Ball Aerospace is participating in the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by contributing three podcast episodes to the 365 Days of Astronomy website, an educational podcast inspired by IYA2009. The website features podcast episodes written, recorded and produced by people all around the world.

EPOXI

This Oct. 24, 2010 podcast called "Triple the MIssion, Triple the Fun" features Ball Aerospace employee Tom Bank talking about the EPOXI mission for the 365 Days of Astronomy. This podcase led up to the Nov. 4, 2010 flyby of comet Hartley 2.

• Click here to download the podcast
• Or, read the transcript

Kepler

The August 12, 2010 podcast "Kepler Keeps on Giving" features Brown and John Troeltzsch with Ball Aerospace.  It’s been more than a year since the planet-hunting Kepler mission began its search for Earth-like planets. A stream of data is delivered regularly to Kepler scientists as observations continue round-the-clock during the three year mission. What’s the latest?

• Click here to download the podcast
• Or, read the transcript

The September 10, 2009 podcast, "A-hunting we will go!" features Ball Program Manager John Troeltzsch discussing the Kepler mission. Kepler is hunting for planets in the habitable zone and may confirm the existence of other Earth-size and smaller planets.  

• Click here to download the podcast
• Or, read the transcript

James Webb Space Telescope

"The Mirrors that Make James Webb," was the March 25, 2010 podcast. It features Mark Bergeland, Ball Aerospace’s program manager for the Webb Telescope mission, discussing the progress being made on the telescope’s amazing mirrors.

• Click here to download the podcast
• Or, read the transcript

WISE

The December 4, 2009 podcast, "The WISE mission," features Ball Aerospace WISE Program Manager Joan Howard discussing the infrared-sensitive telescope.

• Click here to download the podcast
• Or, read the transcript

Hubble Space Telscope

The July 23 podcast, “Everything Old is New Again,” features Ball’s Dennis Ebbets discussing the May 2009 STS-125 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

• Click here to download the podcast.
• If you have trouble downloading the podcast, you can listen to the file here.

Astronauts for NASA’s STS-125 servicing mission to the Hubble installed two science instruments built by Ball Aerospace during the 13-day mission in May 2009 and completed critical repairs to two previously installed Ball science instruments.

For more information about Ball’s work on Hubble: http://www.ballaerospace.com/page.jsp?page=69

The International Year of Astronomy celebrates the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo - a momentous event that initiated 400 years of astronomical discoveries and triggered a scientific revolution which profoundly affected our worldview.