 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Spacecraft, defense, scientific instruments |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Headquarters | Broomfield, Colorado, U.S. |
Key people | Dave Kaufman - President |
| Owner | Ball Corporation |
Number of employees | c. 5,200 (2023)[1] |
| Website | www.BallAerospace.com |
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. or just Ball Aerospace is an American manufacturer of spacecraft, components and instruments for national defense, civil space and commercial space applications. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ball Corporation (NYSE: BALL), with primary offices in Boulder, Colorado, and facilities in Broomfield and Westminster in Colorado, with smaller offices in New Mexico, Ohio, northern Virginia, Missouri and Maryland.
Ball Aerospace began building pointing controls for military rockets in 1956 (the aerospace part of the Ball Corporation was then known as Ball Brothers Research Corporation) and later won a contract to build some of NASA's first spacecraft, the Orbiting Solar Observatory satellites. The company has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific projects and continues to provide aerospace technology to NASA and related industries.
Other products and services for the aerospace industry include lubricants, optical systems, star trackers and antennas. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ball Corporation, Ball Aerospace was cited in 2023[2] as the 54th largest defense contractor in the world.[3] Both parent and subsidiary headquarters are co-located in Broomfield, Colorado.
In August 2023, Ball Corporation agreed to divest Ball Aerospace to BAE Systems for $5.6 billion in cash.[4]
Participating projects
- The Orbital Express[5] autonomous satellite servicing mission
- The WorldView-2 Earth observation satellite.[6]
- AEROS (satellite)[7]
- Ralph (New Horizons instrument)[8]
- Chandra X-ray Observatory aspect camera (star tracker) and SIM (science instrument module)[9]
- Hubble Space Telescope: seven science instruments (COS, WFC3, ACS, NICMOS, STIS, COSTAR, and GHRS), two star trackers, five major equipment subsystems, and custom tools to support service missions[10]
- James Webb Space Telescope optical mirror system[11]
See also
References
- ↑ King, Ian (August 17, 2023). "Why BAE bought Ball Aerospace and why it matters". Sky News.
- ↑ "Top 100 | Defense News, News about defense programs, business, and technology". people.defensenews.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
- ↑ "Defense News Top 100 (2022)". Defense News Research. 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ↑ Shabong, Yadarisa (August 17, 2023). "BAE snaps up Ball's aerospace arm for $5.6 billion in its biggest deal ever". Reuters.
- ↑ Orbital Express Archived June 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ DigitalGlobe announces Ball building WorldView 2 satellite
- ↑ Yenne, Bill (1985). The Encyclopedia of US Spacecraft. Exeter Books (A Bison Book), New York. ISBN 0-671-07580-2.p.12 AEROS
- ↑ Ball Aerospace - New Horizons/Ralph
- ↑ Ball Aerospace - Chandra X-ray Observatory
- ↑ Ball Aerospace - Hubble Space Telescope
- ↑ Ball Aerospace - Webb Space Telescope
External links
