The Harris Corporation has been selected for a potential seven-year, $58 million contract to provide the RF communications/navigation system for the next-generation space suit supporting NASA's Constellation program. Harris is a member of the Oceaneering International, Inc. team.

The primary 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 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.

The new modular space-suit system will include two configurations for individual crew members during Orion missions — one for low Earth orbit, and a second for lunar surface extravehicular activity. It is the first new U.S. space suit to be developed since the ones originally designed for the Space Shuttle program. NASA awarded the contract to the Oceaneering International team last week to design, build, and integrate the new space suit system.

Harris has supported major NASA programs since the 1960s, including the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. As NASA began Project Constellation, which includes a new generation of spacecraft and other space platforms, Harris launched a strategic growth initiative to pursue new opportunities with NASA.

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