BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. has announced that the fully-integrated NPOESS
Preparatory Project (NPP) weather satellite has successfully
completed its Pre-Environmental Review (PER) on-schedule in advance
of flight environmental testing. The launch is slated for
October 2011, with a mission duration
of five years.
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The last of five instruments to fly aboard the polar-orbiting
satellite was successfully integrated in July. The
pre-environmental review of the flight satellite configuration with
the full suite of instruments was conducted last week at Ball's
Boulder production and test
facility by a group of multi-disciplinary experts from NASA and
NOAA, as well as a number of independent reviewers. Environmental
testing includes vibration, acoustics, shock, electromagnetic
interference and compatibility and thermal vacuum.
"NPP is rapidly progressing from one milestone to the next,"
said David L. Taylor, president and
CEO of Ball Aerospace. "The successful pre-environmental review of
the satellite with its diverse set of operational instruments
demonstrates excellent performance to-date and readiness to proceed
into flight acceptance testing."
The five-instrument suite includes: the Visible/Infrared Imager
Radiometer Suite (VIIRS); the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS);
the Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES); the
Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS); and the Ozone Mapping
and Profiler Suite (OMPS).
Ball Aerospace built the OMPS instrument, and also built the NPP
spacecraft under contract to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Ball Commercial Platform (BCP) 2000 was modified to
successfully accommodate all five of the NPP instruments.
Ball Aerospace recently announced that it was awarded a sole
source contract from NASA for a second Ozone Mapping and Profiling
Suite (OMPS) instrument to fly on the Joint Polar Satellite System
(JPSS). JPSS is scheduled to launch in 2014.
NPP's advanced visible, infrared, and microwave imagers and
sounders will improve the accuracy and timeliness of climate
observations and enhance capabilities to the nation's civil and
military users of satellite data.
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 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 14,000 people worldwide and reported
2009 sales of more than $7.3
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
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.
SOURCE Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
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