A Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Mod.2 (SBUV/2) radiometer built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is one of five remote sensors on the new NOAA-N environmental satellite that is set to launch on May 11, 2005. This instrument will monitor the ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere to an accuracy of one percent.
“This latest SBUV/2 continues the long legacy of Ball Aerospace supporting space-based environmental monitoring of the Earth’s atmosphere,” said company President and CEO, Dave Taylor. “This will be the eighth SBUV/2 sensor we’ve built for NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center missions,” he emphasized.
The SBUV/2 is a radiometer that measures both solar irradiance and Earth radiance (backscatter solar energy) in the ultraviolet spectrum. In other words, it measures the ratio of sunlight incident on the atmosphere to the amount of sunlight scattered back into space. If the amount of sunlight scattered back into space increases, ozone has decreased.
Ball Aerospace has produced a family of nine SBUV/2s under contract to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center since 1980. As an operational remote sensor, similar SBUV/2 units have flown on a series of NOAA weather satellites. A Ball-built SBUV/2 played a significant part in revealing a 3,000- to 4,000-mile hole in the protective ozone layer directly above Antarctica in October 1987.
The NOAA-N satellite has been jointly developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base into a polar orbit atop a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle.
Ball Corporation is a supplier of metal and plastic packaging products, primarily for 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 Corporation employs more than 13,200 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
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 same 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 our Web site and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; availability and cost of raw materials, particularly the recent significant increases in resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass such increases on to customers; competitive packaging 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; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; international business risks, including foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors that might affect 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: acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; regulatory action or laws including environmental and workplace safety; governmental investigations; goodwill impairment; antitrust and other litigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in employee benefits and labor costs; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company’s defined benefit retirement plans; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or management’s evaluation of the company’s internal control over financial reporting.
