Space Travel News  
Townsend To Lead Ball Aerospace Exploration Systems In Huntsville

Bill Townsend, new VP Exploration Systems at Ball Aerospace.
by Staff Writers
Boulder CO (SPX) Apr 09, 2007
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. has appointed Bill Townsend as vice president for Exploration Systems. Townsend will lead the company's pursuit of the Instrument Unit contract for the Ares I launch vehicle. He will relocate from Boulder to the company's Huntsville, Ala. Office.

Townsend has been vice president and general manager of Ball Aerospace's Civil Space Systems division since joining Ball Aerospace in September 2004. In that role, he led the company's pursuit of civilian remote-sensing instruments and scientific instruments, spacecraft, and other flight hardware for prime contractors and civilian government agencies.

Ball Aerospace established its Huntsville office to create a permanent presence in the business community, as it pursues a contract to provide integration and production support to NASA for the Ares I Instrument Unit.

The Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle will launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the system currently being designed to replace the space shuttle after its retirement in 2010.

Ares I, and the follow-on Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle, are key elements of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration that include returning humans to the moon. Ball Aerospace is well-positioned to support NASA by offering crucial capabilities and technologies that enable human exploration and scientific discovery.

"In his new position as vice president for Exploration Systems, Bill Townsend leverages more than 35 years of experience in program management and large aerospace systems to meet the requirements of our NASA customer," said David L. Taylor, president and chief executive officer of Ball Aerospace. "The pursuit of the Ares Instrument Unit is critical to continuing our expanding role in exploration."

Ball Aerospace offers decades of successful mission integration and large-scale subcontract management experience. This experience complements NASA's strategy for implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration program.

Ball Aerospace, which was the lead mission integrator for the highly successful Deep Impact mission, is also the lead mission integrator for a second Discovery mission, Kepler, and is leading the development of the James Webb Space Telescope optical subsystem.

Further, following installation of two new instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope during the 2008 servicing mission, Ball Aerospace will have built all of the operating Hubble instruments. The company also provides star trackers, cryogenic storage tanks, and keel latches for the space shuttle.

Before joining Ball, Townsend spent 40 years at NASA, most recently as the Deputy Center Director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Townsend holds a BSEE from Virginia Tech. His roster of honors and awards includes two Presidential Rank, Meritorious Executive awards; two NASA Distinguished Service Medals; the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal; the NASA Exceptional Service Medal; the French Space Agency Bronze Medal; and the NASA GSFC's Robert C. Baumann Memorial Award for Mission Success.

Cary Ludtke, Ball Aerospace's vice president and general manager for Operational Space, has assumed leadership of both the Operational Space and Civil Space business units. Ludtke joined Ball Aerospace in 1986. Under his leadership the Operational Space unit demonstrated outstanding performance on cost-reimbursable contracts, as well as on the fixed-price programs that are the hallmark of Ball's commercial remote-sensing business.

Ball Aerospace 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. Over the past 50 years, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific "firsts" and now acts as a technology innovator for the aerospace market.

Related Links
Ball Aerospace and Technologies
Space Industry Appointments
Space Industry Jobs, Careers and Appointments



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


NASA Nobel Prize Recipient To Lead Chief Scientist Office
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 05, 2007
NASA's new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Alan Stern has appointed NASA scientist and 2006 Nobel Prize recipient John Mather to lead the Office of the Chief Scientist at Headquarters in Washington. Mather and his staff in the newly created office will be chief advisors to Stern.







  • ATK Highlights Progress On Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle
  • Anomalous Behaviour Affects Firing Test Of Vega Zefiro 9 Motor
  • Iowa State To Unveil The Most Realistic Virtual Reality Room In The World
  • Boeing Announces Industry Team For Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Production

  • ILS Proton Successfully Launches Anik F3 Satellite
  • Arianespace To Launch Australian Satellite Optus D3
  • Arianespace To Launch Two Intelsat Payloads
  • Progress On The Sea Launch Investigation And Recovery

  • Shuttle Assessments And Repair Work Ongoing
  • NASA Assigns Crew For Shuttle Mission To Install Japanese Lab
  • Shuttle Atlantis Grounded by Fuel Tank Damage
  • Marshall Communications And AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES Extend NASA Contract

  • NASA Extends Contract With Russian Federal Space Agency
  • The Race From Space
  • Expedition 15 Crew To Launch From Baikonur
  • Crew Moves Soyuz To Prep For New Arrivals

  • Latest Space Tourist Docks At Space Station For Week Long Holiday
  • The Facts On US Commercial Human Space Flight
  • Fifth Space Tourist Soars Toward Space Station Holiday In Space
  • Gordon, Miller, Nelson Move Toward Hearings On NASA IG Investigation

  • China To Pursue Space Instead Of Socialism
  • China Outlines Space Program Till 2010
  • China To Launch New Direct Broadcast Satellite To Replace SinoSat-2
  • Russian Court Upholds Custody For Space Firm Chief Reshetin

  • Flexible Electronics Could Find Applications As Sensors And Artificial Muscles
  • Machine Shop Keeps Robots Rolling
  • Students Rack Up Wins At Local Robotics Competition
  • Talking Bots

  • Spirit Begins To Look For Best Access To Home Plate
  • Looking For An In
  • Global Warming Hits Mars Too
  • MARSIS Radar Estimates The Volume Of Water In The South Pole Of Mars

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement