Ball Aerospace Completes Successful OMPS Milestone for NPOESS Preparatory Project
February 27 2008 - 8:03AM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. has completed risk reduction testing of
the Protoflight Model (PFM) Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)
that will fly aboard the National Polar-orbiting Operational
Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP).
NPP is a joint effort between the NPOESS Integrated Program Office
and NASA. Ball Aerospace is part of the NPOESS team led by prime
contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC). Risk reduction
testing of the OMPS Integrated Sensor Suite marks a major milestone
in validating the OMPS design which consists of a hyperspectral UV,
visible and near IR limb sensor, a wide-field hyperspectral UV
nadir sensor, and a dual-redundant main electronics box. OMPS PFM
delivery to NPP is scheduled for August 2008. The successful
testing also enables progress on the current build of the OMPS
Flight Model 2 for the first NPOESS spacecraft. "The ozone
monitoring sensors developed by Ball Aerospace including SBUV/2,
SAGE III and now OMPS, demonstrate our commitment to advanced
atmospheric science research," said Cary Ludtke, vice president and
general manager for Ball's civil and operational space business
unit. OMPS is one of four sensors that will fly as part of the NPP
risk reduction mission and one of nine sensors currently manifested
for the operational NPOESS system. NPOESS is the nation's next
generation low-Earth orbiting operational environmental system for
civilian and military applications. OMPS will measure how much
ozone is in our atmosphere and how the ozone concentration varies
with altitude. OMPS data will also be used to determine if
synthetic chemicals are affecting the Earth's climate and its
habitability. NPOESS will measure, on a global basis, atmospheric,
land, and ocean environmental conditions. The system will provide
weather and environmental data to weather forecasters, military
commanders, civilian leaders, and the scientific community. Ball
Aerospace is also building the NPP spacecraft, a modified Ball
Commercial Platform (BCP) 2000 under a contract to the Goddard
Rapid Spacecraft Development Office. Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important national
agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other
U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and
manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors,
components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for
strategic, tactical and scientific applications. For more than 50
years, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous
technological and scientific 'firsts' and acts as a technology
innovator for the aerospace market. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is
a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products for
beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace
and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S.
government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than
15,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 sales of $7.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements This 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 Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which
are available at our Web site and at http://www.sec.gov/. Factors
that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in
product 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; crop yields;
competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity
improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage
can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging
laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a
major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates,
tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that
might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization,
availability and returns of government and commercial contracts;
and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting
segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole
include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior
management; successful or unsuccessful 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; pension changes; 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: Roz Brown,
+1-303-533-6059, , of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Web
site: http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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