls;
and changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; b) our aerospace
segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of
government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and
technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company
as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management;
regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health
and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or
public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or
chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the
manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations;
litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets
of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes;
uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget, sequestration
and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out
initiatives and synergies; interest rates affecting our debt; and
successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including
with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition or the associated
divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on
our business relationships, operating results and business
generally; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be
instituted against us related to the acquisition or the
divestiture.
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SOURCE Ball Corporation