NASA Taps Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.

NASA of Washington has chosen Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., to supply the space administration with an instrument for its satellite-based Landsat Data Continuity Mission, to detect and differentiate natural and man-made global land surface changes. Under terms of the $127.9 million cost-plus-award-fee contract, the company will design, develop and manufacture an operational land imager for capturing visible and near-infrared images. After integrating the imager into the satellite, the company also will test and deliver the system as well as provide up to 10 years of on-orbit support. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 2011.