L3Harris provides the radio for NASA’s Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) program for the ISS. C2V2 is a program designed to provide standardized communications between the ISS and docking vehicles. The system is secure and provides reliable communications with commercial crew and other visiting vehicles. It is available for all phases of rendezvous, docking and mated operations.
In 2018, the OA-9, S.S. J.R. Thompson arrived at the ISS and became the first craft to use the C2V2 L3Harris radio. Our radio was designed to unify all communications from visiting spacecraft to the U.S. segment of the space station into a single system.
Having a space station is critical to scientific, educational and technologic developments that have benefited humans by enabling cutting-edge research that cannot be done on earth. Axiom is developing a new low-Earth orbit space station to continue this type of research.
Based on our performance on the C2V2 program, Axiom has chosen L3Harris to provide an S-band radio that is critical to docking vehicles. Docking a vehicle at the ISS has become routine, but it is still a potentially dangerous procedure. It relies on a clear and reliable radio for communications between the station and the vehicle. As commercial stations develop, docking will be a procedure that will require flawless communications.
Our most robust and flexible S-band product is a multimode transponder that provides full-duplex communications with a variety of NASA networks and protocols. Our S-band radio will be on the Axiom station with flexible hardware and firmware solutions adaptable to a variety of missions and applications. It is ideally suited to the harsh realities of space communications.
“The next step in the evolution of the space economy is a commercial space station,” said Kristin Houston, President, Electro Optical, L3Harris. “Our tremendous record of flawless communication transmissions in the harshest environments is a testament to our dedication to our customers and their mission.”
A robust, commercial economy in low-Earth orbit is on the horizon creating destination capabilities suitable for government and private sector needs. The growth in the space economy will rely on L3Harris’ clear and reliable communication technology.
When it comes to navigating the new space era, L3Harris anticipates customers’ demands and delivers innovative solutions – quickly and flawlessly. Numerous NASA programs have relied on L3Harris’ expertise and technology – from early spacecraft through the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, International Space Station and previous Mars missions. L3Harris has supported deep space exploration with work on the Hubble Space Telescope, and now the James Webb and Nancy Grace Roman space telescopes. In addition, the company supports space-based weather forecasting on U.S. and international satellites and has navigation technology on every U.S. GPS satellite.
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