Corning Supplies Custom Optical Components to NASA

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Corning Supplies Custom Optical Components to NASA

Corning Supplies Custom Optical Components to NASA

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Advanced Optics
Corning Supplies Custom Optical Components to NASA
Corning Supplies Custom Optical Components to NASA
CORNING, N.Y. | Corning Incorporated | June 19, 2014

Components to be used in asteroid mission 

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) announced today the delivery of custom optical components to NASA for use in its OSIRIS-REx mission, the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will visit a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu, launching in 2016 and reaching the asteroid in 2018. After a detailed study, the spacecraft will obtain a sample and return to Earth in 2023.

Corning manufactured two high-precision mirrors to collect and image light reflected by the asteroid, as part of the spacecraft's OVIRS instrument. This tool will help researchers identify areas on the asteroid that may contain water or organic materials, such as certain amino acids, which are the building blocks of life.

Corning was specifically chosen by NASA for its ability to produce low-scatter, high-accuracy, bare aluminum optics and to test them at cryogenic temperatures (approximately 120 Kelvin or minus 244 degrees Fahrenheit) – representative of temperatures the optical components will encounter in space.

The custom optical components were made in Corning’s Keene, N.H., manufacturing plant, part of Corning Specialty Materials.

“As a company founded on science and discovery, we are delighted to support this important research. Corning has a rich history with NASA, dating back more than 50 years to America's first mission to space,” said Curt Weinstein, vice president and general manager, Advanced Optics, Corning Specialty Materials.

Corning has produced mirrors for the Hubble, Gemini, and Subaru telescopes along with providing window glass for all of NASA's manned spacecraft missions and the International Space Station. Additionally, Corning’s custom opto-mechanical systems have been used in the James Webb Space Telescope, the New Horizons Mission, and in solar coronagraphs.

The OSIRIS-REx mission is a partnership among the University of Arizona, NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center, and industry partners.

“Asteroid Bennu is a primitive asteroid, relatively unchanged since the solar system formed over 4.5 billion years ago,” said Dante Lauretta, University of Arizona scientist and principal investigator for the mission. “OVIRS will search for organics and water, and in doing so will help us select a sample with the highest science value. We are delighted to have been able to call on Corning for their expertise and support in helping us build this tremendous instrument.”

For more information on Corning Specialty Materials, please visit www.corning.com/specialtymaterials.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which are based on current expectations and assumptions about Corning’s financial results and business operations, that involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include: the effect of global political, economic and business conditions; conditions in the financial and credit markets; currency fluctuations; tax rates; product demand and industry capacity; competition; reliance on a concentrated customer base; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability of critical components and materials; new product commercialization; pricing fluctuations and changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; new plant start-up or restructuring costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political or financial instability, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions, or major health concerns; adequacy of insurance; equity company activities; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; retention of key personnel; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory developments. These and other risk factors are detailed in Corning’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science. For more than 160 years, Corning has applied its unparalleled expertise in specialty glass, ceramics, and optical physics to develop products that have created new industries and transformed people’s lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in R&D, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and close collaboration with customers to solve tough technology challenges. Corning’s businesses and markets are constantly evolving. Today, Corning’s products enable diverse industries such as consumer electronics, telecommunications, transportation, and life sciences. They include damage-resistant cover glass for smartphones and tablets; precision glass for advanced displays; optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions for high-speed communications networks; trusted products that accelerate drug discovery and manufacturing; and emissions-control products for cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles.