Ready for Launch, Ball Aerospace Completes Prep for JPSS-1 Satellite

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) is encapsulated inside the fairing (nose cone) of a United Launch Alliance Delta II launch vehicle ready for lift off from Space Launch Complex-2W at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on November 14, 2017 at 1:47 a.m., PST. JPSS-1 is a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7987651-ball-aerospace-joint-polar-satellite-system-jpss-1-launch

"The JPSS-1 bus is based on our Ball Configurable Platform 2000, a proven, agile spacecraft, which has 50 years of on-orbit operations and is designed for cost-effective, remote sensing applications," said Alex Chernushin, JPSS-1 Program Manager, Ball Aerospace. "JPSS-1 is the twelfth spacecraft built on this core architecture, including the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) spacecraft launched in 2011."

The sensor capabilities for JPSS-1 have similar capabilities to those of Suomi NPP: the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), built by Northrop Grumman; the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), built by Harris; the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite-Nadir (OMPS-N), built by Ball; and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), built by Raytheon.

Collecting data on our Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land surface, JPSS-1, or NOAA-20 as it will be known once it reaches its polar orbit, will feed NOAA's National Weather Service models, giving forecasters the actionable environment intelligence they need to monitor and predict weather patterns with greater speed and accuracy. This will enable emergency managers to make timely decisions to protect lives and property, including ordering effective evacuations five to seven days in advance.

In addition, the data from JPSS-1 gives troops a competitive advantage on the battlefield; allows transportation industry to prepare and move resources, protecting local economies; and provides citizens with more accurate weather forecasts to plan their day.

The JPSS-1 spacecraft was built and integrated by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, where the business has operated for more than 60 years and continues to invest heavily in its capabilities and the community. Since expanding its Fisher Manufacturing Complex by 82,000 square-feet in 2014, Ball is installing a new, 1,200 square-foot thermal vacuum chamber to support the continued demand for large spacecraft. Ball is also growing in nearby Westminster, Colorado with a 145,000 square-foot addition to its Aerospace Manufacturing Center currently under construction. Ball employs more than 3,000 people across the U.S., with 2,500 based in Colorado. The business has hired more than 600 new employees during the past two years to meet growing customer needs.

Visit ball.com/aerospace for more information and interactive downloads. Follow Ball Aerospace on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to tune into the latest JPSS-1 news leading up to launch!

Ball Aerospace (NYSE: BLL) pioneers discoveries that enable our customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. For more information, visit www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 18,450 people worldwide and 2016 net sales were $9.1 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any of such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. 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 factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; competitive activity; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; and changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out initiatives and synergies; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition and its integration, or the associated divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on our business relationships, operating results and business generally.