In the Wake of Hurricane Irene, Improved Forecasting Technology is on the Horizon, According to Ball Aerospace

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —

                  NASA's next-generation Earth observation satellite - NPP
                  - arrived on Monday at California's Vandenberg Air Force
                  Base slated to launch on October 25, 2011. NPP will
                  bridge data from the nation's aging polar-orbiting
                  satellite systems with next-generation Earth
                  observation satellites. The satellite is equipped with
                  instruments that will reduce the margin of error in
                  weather forecasts and provide higher fidelity data for
                  meteorologists.  NPP will also provide more frequent
                  data transmissions to eliminate existing data gaps,
                  which is critical in predicting a hurricane's track and
    Summary:      narrowing the cone of uncertainty.

                  NPP's suite of five sensors will also make measurements
                  to continue producing key data products about Earth
                  including, for example, measurements of cloud,
                  vegetation, and ice cover, ocean color, and sea and land
                  surface temperatures. Earth scientists will use the data
                  to enhance their understanding of climate change.

                  Under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center, Ball
                  Aerospace designed and built the NPP satellite bus and
                  one of the satellite's five advanced-technology
                  instruments, and integrated all the instruments.

                  A Digital News Release website was created for all
    Soundbites:   multimedia content:
                 www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=Ball_Aerospace

                 Waleed Abdalati - Chief Scientist, NASA

                  "There is value to knowing what tomorrow will bring.
                  Whether by tomorrow we mean literally as in the weather
                  forecast, or by tomorrow we mean something longer - the
                  future earth environment that we can expect to be living
                  in months, years, decades from now, and that our
                  children and grandchildren will be living in."

                  Mary Kicza - Assistant Administrator for Satellite and
                  Information, NOAA

                  "You're going to have severe weather in this timeframe in
                  this location. And the information from these weather
                  satellites is absolutely critical to providing that kind
                  of data over a period of time, so that people in those
                  areas can prepare."

    B-Roll:
                  --Footage of NPP in clean room - final testing and
                  bagging prior to transport
                 -- Archival footage of construction of NPP
                 -- Artist rendering of satellite in space

    Additional information about NPP can be found at:
    -------------------------------------------------

http://www.ballaerospace.com/page.jsp?page=73

http://www.nasa.gov/NPP

http://npoess.noaa.gov/index.php?pg=npp

    Contact:     Roz Brown
                 Media Relations Manager
                 Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
                 303-533-6059 (office); 720-581-3135 (cell)
                 rbrown@ball.com

SOURCE Ball Aerospace