BOULDER, Colo., 9 May 2005. 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.
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.
"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."
Ball Corp. 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 employs more than 13,200 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion. For more information, see www.ballaerospace.com.
