Ball Aerospace Instruments Capture Images of Deep Impact's Independence Day Fireworks
July 04 2005 - 7:41PM
PR Newswire (US)
Ball Aerospace Instruments Capture Images of Deep Impact's
Independence Day Fireworks BOULDER, Colo., July 4
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Deep Impact, the spacecraft pair designed
and built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., accomplished
its remarkable goal of colliding with deep-space comet Tempel 1 and
excavating material from the nucleus of the comet. Together, the
Flyby spacecraft and the Impactor spacecraft feature some of the
most sophisticated technology ever developed for deep space flight,
including three advanced instruments for imaging the comet. Deep
Impact employs the Medium Resolution Imager (MRI); a High
Resolution Imager (HRI); and an Impactor Targeting Sensor (ITS).
The HRI is the primary science instrument for the mission, composed
of a telescope with a 30- centimeter (11.8 inch) aperture, an
infrared (IR) spectrometer, and a multi- spectral CCD camera. The
Impactor, a battery-powered 'smart' probe, separated from its Flyby
'mothership' approximately 24-hours prior to encounter. Its optical
camera then successfully enabled an autonomous navigation system to
target the comet's nucleus. Multiple Ball Aerospace-built
instruments were also involved in recording the Deep Impact
collision. All three of NASA's Great Observatories - Hubble,
Spitzer and Chandra - were tasked for the event. Ball Aerospace
played a significant role in all of these observatories. The Hubble
Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, built by Ball
Aerospace and installed in HST in 2002, will perform spectroscopic
observations and gather imagery at the time of impact. The Spitzer
Space Telescope, observing in the infrared, will look for changes
in the chemical composition of the comet's coma. Ball Aerospace
designed the Cryogenic Telescope Assembly (CTA) for Spitzer, which
launched in August of 2003. The Chandra X-ray Observatory will look
for emission of X- rays during encounter. Ball built the Chandra's
science instrument module and fine aspect camera. Other Ball-built
technologies involved in viewing the collision with the comet
include NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). It
will observe Tempel 1 during the months of June and July to monitor
changes in water production from the comet before and after the
impact. Ball Aerospace is known for its capabilities in designing
sophisticated instruments, cameras and spacecraft for space
applications. The company has built seven instruments for Hubble,
including COSTAR, the corrective optics that fixed the Hubble Space
Telescope's flawed vision. Together with the instruments on Deep
Impact, a total of seven Ball telescopes will contribute to the
science of the Deep Impact mission. "Deep Impact's complexity and
degree of difficulty cannot be understated," said David L. Taylor,
president and CEO of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. "Our
company is known for developing technology for the most difficult
challenges. The performance of the Deep Impact spacecraft and the
combined efforts of the other observatories involved demonstrates
the enormous capability of our talented and creative engineers and
scientists." The encounter with Tempel 1 occurred nearly 83 million
miles from Earth and at closing speeds approaching 23,000 miles per
hour. After imaging the encounter and sailing through the tail of
the departing comet in a protected shield mode, the Flyby
spacecraft continues to perform flawlessly. Ball Aerospace was
teamed with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of
Maryland on the Deep Impact mission. Images generated from Earth
and space-based observatories will be analyzed in the coming months
and resulting discoveries being released as they become available.
Deep Impact is the eighth mission in NASA's Discovery Program, and
the first mission to attempt to impact with a comet nucleus in
order to probe beneath its surface. For more information about the
company's technology and the Deep Impact mission, visit
http://www.ballaerospace.com/. 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
Corporation CONTACT: Dave Beachley, +1-303-533-5089, or cell
+1-303-564-2440, , or Emilia Reed, +1-303-939-6551, or cell
+1-720-936-7831, , both of Ball Corporation Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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