Third Sub-Meter Remote Sensing Satellite Completes Significant Milestone; Begins System-Level Testing
LONGMONT, Colo., BOULDER, Colo. and ROCHESTER N.Y., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DigitalGlobe, a leading provider of high-resolution world imagery solutions, today announced that the WorldView-2 remote sensing instrument, provided by ITT Corporation's Space Systems Division, has been integrated by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. into the WorldView-2 spacecraft and system-level testing has commenced. The third in DigitalGlobe's constellation of commercial remote sensing satellites, WorldView-2's advanced agility and high orbit will expand DigitalGlobe's image collection capabilities to nearly two million square kilometers per day, and enable faster collection of the world's geography with multiple daily revisits to a single location. WorldView-2 will collect an unmatched eight bands of multi-spectral imagery at 1.8 meter resolution for the truest depiction of the earth's natural color, in addition to collecting 46-centimeter resolution panchromatic imagery. It is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2009.
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System level testing of the WorldView-2 satellite began in January 2009 and will continue until the satellite is shipped to Vandenberg AFB in California for launch. The environmental tests will confirm the design integrity of the spacecraft and will include thermal vacuum, electromagnetic compatibility, electromagnetic interference, vibration, shock and acoustic testing.
"The construction of the WorldView-2 satellite is on track and we are pleased with the progress to date. DigitalGlobe is fortunate to partner with Ball Aerospace and ITT to bring the most advanced remote sensing satellite to the market," said Jill Smith, chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe. "The construction of this satellite and our constellation expansion signifies our ability to provide the largest, most comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date library of imagery possible, and meet the growing demand for premium, high-resolution world imagery from enterprises, consumer navigation providers as well as governments."
"Ball Aerospace's capabilities in the remote sensing market continue to advance as WorldView-2 becomes only the second commercial satellite bus after WorldView-1 with Control Moment Gyroscopes that offer greater agility and targeting 2 to 10 times faster than any other commercial imaging system," said Cary Ludtke, vice president and general manager for Ball's civil and operational space unit.
The Ball Aerospace BCP 5000 spacecraft, utilized for both the WorldView-1 and Worldview-2, is designed to handle both next-generation optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing payloads and is currently meeting or exceeding all performance specifications on the operational WorldView-1 satellite. The high-performance BCP 5000 has a design life of more than seven years, and provides a platform with increased power, agility, flexibility, transmission capability and data storage.
"ITT's imaging system for WorldView-2 benefits from the company's over 50 years of experience engineering the industry's most sophisticated, reliable and innovative remote sensing payloads," said Chris Young, president of ITT Space Systems Division. "Imagery from this satellite will assist an increasingly diverse commercial and government customer base in making informed decisions."
To learn more about advanced DigitalGlobe's constellation of sub-meter satellites, please visit www.digitalglobe.com.
About DigitalGlobe
Longmont, Colorado-based DigitalGlobe ( http://www.digitalglobe.com) is a leading global content provider of high-resolution world imagery solutions. Sourced from our own advanced satellite constellation and aerial network, our imagery solutions deliver a real world perspective to governments, businesses, technology developers and humanitarian associations worldwide. The company's imagery solutions consist of one of the world's largest image libraries, growing at a rate of up to 1 million square kilometers per day and distributed and accessed through online search and retrieval, production ready image layers, development tool-kits for internet enabled applications and devices, and software solutions for integration with GIS products and services. DigitalGlobe currently operates the highest-resolution commercial satellite constellation with QuickBird and the first of two next-generation satellites, WorldView-1. The company plans to launch its second next-generation satellite, WorldView-2, in the third quarter of 2009.
DigitalGlobe is a registered trademark of DigitalGlobe.
About Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important 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. Since 1956, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific 'firsts' and is a technology innovator in aerospace.
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2008 sales of more than $7.5 billion.
Ball Aerospace Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to 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 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available at our Web site and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the current global credit squeeze and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.
About ITT Corporation
ITT's Space Systems Division, headquartered in Rochester, New York, provides innovative remote sensing and navigation solutions to customers in the Department of Defense, intelligence, space science and commercial aerospace to help them visualize and understand critical events happening on Earth, in the air, or in space in time to take effective action. Leveraging comprehensive capabilities, Space Systems' solutions span from image and data collection through processing and dissemination. Key applications include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; high-resolution commercial imaging; earth and space science; climate and environmental monitoring; GPS navigation; image and data processing and dissemination; and space control and missile defense. For more information on ITT's Space Systems Division, please visit www.ssd.itt.com.
ITT Corporation ( www.itt.com) is a diversified high-technology engineering and manufacturing company dedicated to creating more livable environments, enabling communications and providing protection and safety. The company plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. ITT employs approximately 40,000 people and generated $9 billion in 2007 sales.
