Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation Board Of Directors Meeting

We wonder if they'll announce the May 28, 2010 launch that's mentioned in various sources.

October 23, 2009, 10:30 am
Alaska Energy Building
4300 B Street, Suite 103
Anchorage, Alaska

Proposed agenda items include an update regarding the Kodiak Launch Complex, up coming missions and other matters to properly come before the board. The board may also hold an executive session in accordance with AS 44.62.310.
Individuals or groups of people with disabilities who require special accommodations, auxiliary aids or services, or alternative communication formats, call 561-3338 by 9:00 am on October 9, 2009. Please provide advance notice in order that AADC may accommodate your needs.

Ball Aerospace Completes STPSat-2 Satellite Pre-Shipment Review

We continue to wonder when AADC will mention to the public this upcoming launch.....

By: PR Newswire
Oct. 13, 2009 08:03 AM


BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has successfully completed a comprehensive pre-shipment review for STPSat-2, the first spacecraft for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) program. Launch of the vehicle is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010 on a Minotaur IV rocket from Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091013/LA91264)

The pre-shipment review was completed on Sept. 17, following assembly and performance testing of the standard vehicle and standard payload interface which is designed to accelerate the DoD's space technology efforts. The testing also included functional and environmental testing of the STPSat-2 payload suite, which is comprised of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Phenomenology Experiment and ONR's Ocean Data Telemetry Microsat Link.

"Completion of the first STP vehicle is a tremendous achievement toward the goal of increasing access to space for future DoD payloads," said David L. Taylor, Ball Aerospace president and CEO. "Ball Aerospace is confident the repeatable design used for STP-SIV program will help pave the way for reducing cost, schedule and risk on DoD missions."

STP-SIV is capable of supporting a variety of experimental and risk reduction payloads and multiple launch vehicles. Using flight-proven hardware for the spacecraft (and developmental hardware only on the experimental payloads), each bus can accommodate up to four independent payloads, each one having its own separate power and data interface. Ball Aerospace has already begun production on the second STP-SIV, designated STPSat-3, following a contract award from the Air Force Space Development & Test Wing Space Development Group at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, N.M., earlier this year.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications.

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2008 sales of approximately $7.6 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available at our Web site and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the current global credit squeeze and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

SOURCE Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
Published Oct. 13, 2009
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Space Weather Microsat Eyes 2010 Launch

One wonders why the AADC website has no mention of this launch; in fact, that site hasn't been updated since February, 2009 (as best we can ascertain). Once again, AADC fails in public relations and communication as we have to find out about launches in Kodiak from out-of-state news sources.


Oct 6, 2009(From Aviation Week)

Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado have nearly finished integrating the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)-sponsored FalconSAT-5 microsatellite, which soon will undergo system testing before being shipped to Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska for launch next year.

The $11 million FalconSAT-5 will fly as a secondary payload on the Space Test Program's (STP) S26 mission, which is slated to launch on May 28, 2010, on a Minotaur IV modified ICBM.

FalconSAT-5 will perform space weather measurements with onboard sensors in collaboration with remote ground sites. On Sept. 25, the satellite's main payload - the Space Plasma Characterization Source (SPCS) - arrived at the Astronautics Laboratory. After fit checking, cadets provided updates on the satellite to STP officials during an S26 payload readiness review Sept. 29. Satellite system testing will take place in the coming months at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Manufactured by Busek Inc. of Natick, Mass., under an AFRL Small Business Innovation Research contract, SPCS uses a 500-Watt Hall Effect thruster, propelled by one kilogram of xenon and ammonia cold gas to stimulate the space environment around the satellite and perform small orbital maneuvers. The Integrated Miniaturized Electrostatic Analyzer (iMESA) and Wafer Integrated Spectrometers (WISPERS) payloads measure effects from the thruster's rocket plume on the surrounding space weather environment.

This suite of experiments will measure the local ionosphere, stimulate the local space weather environment, measure the subsequent changes and evaluate ionospheric effects on radio frequency signals for communication impacts, according to an Air Force statement.