Ball Aerospace HiRISE Camera Returns Stunning Images From Mars
September 29 2006 - 7:56PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A Ball
Aerospace-built camera is returning the highest-resolution images
of planet Mars from the largest telescopic instrument ever sent
beyond Earth's orbit. Positioned roughly 190 miles (300 kilometers)
above the Red Planet, the High-Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment (HiRISE) camera flying aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter (MRO) relayed its first low-altitude images on Friday,
Sept. 29. The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. HiRISE camera
began its journey to Mars in August, 2005. The first images from
HiRISE were returned in March of this year, when HiRISE was roughly
1,600 miles away from Mars (2,500 kilometers). MRO then began its
aerobraking sequence to lower the spacecraft into its final orbit.
The HiRISE camera is designed to image the surface at up to five
times the resolution currently provided by the Mars Global
Surveyor, identifying images as small as a coffee table. (Images
at: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/) "Ball Aerospace has been
contributing to NASA's exploration of Mars since 1976," said
President and CEO David L. Taylor. "There's tremendous anticipation
in knowing that the Ball Aerospace-built camera is expected to
return more science data than all previous Mars missions." 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 for
important national missions. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is a
supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products and
owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Ball reported 2005
sales of $5.8 billion and employs 15,600 people. 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. DATASOURCE: Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp. CONTACT: Media, Roz Brown of
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., +1-303-939-6146,
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