SBSS gimbal

Ball Aerospace is a recognized leader in providing world-class electro-optical (EO) sensors and instruments for a wide range of military, civil and commercial applications. We have experience with the entire electro-magnetic spectrum, as well as active and passive cryogenic instruments. Ball has designed, built and tested EO systems for over 50 years, which provides us with the in-depth knowledge required to solve customer challenges.

Ball Aerospace’s electro-optic experience includes:

• The Kepler Photometer, a .95-meter aperture detecting Earth-sized planets
• The High Resolution Camera (HiRISE) onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is the largest telescopic instrument ever sent beyond Earth’s orbit
• Seven instruments for the Hubble Space Telescope, including the design and fabrication of the corrective optics to remedy the telescope’s spherical aberration
• Multispectral Camera on QuickBird 2 that provides panchromatic and multi-spectral images of the Earth’s surface
• The visible sensor payload for the Air Force’s Space Based Space Surveillance System (SBSS) providing 24x7 space situational awareness on-orbit data collection.

Kepler focal plane assembly

With over 150 EO systems launched, we have the people, tools, facilities and experience to design, fabricate, integrate, test and deliver successful EO flight hardware.