Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., a unit of Ball Corporation BLL, has been chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Science Mission Directorate to build and test a complete radiometric instrument on a Cubesat. The radiometer has been developed for a space mission under the In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program.
Work on the radiometer will begin on the Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space (CIRiS) in Feb 2016. CIRiS is an imaging infrared radiometer designed for high radiometric performance from LEO (Low earth orbit), including absolute on-orbit calibration.
Notably, the Ball radiometer is one of the four projects, which received financial support from the latest round of the InVEST program in support of NASA's Earth Science Division. NASA's InVEST program is targeted toward small instruments and instrument subsystems that can advance technology to enable relevant Earth science measurements.
Function of Cubesats with the CIRiS design include analysis of the hydrological cycle, urban climate and extreme storms; and support for land use management via vegetation monitoring and water absorption mapping. It will also measure improvement of climate modeling; which will be helpful for customers.
Ball remains confident about the project and expects that validation of advanced technologies on the micro-spacecraft will assist in bringing new architectures and complete important science goals. The instrument is anticipated to be launched in early 2018 followed by three months of on-orbit operations.
During the third quarter, the Aerospace and Technologies segment successfully integrated the propulsion subsystem for NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) into the spacecraft bus, and started system performance and environmental testing. GPIM is scheduled for launch in 2016. The segment continues to pursue several large programs that are expected to be awarded in the coming months.
Broomfield, CO-based Ball Corporation is the largest manufacturer of beverage cans in North America. Its Aerospace and Technologies segment supplies national defense solutions, advanced technologies and products as well as civil and operational space businesses.
Currently, Ball Corporation has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector include Albany International Corp. AIN, Brady Corp. BRC and Codexis, Inc. CDXS. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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