BOULDER, Colo., May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. has successfully completed thermal vacuum
testing for NASA's NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite to
advance the spacecraft closer to a planned October 25, 2011, launch.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110517/LA03997)
The two-month-long test, which concluded on April 27, verified that the NPP spacecraft and
five-instrument suite meet requirements to function properly in a
space-like environment. Post-environmental performance
testing is now underway, to be followed by a pre-ship review.
In August, the spacecraft will be delivered to the Vandenberg
Air Force Base in Lompoc, Calif.,
for launch preparations.
The polar-orbiting NPP satellite will continue providing
long-term weather forecasting and environmental monitoring that
began following launch of the nation's first weather satellite on
April 1, 1960. Since then, both
polar and geostationary weather satellites have provided
life-saving planning and decision making information for weather
and other natural disasters.
"Given the fact that the U.S. has more severe weather than any
other country, it's crucial that decision makers have seamless data
from the nation's next weather satellite to protect the country's
economic stability," said Cary
Ludtke, vice president and general manager for the Ball
Aerospace civil and operational space business unit. "This major
milestone puts NPP a step closer to providing those continued
observations."
NPP will fly a suite of advanced-technology remote sensing
instruments that include:
- The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
- The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS)
- The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS)
- The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)
- The Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES)
Under contract to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Ball
Aerospace is providing its BCP 2000 spacecraft bus under
fixed-price terms for NPP, and as well as the Ozone Mapping and
Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument. NPP has a seven-year design
life, with a five-year mission life and incorporates both
MIL-STS-1553 and IEEE 1394 (Fire Wire) data. In addition,
NPP's Common Ground System will be employed for the first time.
Video B-roll of the NPP satellite is available at:
http://ballaerospace.wistia.com/m/2Y1WbY
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
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 2010 sales of more than
$7.6 billion. For the latest Ball
news and for other company information, please visit
http://www.ball.com.
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 on our website 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; political instability and sanctions; 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
recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk,
asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful
acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax,
environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and
other actions affecting products filled in our containers, 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.