Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) has been selected for a potential seven-year, $58 million contract to provide the RF communications/navigation system for the nexgen space suit that will support NASA’s Constellation program. Harris is a member of the Oceaneering International, Inc. team, the contract’s prime. The main goals of NASA‘s Constellation Program are to maintain an American presence in low Earth orbit, to return to the moon for purposes of establishing an outpost, and to lay a foundation to explore Mars and beyond in the first half of the 21st century. Under the new Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS) contract, Harris will supply a radiation-hardened, software-defined radio (SDR); a voice-only contingency radio; and low profile antennas. The SDR provides the flexibility and adaptability required to accommodate evolving voice and data networking requirements of future lunar missions with the goal of future-proofing the space suit’s communications system. The new modular space-suit system will include two configurations for individual crewmembers during Orion missions: one for low Earth orbit, and a second for lunar surface extravehicular activity. This will be the first new U.S. space suit to be developed since those designed for the Space Shuttle program. NASA awarded the contract to the Oceaneering International team last week to design, build, test, certify, produce, process, and integrate the new space suit system—Melbourne, Florida
Harris To Suit Up For Constellation Communications
Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) has been selected for a potential seven-year, $58 million contract to provide the RF communications/navigation system for the nexgen space suit that will support NASA’s Constellation program. Harris is a member of the Oceaneering International, Inc. team, the contract’s prime. The main goals of NASA‘s Constellation Program are to maintain an American presence in low Earth orbit, to return to the moon for purposes of establishing an outpost, and to lay a foundation to explore Mars and beyond in the first half of the 21st century. Under the new Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS) contract, Harris will supply a radiation-hardened, software-defined radio (SDR); a voice-only contingency radio; and low profile antennas. The SDR provides the flexibility and adaptability required to accommodate evolving voice and data networking requirements of future lunar missions with the goal of future-proofing the space suit’s communications system. The new modular space-suit system will include two configurations for individual crewmembers during Orion missions: one for low Earth orbit, and a second for lunar surface extravehicular activity. This will be the first new U.S. space suit to be developed since those designed for the Space Shuttle program. NASA awarded the contract to the Oceaneering International team last week to design, build, test, certify, produce, process, and integrate the new space suit system—Melbourne, Florida
