Ball Aerospace has successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) of the advanced spectrometer instrument for the MethaneSAT Flight System, the company announced on Thursday. With the completion of PDR, Ball will proceed with the critical design phase.
“We are excited to be a part of a mission that aims to study and address the impact of methane on the environment and climate,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “MethaneSAT fits well with Ball’s long history of earth science, our commitment to sustainability and our experience in providing highly-calibrated measurements of environmental factors related to ozone, weather and pollution.”
MethaneSAT is a 350-kilogram satellite designed to locate and measure global methane emissions. It has two extremely sensitive spectrometers that have been aligned in the center of the instrument. The sensors will enable measurement through shortwave infrared spectrum.
The spectrum will render light, which allows the sensors to detect concentrations as low as two parts per billion. MethaneSAT is expected to be launched in 2022. Ball Aerospace has also supported flight systems integration and testing, launch support and commissioning services to multiple testing devices.
“MethaneSAT is built around a set of high performance technologies and sophisticated analytics tools that when combined provide a major leap in our ability to measure and quantify even low-level methane emissions across the globe from space,” said mission co-lead Dr. Steven Hamburg, who also serves as Chief Scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re asking a lot of our technical partners and Ball Aerospace is rising to the occasion.”
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of $11.5 billion.
