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Ball Aerospace GEMS Instrument Passes Critical Design Review

BALL

Environmental Monitoring Sensor to Improve South Korea's Early Warning of Pollution Events by 2018

BOULDER, Colo., April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ball Aerospace air quality sensor being built for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) under South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research in the Ministry of Environment has passed a major milestone toward its launch.

The Ball Aerospace GEMS instrument has achieved a major milestone. The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer air quality sensor being built for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute under South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research in the Ministry of Environment has passed its critical design review. GEMS is a scanning ultraviolet-visible instrument designed to monitor trans-boundary pollution events for the Korean peninsula and Asia-Pacific region. It will be the first air quality sensor in geostationary orbit.

The Critical Design Review (CDR) was successfully completed for the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) in February. GEMS is a scanning ultraviolet-visible instrument designed to monitor trans-boundary pollution events for the Korean peninsula and Asia-Pacific region. It will be the first air quality sensor in geostationary orbit.

"GEMS is an excellent example of how international collaboration can effectively improve quality of life," said Cary Ludtke, vice president and general manager of Ball's Operational Space business unit. "The successful completion of the CDR for this scientifically advanced instrument allows the program to move into the manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing phase with instrument completion expected in early 2017."

Ball engineers are working side by side with KARI engineers on the GEMS instrument in a recently completed cleanroom on Ball's Boulder campus for GEMS assembly, integration and test activities.

The spectrometer provides high spatial and high temporal resolution measurements of ozone, its precursors and aerosols. Hourly measurements by GEMS will improve early warnings for potentially dangerous pollution events and monitor long-term climate change. GEMS is manifested on KARI's GEO-KOMPSAT-2B geostationary satellite.

The GEMS instrument is the Asian element of a global air quality monitoring constellation of geostationary satellites that includes the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) spectrometer. Ball is the TEMPO instrument provider for NASA Langley Research Center and Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on the Earth Venture program.

For more than 30 years, Ball Aerospace has been a recognized industry leader in developing advanced instruments, including spectrometers. Ball provided the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership and is building a similar instrument for the Joint Polar Satellite System. Historically, Ball was the primary supplier of spectrometers for the Hubble Space Telescope including the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph, Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the 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. Ball continues to invest and innovate in affordable, high resolution imaging systems, contributing to the needs of civil, military and commercial customers.  For more information, visit http://www.ballaerospace.com/.

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) 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 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2014 sales of $8.6 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" and similar expressions 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 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. 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; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve 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 loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; 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 the U.S. government budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out initiatives; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including, with respect to the proposed Rexam PLC acquisition, the effect of the announcement of the acquisition on our business relationships, operating results and business generally; the occurrence of any event or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of our definitive agreement with Rexam PLC in respect of the acquisition; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us related to the definitive agreement with Rexam PLC; and the failure to satisfy conditions to completion of the acquisition of Rexam PLC, including the receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

Ball Logo.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150331/195901
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130108/LA39163LOGO

 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ball-aerospace-gems-instrument-passes-critical-design-review-300059091.html

SOURCE Ball Aerospace



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