BOULDER, Colo., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. Suomi NPP satellite for NASA successfully
completed its Satellite Acceptance Review with Goddard Space Flight
Center on March 6, 2012. With
completion of commissioning activities, operation of the Suomi NPP
has now been turned over to a Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)
team.
Ball Aerospace designed and built the Suomi National
Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite bus; the
satellite's Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)
instrument; integrated the satellite's five instruments; and
performed satellite-level testing and launch support. All
five Suomi NPP instruments have now been activated for science data
collection.
"The Earth-observing NPP Suomi satellite has solidified its role
as the trail blazer for the next generation of polar operational
satellites," said David L. Taylor,
Ball Aerospace president and CEO.
Launched in October 2011, the
satellite's advanced-technology remote sensing suite of instruments
will observe many facets of our changing Earth leading to the
launch of the JPSS-1, the Joint Polar Satellite System, which is
the first of NOAA's next generation polar orbiting weather
satellites. Ball Aerospace is currently leading the design
and development effort for NOAA's JPSS-1 satellite, and building
the JPSS-1 OMPS instrument. Both fixed-price
satellites are designed for cost-effective, remote sensing
applications as part of the Ball Configurable Platform (BCP) series
of satellites.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical
missions for 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 2011 sales of more than
$8.6 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; uncertainties
surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; 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.