Ball Aerospace Instrument to Monitor Ozone Layer on New NOAA Environmental Satellite
May 09 2005 - 11:59AM
PR Newswire (US)
Ball Aerospace Instrument to Monitor Ozone Layer on New NOAA
Environmental Satellite BOULDER, Colo., May 9
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Mod.2
(SBUV/2) radiometer built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies
Corp. is one of five remote sensors on the new NOAA-N environmental
satellite that is set to launch on May 11, 2005. This instrument
will monitor the ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere to an
accuracy of one percent. "This latest SBUV/2 continues the long
legacy of Ball Aerospace supporting space-based environmental
monitoring of the Earth's atmosphere," said company President and
CEO, Dave Taylor. "This will be the eighth SBUV/2 sensor we've
built for NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center missions," he
emphasized. The SBUV/2 is a radiometer that measures both solar
irradiance and Earth radiance (backscatter solar energy) in the
ultraviolet spectrum. In other words, it measures the ratio of
sunlight incident on the atmosphere to the amount of sunlight
scattered back into space. If the amount of sunlight scattered back
into space increases, ozone has decreased. Ball Aerospace has
produced a family of nine SBUV/2s under contract to NASA/Goddard
Space Flight Center since 1980. As an operational remote sensor,
similar SBUV/2 units have flown on a series of NOAA weather
satellites. A Ball-built SBUV/2 played a significant part in
revealing a 3,000- to 4,000-mile hole in the protective ozone layer
directly above Antarctica in October 1987. The NOAA-N satellite has
been jointly developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center. The satellite,
built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, will be launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base into a polar orbit atop a Boeing Delta II
launch vehicle. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is a supplier of metal
and plastic packaging products, primarily for the beverage and food
industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies
Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components
for government and commercial markets. Ball Corporation employs
more than 13,200 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements The information in this news release
contains "forward-looking" statements and other statements
concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as
"expects," "anticipates," "estimates," and variations of same and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking 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 the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
especially in Exhibit 99.2 in the most recent Form 10-K. These
filings are available at our Web site and at http://www.sec.gov/.
Factors that might affect our packaging segments include
fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; availability and cost
of raw materials, particularly the recent significant increases in
resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass
such increases on to customers; competitive packaging availability,
pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; fruit,
vegetable and fishing yields; industry productive capacity and
competitive activity; lack of productivity improvement or
production cost reductions; the German mandatory deposit or other
restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier
contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; international
business risks, including foreign exchange rates, tax rates and
activities of foreign subsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO
accounting on earnings. Factors that might affect aerospace segment
include: funding, authorization and availability of government
contracts and the nature and continuation of those contracts; and
technical uncertainty associated with segment contracts. Factors
that could affect the company as a whole include those listed plus:
acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; regulatory action or
laws including environmental and workplace safety; governmental
investigations; goodwill impairment; antitrust and other
litigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in employee benefits and
labor costs; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the
company's defined benefit retirement plans; reduced cash flow;
interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results
due to statutory audits or management's evaluation of the company's
internal control over financial reporting. DATASOURCE: Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp. CONTACT: Dave Beachley of Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp., +1-303-533-5089, Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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