Ball Aerospace High Resolution Camera to Launch on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
August 08 2005 - 1:34PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NASA's next
journey to Mars, scheduled to launch August 10 from Florida's Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, will include an advanced camera built
by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for the University of
Arizona. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) is
expected to provide thousands of images of the planet's surface in
unprecedented detail. One of a suite of six science instruments,
the HiRISE camera is designed to image the surface at up to five
times the resolution currently provided by the Mars Global
Surveyor, allowing identification of objects as small as a coffee
table. Its mission is to investigate layered materials, gullies,
channels and other science targets, and characterize potential
landing sites for future robotic and manned missions. The HiRISE
camera is the largest and highest-resolution camera ever sent
beyond Earth orbit. It will produce black and white and color
images, along with hundreds of stereo-image pairs and
three-dimensional digital elevation models. The HiRISE science team
expects to process 1,000 extremely large, high-resolution images
and 9,000 smaller, high-resolution images during the science phase
of the MRO mission. It would take 1,200 typical computer screens to
display just one large HiRISE image at full resolution. The HiRISE
camera design is based on the high-resolution imaging technology
proven successful by the Deep Impact and Quickbird spacecraft and
several Hubble Space Telescope instruments. "HiRISE is an important
instrument in fulfilling the first steps of the new Vision for
Space Exploration," said Ball Aerospace President and CEO Dave
Taylor. "We expect the HiRISE camera to provide very high quality
imagery for both scientific research and NASA's future mission
planning," Taylor said. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is
scheduled to reach Mars in March 2006, when it will begin a
six-month period of aerobraking to lower itself into the primary
science orbit of averaging approximately 190 miles above the
planet's surface. The HiRISE camera and the other five science
instruments are scheduled to begin operations after entering this
science orbit in late 2006. MRO is managed for NASA by the
California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and
was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. 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 13,500
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;
failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or
production cost reductions, including those associated with our
beverage can end project; 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 tax, environmental and workplace safety;
governmental investigations; goodwill impairment; antitrust and
other litigation; strikes; boycotts; labor cost changes; 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: Colorado Media Contact,
Dave Beachley, +1-303-533-5089, or cell, +1-303-564-2440, , or
Media Contact at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Emilia Reed,
+1-303-939-6551, or cell, +1-720-936-7831, , both for Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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