Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has named William F. Townsend as vice president and general manager of civil space systems. Townsend will guide the corporation's NASA and NOAA programs to successful delivery. Ball Aerospace currently has many missions in various stages of completion including Deep Impact, Cloudsat, CALIPSO, HiRISE, Kepler and the optical subsystem for the James Webb Space Telescope.

"We are thrilled that Bill Townsend has chosen Ball Aerospace for the next chapter in his notable career," said David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. "His proven track record at successfully executing complex programs strengthens our ability to deliver outstanding space systems to our customers. He will work to ensure that the spacecraft and instruments we deliver to NASA and NOAA meet mission cost, schedule and quality requirements," Taylor added.

Prior to joining Ball Aerospace, Townsend had a distinguished 40-year career with NASA, most recently at Goddard Space Flight Center. At Goddard, he shared responsibility for executive leadership and management of the Center and all its programs as Deputy Director. Prior to that position, Townsend served as Deputy Associate Administrator (Programs) for the NASA's Office of Earth Science, where he directed earth science flight programs. He was also acting Associate Administrator for the Earth Science Enterprise. He was responsible for numerous successful programs during his NASA career, including the SeaSat Radar Altimeter and TOPEX/Poseidon missions. In total, Townsend has been associated with 59 missions.

Townsend's accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the French Space Agency's Bronze Medal. Townsend holds an electrical engineering degree with honors from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Ball Aerospace conducts domestic and international business in the defense, civil and commercial space arenas, providing best value and innovative solutions. The company supports national policy-makers, the military services, NASA and other U.S. Government agencies, as well as numerous aerospace industry companies.

Ball Corporation is a leading supplier of high-quality packaging products and innovative packaging solutions to the beverage and food industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial markets. Ball employs approximately 12,600 people worldwide and reported 2003 sales of $4.9 billion.

The information in this news release contains "forward-looking" statements and other statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in Exhibit 99.2 in the most recent Form 10-K. These filings are available at the company's website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect the packaging segments of the company include fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; competitive packaging material availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; fruit, vegetable and fishing yields; industry productive capacity and competitive activity; lack of productivity improvement or production cost reductions; the German mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; availability and cost of raw materials, such as resin, steel and aluminum, and the ability to pass on to customers changes in these costs; changes in major customer contracts or the loss of a major customer; international business risks, such as foreign exchange rates and tax rates; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors that might affect the aerospace segment include: funding, authorization and availability of government contracts and the nature and continuation of those contracts; and technical uncertainty associated with segment contracts. Factors that could affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: successful and unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures and associated integration activities; regulatory action or laws including environmental and workplace safety; goodwill impairment; antitrust and other litigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in various employee benefits and labor costs; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; reduced cash flow; and interest rates affecting our debt.

SOURCE: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.