BOULDER, Colo., April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and the Aerospace Corporation will co-host the 2013 Mission Assurance Improvement Workshop (MAIW), April 30-May 1 in Boulder to explore and document best practices and craft a common approach to mission assurance for the U.S. space program.

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The workshop at Ball Aerospace is the culmination of nine months of effort by government, academic and industry subject matter experts to address high priority, common challenges faced by the U.S. space community as it strives to address the challenges to mission success. To achieve that goal, the workshop is designed to enhance the collaboration among U.S. space professionals in the community.

"Ball's proactive approach to mission assurance makes us a trusted partner in risk-based decision making," said Sherri Fike, Ball's vice president of Mission Assurance. As an example Fike cited the company's mission assurance best practice of utilizing an automated corrective action and tracking system.

Keynote speakers at the workshop include Dr. Walter Scott, founder and chief technical officer and executive vice president of DigitalGlobe, and Russ Romanella, director of safety and mission assurance for NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

In addition to Ball Aerospace and the Aerospace Corporation, those attending the invitation-only conference include: AEI Systems, Aeroflex, the Applied Physics Laboratory, BAE Systems, Boeing, General Dynamics, Harris, International Rectifier, Kratos, Loral Space Systems, Lockheed Martin, M.S. Kennedy, the Missile Defense Agency, Micropac Industries, MIT Lincoln Labs, NASA, Northrop Grumman, the National Reconnaissance Office, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Raytheon, and the U.S. Air Force.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for 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. For more information visit http://www.ballaerospace.com.

Ball Corporation (BLL) is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food, and household products, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ approximately 15,000 people worldwide and reported 2012 sales of more than $8.7 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.

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Ball Aerospace Hosts Mission Assurance Improvement Workshop