Harris Corporation Supports Successful Insertion of NASA’s Juno Spacecraft into Jupiter’s Orbit

WASHINGTON July 5, 2016

Highlights

• Deep Space Network provides NASA with critical communications link
• Harris manages network’s global antennas, operations centers, and maintenance facilities
• Harris also supports NASA’s connectivity with launch and near-Earth orbiting spacecraft

A team of Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) employees supported NASA with critical communications and monitoring connectivity with the Juno spacecraft as it was successfully inserted into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016.  Juno will conduct a study of Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere.  It will also search for clues about how the planet formed, including whether it has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere, how its mass is distributed, and the behavior of its surface winds, which can reach speeds of 384 miles per hour. 

More than 100 Harris employees provided operations, maintenance and engineering services for the Deep Space Network (DSN) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and NASA.  DSN provides connectivity with the spacecraft and the instruments that collect the scientific data it gathers.  DSN’s international communications complexes support interplanetary, robotic spacecraft missions as they conduct radio, radar and astronomy observations of the solar system and beyond.  In addition to Juno, DSN-supported missions include those of Voyager 1 and 2, the Mars Exploration Rover Project, Curiosity and the Cassini Saturn mission.

Harris operates and maintains seven large antennas for the DSN, as well as multiple network and communications systems, several network operations centers, and facilities for testing, logistics, and maintenance and repair.  The company also provides maintenance, operations and engineering support for JPL’s Goldstone, California, complex.

“Harris and the DSN have been preparing for Jupiter Orbit Insertion for well over a year to ensure the success of this mission,” said Carl D’Alessandro, president, Harris Critical Networks.  “Harris has supported most major U.S. space programs since the 1960s.  Today, we continue to supply the next-generation technologies and services that are helping NASA better understand our planet, our solar system and what lies beyond.”

In addition to supporting deep-space missions, Harris provides NASA with near-Earth spacecraft connectivity through the Space Communications Network Service (SCNS).  SCNS provides most of the communications and tracking services for Earth-orbiting spacecraft, such as the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and Earth Observing System satellites. 

About Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving our customers’ toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect.  Harris supports customers in more than 125 countries, has approximately $8 billion in annual revenue and 22,000 employees worldwide.  The company is organized into four business segments: Communication Systems, Space and Intelligence Systems, Electronic Systems, and Critical Networks.  Learn more at harris.com.

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