Ball Aerospace celebrates 50 years of innovation

Citation

(2006), "Ball Aerospace celebrates 50 years of innovation", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 78 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2006.12778daf.003

Ball Aerospace celebrates 50 years of innovation

Ball Aerospace celebrates 50 years of innovation

Keywords: Aerospace engineering, Defence sector

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., a leader in the development of spacecraft, sensors, systems and components for government and commercial programs, is celebrating five decades of distinctive contributions to the aerospace and defence industry.

“Our company formed in 1956, a year before the official start of the Space Race,” said Ball Aerospace President and CEO, Dave Taylor. “It has an original and fascinating history in the aerospace industry and its commitment to excellence at all levels is evidenced by our customers continued confidence.”

In the past five years, the company has nearly doubled its sales. This growth has been organic, emerging from core technologies and capabilities, and continued customer confidence in the company's innovative applications of technology to important national missions.

From the outset, Ball Aerospace has been a part of packaging manufacturer Ball Corporation. The company is unique within the industry, and remains unique due to a combination of longevity, innovation, and the absence of major mergers, acquisitions or divestitures.

“Ball was built on a foundation of technical innovation,” says Taylor, “We're agile and compete successfully as an aerospace leader because creativity and technical excellence are cultivated and encouraged. Our corporate culture fosters a passion for science, innovation and ever-better solutions to business practices.”

Now a company of some 3,000 employees with 2005 sales of $695 million, the company essentially began as a start-up before the term was coined. In early 1956, a leading group of scientists from the University of Colorado hooked-up with Ed Ball, one of the descendants of the company's original founders, to form what was then called Ball Brothers Research Corporation. Two years later, in 1958, they tested the company's first rocket pointing control from New Mexico's Holloman Air Force Base.

Building spacecraft was a logical next step for what would become Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. The company was a pioneer in the development of spin-stabilized satellites, contributing significantly to what scientists at NASA had discovered about the relationship between the sun and Earth. NASA awarded a contract for the first Orbiting Solar Observatory, or OSO, to Ball. Following the first OSO spacecraft launch in 1962, the company delivered an additional six equally successful OSOs.

Ball Aerospace has built strength in several areas, including space science and exploration; space-based monitoring of the Earth's weather and environment; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; supporting the military in creating an integrated battle space; and building space superiority for the nation. The company is a leading provider of conformal antennas for critical tactical defence missions, and helps advance the expansive growth of the commercial remote sensing industry by providing spacecraft and instruments.

The company's 50th anniversary follows a year of record financial performance, underscored by its significant contributions to some of the most successful missions in 2005, including Deep Impact and the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Already in 2006, the Ball-built camera called Ralph was launched to Pluto on the New Horizons mission, and the CloudSat spacecraft and CALIPSO instrument, also built by Ball, is scheduled to be launched in April to monitor the Earth's atmospheric clouds and aerosols. Before the close of 2006, Ball Aerospace expects to contribute to yet another one-of-a-kind mission: Orbital Express, the on-orbit servicing demonstration spacecraft.

“Ball Aerospace is a place for talented people to thrive in a collaborative, focused environment,” says Taylor. The engineers, scientists and technicians who make up most of our workforce have helped create a better understanding of the Earth and universe, protect our nation, and keep the spirit of curiosity alive. The fact that we are celebrating 50 years indicates that our customers recognise the level of excellence our people bring to the table.

“I truly believe that the culture we've generated in the past 50 years positions us for a bright future,” said Taylor.

Ball Corporation is a supplier of high- quality metal and plastic packaging products and owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial customers. Ball reported 2005 sales of $5.8 billion and the company employs 15,600 people world-wide.