Ball Aerospace's QuikSCAT Outperforms Expectations
August 03 2004 - 3:28PM
PR Newswire (US)
Ball Aerospace's QuikSCAT Outperforms Expectations BOULDER, Colo.,
Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Five years after its 1999 launch, the
QuikScat (Quick Scatterometer) satellite built by Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp. continues its outstanding performance in
returning essential data for global climate monitoring. QuikSCAT
employs a variation of the Ball Commercial Platform 2000 (BCP 2000)
bus, the first in a line of spacecraft with proven success and
reliability. The BCP 2000 can accommodate Earth-sensing
instrumentation that requires precision pointing control while
maintaining the flexibility needed for rapid target selection.
"We're very gratified that QuikSCAT has exceeded its design life,"
said David L. Taylor, Ball Aerospace president and chief executive
officer. "Our BCP 2000 has truly defined the niche for remote
sensing platforms produced under commercial terms, making it the
industry standard for cost, schedule and mission performance."
Originally designed for a two-year mission, QuikSCAT was delivered
in only 11 months. Since that time, the BCP 2000 design has also
been utilized for QuickBird I and QuickBird II. In the near future,
the Ball Aerospace-built bus will be employed on the CloudSat
satellite launch in 2005 and for the National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory
Project (NPP) in 2006. WorldView, scheduled to launch no later than
2006, will employ a larger Ball Aerospace spacecraft bus also based
on the BCP 2000 design. QuikSCAT measures near-surface wind speed
and direction under all weather and cloud conditions over the
Earth's oceans. In addition to the bus, Ball Aerospace provided
launch interface systems, system integration and test and launch
support, and continues to perform mission operations through a
subcontract to the University of Colorado's Laboratory for
Atmospheric and Space Physics. Earlier this year NASA announced
that data from QuikSCAT has improved 2- to 5-day forecasts and
weather warnings, resulting in economic savings and a reduction in
weather-related loss of life, especially at sea. Ball Corporation
(NYSE:BLL) is a leading supplier of high-quality packaging products
and innovative packaging solutions to the beverage and food
industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies
Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components
for government and commercial markets. Ball employs approximately
12,600 people worldwide and reported 2003 sales of $4.9 billion.
The information in this news release contains "forward-looking"
statements and other statements concerning future events and
financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates,"
"estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking 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 the company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in Exhibit
99.2 in the most recent Form 10-K. These filings are available at
the company's website and at http://www.sec.gov/. Factors that
might affect the packaging segments of the company include
fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; competitive packaging
material availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate
and weather; fruit, vegetable and fishing yields; industry
productive capacity and competitive activity; lack of productivity
improvement or production cost reductions; the German mandatory
deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; availability and cost
of raw materials, such as resin, steel and aluminum, and the
ability to pass on to customers changes in these costs; changes in
major customer contracts or the loss of a major customer;
international business risks, such as foreign exchange rates and
tax rates; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors
that might affect the aerospace segment include: funding,
authorization and availability of government contracts and the
nature and continuation of those contracts; and technical
uncertainty associated with segment contracts. Factors that could
affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: successful
and unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures and
associated integration activities; regulatory action or laws
including environmental and workplace safety; goodwill impairment;
antitrust and other litigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in
various employee benefits and labor costs; rates of return
projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit
retirement plans; reduced cash flow; and interest rates affecting
our debt. DATASOURCE: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
CONTACT: Public Affairs, Roz Brown, +1-303-939-6146, or cell,
+1-720-581-3135, or Sarah Hoyt, +1-303-533-4945, both of Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Web site:
http://www.ballaerospace.com/
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