CloudSat and CALIPSO Tandem Set to Launch
April 19 2006 - 8:33PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two
Earth-observation missions, for which Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. contributed both a spacecraft bus and a LIDAR
instrument, are scheduled to launch on Friday, April 21, 2006.
CloudSat and CALIPSO will launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket at
3:02 a.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060419/LAW100-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060419/LAW100-b ) CloudSat
and CALIPSO are designed to improve our understanding of Earth's
weather, climate, and air quality by disclosing still-hidden
characteristics of clouds and aerosols. "This launch is really a
double header for us," said David L. Taylor, president and chief
executive officer of Ball Aerospace. "It's designed to
revolutionize what we know about clouds, and our two-part role may
contribute substantially in answering important environmental
questions." Ball Aerospace, in cooperation with NASA's Jet
Propulsion Lab and Colorado State University, developed the
CloudSat spacecraft bus, which houses the instruments and sensors
for measuring the properties of clouds. Ball also completed
testing, and integrated the payload for CloudSat, and will perform
launch operations and initial on-orbit commissioning. The
spacecraft is designed around the proven Ball Commercial Platform
(BCP) 2000, a spacecraft bus that can accept any type of
Earth-sensing instrumentation that requires precise pointing
control, with flexible and rapid target selection. The BCP 2000 has
successfully flown on high-profile programs including QuickBird,
QuikSCAT and ICESat. For its sister satellite, the Cloud-Aerosol
LIDAR and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations satellite or
CALIPSO, Ball Aerospace built the scientific instrument and
communications suite that includes the LIDAR and wide-field camera.
The LIDAR is designed to scan the atmosphere with green and
infrared laser light. A wide-field visible light camera and
three-color infrared imaging radiometer is part of the LIDAR
instrument to record additional information about clouds and
aerosols. Scientists hope to use data from CALIPSO to construct
three-dimensional models of the atmosphere that will improve our
ability to predict future climate change. Together, CloudSat and
CALIPSO will be part of a constellation of satellites flying in
orbital formation known as the "A-Train." The constellation
includes Aqua, Aura, and PARASOL, delivering a combined set of
measurements of the Earth's environment. The mission is part of
NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program, which fosters
innovative, low-cost Earth-observation missions designed to study
the Earth as a global environmental system. "A big part of our
heritage includes instruments and spacecraft that are designed to
study weather and the environment, which is a key focus in our
current and future business," said Taylor. Ball Aerospace
celebrates its 50th year in business in 2006. The company began
building pointing controls for military rockets in 1956, and later
won a contract to build one of NASA's first spacecraft, the
Orbiting Solar Observatory. Over the years, the company has been
responsible for numerous technological and scientific "firsts" and
now acts as a technology innovator in important national missions.
Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal and
plastic packaging products and owns Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and
components for government and commercial customers. Ball reported
2005 sales of $5.8 billion and the company employs 15,600 people
worldwide. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains
"forward-looking" 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. 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 in Exhibit
99.2 in our 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 and
preferences; availability and cost of raw materials, including
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; changes in
foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign
subsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO accounting. Factors that might
affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization,
availability and returns of government contracts; and delays,
extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts.
Factors that might 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; technological
developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust,
patent and other litigation; strikes; 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 other effects.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060419/LAW100-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060419/LAW100-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. CONTACT: Roz Brown of Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp., +1-303-939-6146, Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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