Ball Aerospace Wins Ares Flight Computer Contract
April 01 2009 - 6:01AM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. has been selected by The Boeing Company as
the contractor for the Ares I Instrument Unit Assembly (IUA) Flight
Computer (FC) and Command Telemetry Computer (CTC). Ball Aerospace
will employ its Common Computing Architecture for the IUA to build
three flight computers that operate synchronously, and two command
telemetry computers per Ares I flight. The synchronous operation of
the flight computers provides the fault tolerance necessary to
ensure astronaut safety. The computers are the "brains" of the
rocket, and will control and monitor the flight of the Ares I
rocket following liftoff and until separation of the second stage.
"Ball Aerospace has supported NASA's human space flight activities
since Gemini, through Apollo, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle," said
David L. Taylor, Ball Aerospace president and CEO. "We are proud to
continue that legacy by providing hardware for Ares I, supporting
Boeing in enabling NASA's next generation of more capable
Exploration vehicles." The Ball Aerospace computers for the IUA are
based on its mature, space-proven flight computing and human-rated
avionics expertise. The high-reliability design applies Ball's
system engineering expertise to deliver a safe, fault-tolerant
product at a price that supports the low life cycle costs that
enable the Ares I program. Ball has applied the same rigor and
discipline to the Ares I FC and CTC that has enabled the company's
53-year safety and performance record. Ball Aerospace is the sole
source for human-rated star trackers for the space shuttle program,
and Ball's mechanical components, cryogenics and optical systems
fly aboard every space shuttle mission. Ares I is the crew launch
vehicle being developed by NASA to launch Orion, the next
spacecraft designed for human spaceflight missions following
retirement of the space shuttle program in 2010. Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of national
importance for 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. Since 1956, Ball
Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and
scientific 'firsts' and is a technology innovator in aerospace.
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 14,500 people worldwide and
reported 2008 sales of more than $7.5 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; 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; the
current global credit squeeze and its effects on liquidity, credit
risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful
acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of
recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including
tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in
respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the
manufacturing process; 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 of Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp., +1-303-533-6059, Web Site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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