Ball Aerospace-Built WISE Satellite Launches From Vandenberg
December 14 2009 - 11:39AM
PR Newswire (US)
BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. announced today that the Wide-field
Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite built for NASA
successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at
6:09:33 a.m. on board a Boeing Delta II rocket. Ball Aerospace
designed and built the WISE spacecraft, led all satellite level
testing and is supporting operations under contract to NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. The WISE RS-300 spacecraft derives from the
versatile, space-proven Ball Aerospace NextSat spacecraft built for
the successful 2007 Orbital Express mission. The flight system has
an estimated weight of 661 kilograms (1,433 pounds) and will fly at
an altitude of 525 kilometers (326 miles). The spacecraft is
three-axis stabilized, with body-fixed solar arrays and uses a
high-gain antenna to transmit images to a geostationary satellite
system. The WISE mission is a NASA Explorers Program led by Dr.
Edward Wright of the University of California, Los Angeles. WISE
will survey the entire sky in infrared light to create a catalog of
hundreds of millions of objects. The 10-month mission will measure
more than 100,000 asteroids in the solar system, and identify
hundreds of stars in the solar neighborhood that have not yet been
seen - including perhaps those closet to the Sun. The data will
create a map for future infrared missions, including the James Webb
Space Telescope scheduled to launch in 2014, as well as NASA's
Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. WISE is one of several
cryogenically cooled infrared systems supported by Ball Aerospace.
Other programs have included the Infrared Astronomical Satellite
(IRAS), the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), the Spitzer Space
Telescope, and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object
Spectrometer (NICMOS) for the Hubble Space Telescope. 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
information visit http://www.ballaerospace.com/. Ball Corporation
(NYSE:BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic
packaging 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
approximately $7.6 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; 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 or tax
rates. 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 recession
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 climate change, or
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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