First Primary Mirror Segment for James Webb Space Telescope Delivered to Ball Aerospace
June 14 2006 - 2:37PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. has begun calibration and assembly of the
first flight primary mirror segment for NASA's James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST), the cryogenic infrared observatory scheduled to
launch in 2013. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060614/LAW056) The beryllium
mirror segment, one of 18 that comprise the telescope's 6.5-meter
primary mirror, was delivered to Ball Aerospace from subcontractor
Axsys Technologies, Inc. Each of the hexagonal shaped mirror
segments is 1.3 meters in size, and weighs approximately 20
kilograms or 46 pounds. "We are making excellent progress to meet a
significant technological challenge that requires exacting,
scientific precision at each stage," said David L. Taylor,
president and chief executive officer of Ball Aerospace. One of the
lightest of all metals, beryllium has a demonstrated track record
of performing on space telescopes at cryogenic temperatures, needed
for JWST's infrared observations. The telescope is designed to
detect objects 200 times fainter than the Hubble Space Telescope,
observing the earliest formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters
that followed the Big Bang. The completed 18-segment primary mirror
will be 6.5 meters, which is over two-and-half times the diameter
of the Hubble Space Telescope primary mirror (2.4 meters). It will
weigh roughly half as much as Hubble, but nonetheless remain
robust-enough to travel 940,000 miles, or four times the distance
from the Earth to the Moon. Ball Aerospace is the principal optical
subcontractor for the JWST program, led by prime contractor
Northrop Grumman Space Technology, under a contract from the NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, MD. Seventeen additional
primary mirror segments, secondary, and tertiary mirrors, plus
flight spares, will be delivered to Ball Aerospace from its
beryllium mirror manufacturing team that includes Axsys, Brush
Wellman, and Tinsley Laboratories. As each additional mirror is
delivered to Ball Aerospace over the next four years, it will be
mounted onto a lightweight, actuated strong-back assembly and
undergo functional and environmental testing. Ball Aerospace is
celebrating 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 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;
integration of recently acquired businesses; 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; changes to the company's pension 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/20060614/LAW056
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. CONTACT: Roz Brown of Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp., +1-303-939-6146,
Copyright
Ball (NYSE:BLL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Ball (NYSE:BLL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024