Ball Aerospace-Builds OMPS Instrument

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.'s Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) onboard the NPP satellite began collecting Earthview image science and solar calibration data on January 24, 2012.

The OMPS data will provide information about the global distribution of ozone which will help determine if synthetic chemicals are affecting the Earth's climate and its habitability.

Launched on October 28, 2011, OMPS is one of five instruments onboard the NPP bus, which completed commissioning on November 5, 2011. All five instruments will be returning scientific data before the end of this month.

"We expect the satellite and its five-instrument suite to bridge essential global climate and key weather data while Ball continues to build the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 as the follow-on to NPP," says David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace

JPSS-1 is scheduled to launch in 2016. JPSS data and imagery will further increase timeliness, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of public warnings and forecasts of climate and weather events.

In addition to OMPS, the other instruments aboard NPP include the Clouds and Earth Radiant Energy System, the Cross-track Infrared Sounder, the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder, and the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite. NPP has a five-year mission and design life.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of 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. For more information visit www.ballaerospace.com .