Ball Aerospace has completed two phases in the development of the Weather System Follow-on-Microwave satellite for the U.S. Space Force. The finalization of the system’s spacecraft bus and the conclusion of its microwave imager technology’s environmental assessment will propel the project into its final assembly, integration and testing stages, Ball Aerospace announced from Broomfield, Colorado on Tuesday. […] More

Ball Aerospace has secured an $11.9 million contract from NASA to develop a laser pre-stabilization system for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna laser assembly. The space agency said Thursday the LPS will work to stabilize the high-precision laser systems to be used for gravitational wave detection in space. LISA is a space-based mission that aims […] More

Ball Aerospace & Technologies has won a $33.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to explore methods for airmen to sustain their mental fitness. AFRL selected the company’s white paper for the competitive Research for Enhancing Airman & Cognitive Health project and obligated $2.8 million at the time of award, the Department of […] More

Ball Aerospace will help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study instrument designs for measuring atmospheric composition and ocean color as part of its Geostationary Extended Observations program. The company said Thursday it was selected for two 20-month studies to inform the development of next generation geostationary weather satellite constellation the agency is undertaking to […] More

Ball Aerospace has passed the critical design review for a space weather monitoring satellite it is developing to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission objectives. The company said Tuesday completing the CDR for NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 spacecraft meant it can now move to production, integration and test phases. SWFO-L1 is […] More

Ball Aerospace helped NASA complete the critical design review of a satellite designed to map the sky and support scientists’ study on the cause of cosmic inflation in the universe’s earlier stages. The company said Wednesday it designed, integrated and tested the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer […] More

NASA launched a Ball Aerospace-built space observatory Thursday for the agency’s joint mission with its Italian counterpart to study X-rays from supermassive black holes, supernova remnants and other high-energy objects in the universe. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer spacecraft lifted Thursday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and will use three telescopes with sensitive detectors to […] More

Ball Aerospace has shipped a new observatory spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for an upcoming NASA mission that will measure cosmic X-ray polarization while in orbit. The company said Wednesday it built the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer under a collaboration with NASA and the Italian Space Agency. IXPE will launch in December from Kennedy Space […] More

Ball Aerospace has expanded its presence in Colorado with the opening of a new 160,000-square-foot facility that will focus on building payloads and providing post-launch support for various space programs. The new Payload Development Facility adds advanced integration and test areas, a mission support center, more offices and cleanroom space to the existing Broomfield Research […] More

Ball Aerospace has received a potential $8 million contract from NASA to study the geostationary Sounder instrument in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary and Extended Observations program. The space agency said Thursday that under the firm-fixed-price contract, the company will conduct the definition-phase A study of the hyperspectral infrared instrument intended […] More

NASA has tasked Ball Aerospace to study two architecture concepts designed to modernize instruments of Earth imagery satellites. The company said Monday it will assess how constellation and single satellite concepts can accommodate new spectral bands and orbit parameters as well as enhanced spatial resolution for the Landsat Next program.  Ball will seek to determine […] More

A Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace team has concluded the critical design review for an infrared-based satellite mission payload designed to meet the U.S. Space Force’s national security requirements. Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites, whose development is led by Lockheed Martin, are designed to alert the U.S. military on missile threats and would succeed the […] More