Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has a
vital role in a first-of-its-kind mission in space exploration with NASA’s
Deep Impact program. Ball Aerospace is responsible for development and
integration of the mission’s flight system, which consists of the flyby
spacecraft, the impactor spacecraft, and three science instruments,
including telescopes, cameras, and spectrometers for analyzing the interior
of the comet.

“To explore the boundaries of the unknown, Ball Aerospace will use its
experience in scientific instruments and spacecraft to take advantage of
this unique deep space opportunity,” said Ball’s John Marriott, Deep Impact
program manager. “With the University of Maryland and NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, we have an outstanding team that is more than capable of
implementing challenging deep space solutions.”

One of the most spectacular events in the sky is a comet’s flight. However,
what is known about the composition of comets has been limited to studying
materials that are not pristine because they have been processed by solar
heat and radiation, which alters their original state. Deep Impact will
study the interior of a comet, which astronomers believe contains material
unchanged since the formation of the solar system. The mission is scheduled
to begin in January 2004, with the impact of comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005.
NASA approved development of the mission May 24.

Deep Impact will employ two spacecraft that will launch together and then
separate 24 hours before reaching the comet. The first spacecraft is an
instrument platform that will fly by the comet and record spectral data
and images of the impact. The second spacecraft is the 770-pound,
camera-equipped impactor that will slam into a target site on the sunlit
side of the comet at 22,300 mph, excavating material from the comet into
space.

The kinetic energy of the copper impactor is expected to create a crater
as wide as a football field and as deep as a seven-story building and
vaporize the impactor in the process. The impactor will return images of
the comet to the spacecraft up to the moment of impact. The cratering
event will allow measurements to be taken of some of the oldest and most
pristine material in our solar system.

Although Ball Aerospace has proven expertise in building spacecraft for
Earth orbit and instruments for deep space, Deep Impact is the company’s
first spacecraft for planetary science.

The total cost of Deep Impact to NASA is $279 million. The principal
investigator, Dr. Michael A’Hearn, University of Maryland, will lead the
trio consisting of a science team, Ball Aerospace and the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.

“The mission promises to greatly further our understanding of the
composition of comets and of the materials and processes that led to the
formation of the planets and other bodies in our solar system,” said
A’Hearn. “Learning more about the composition of comets also should help
us better understand the past history and future risks of comet impacts
with the Earth.”

The public will have opportunities to be directly engaged in the mission
by viewing the July 4 impact (the comet, at the time of impact, should
be visible low on the horizon, in the constellation Virgo, from the
southwestern U.S and Hawaii) both through small telescopes and in nearly
real-time images from the flyby spacecraft. Amateur and professional
astronomers will be enlisted to host viewing parties that will provide
the public with a chance to directly participate in the mission and see
the impact. Millions of people will likely be able to view the impact on
their home television sets, since images from the spacecraft will be made
available via satellite to worldwide media outlets.

Comet Tempel 1 was discovered in 1867. Orbiting the sun every
five-and-a-half years, it has made many passages through the inner solar
system, which makes it a good target to study evolutionary change in the
upper crust of the comet.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. provides imaging and communications
products for commercial and government customers worldwide and is a
subsidiary of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL), a Fortune 500 company that had
sales of $3.7 billion in 2000.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this news release may contain forward looking statements.
Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed or
implied. Please refer to the Form 10-Q filed by Ball Corporation on May 16,
2001, for a summary of key risk factors that could affect actual results or
outcomes. Key risk factors may include, but are not limited to, industry
capacity and competitive activity, authorization, funding and availability
of government contracts, customer demand, and U.S. and foreign economic
conditions.

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http://www.ball.com/aerospace/media/di.html