Ball Aerospace selected to build key component for NASA balloon mission

BOULDER — Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is designing and building a cryostat for NASA.

The device will be used for the Galactic/ Extragalactic Ultralong Duration Balloon Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory mission, or GUSTO — essentially, a large balloon with equipment that will be sent into space for an extended period of time.

The mission’s goal is to study remotely dust and material from exploding stars, which form into interstellar clouds until those clouds collapse into new stars, said Bill Purcell, program manager for advanced systems at Boulder-based Ball Aerospace. Observing the material will help to understanding…