Luna Innovations’ (NASDAQ:LUNA) multi-year program with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) passed a major development milestone last week with the announcement from MDA Director Lieutenant General Henry “Trey” Obering of the successful technology-demonstration flight test from the NASA Wallops Flights Facility, Virginia. This exercise, identified as the Next Generation Sensor Producibility flight test (NGSP-01), occurred on June 26, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and successfully demonstrated the performance of emerging sensor technologies, materials, and designs that offer improvements for next-generation missile defense interceptors, or “kill vehicles”.
Kill vehicles are designed to intercept incoming ballistic missile warheads outside the earth’s atmosphere and destroy them by means of high speed collision. Luna provided low cost sensor and data communications electronics for use in this test of multiple elements of next-generation kill vehicles for ballistic missile defense. Currently, kill vehicles are expensive to design and manufacture due to the many customized components required for a particular mission to accommodate different sensors and non-standard subsystem interfaces. Luna’s sensor electronics and data communications could substantially reduce integration and development costs.
During the exercise, a Black Brant XI sounding rocket carried a payload consisting of multiple optical and infrared sensors, along with various objects. Upon reaching the desired altitude in the exo-atmosphere, the objects were ejected to present a viewing scene for the sensors under test.
Data collected during NGSP-01 will undergo thorough analysis and be evaluated for use in the development of future missile defense interceptor kill vehicles. The NGSP-01 experiment was not a weapon system exercise.
About Luna Innovations:
Luna Innovations Incorporated (www.lunainnovations.com) develops and manufactures new-generation products for the healthcare, telecommunications, energy and defense markets. Our products are used to measure, monitor, protect and improve critical processes in the markets we serve. Through its disciplined commercialization business model, Luna has become a recognized leader in transitioning science to solutions. Luna is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia.
Forward Looking Statements:
This release includes information that constitutes “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding, but not limited to: Luna’s designs’ abilities to offer improvements for next-generation missile defense interceptors, Luna’s electronics’ and data communications’ ability to substantially reduce integration and development costs, and Luna’s role in the development of future missile defense interceptor kill vehicles. Statements that describe the Company’s business strategy, goals, prospects, opportunities, outlook, plans or intentions are also forward looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including risks and uncertainties set forth in the company’s periodic reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such filings are available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and at the company’s website at http://www.lunainnovations.com. The statements made in this release are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release and Luna Innovations undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
Contacts:
Media Contact:
Karin Clark,
1-540-769-8400
Email: kclark@lunainnovations.com
or
Investor
Contact:
Qorvis Communications
Sally Beerbower, 1-703-744-7800
Email:
ir@lunainnovations.com
