The Ares rocket will carry NASA's next manned spacecraft, Orion, which is expected to begin flights to the International Space Station in 2014.

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Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems will vie for a piece of NASA's next-generation manned space program.

Former space-shuttle astronaut and local Raytheon executive Don McMonagle is leading the charge for the company to compete for a contract to design and build the electronic guidance systems for the upper stage of NASA's planned new Ares I rocket.

The Ares rocket will carry NASA's next manned spacecraft, Orion, which is expected to begin manned flights to the International Space Station in 2014 and return astronauts to the moon by 2020.

The project is part of the multibillion-dollar Constellation Project to send humans back to the moon, to Mars and beyond.

Though various Raytheon divisions perform space work for the Defense Department, the Orion project would represent Raytheon Missile Systems' first time working as a prime contractor in manned space, said spokesman Everett Tackett. The company is the largest employer in Southern Arizona.

"This is going to be very important to Raytheon, and we're excited about helping NASA," said Mike Booen, vice president of advanced missile defense and directed-energy weapons at Raytheon Missile Systems.

Booen said NASA is expected to distribute an official request for proposal for the "Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics" by June or July and pick a contractor in November.

The potential value of the contract won't be clear until the project is put out for bids, Booen said. The prime contract for the Orion crew module, awarded last August to Lockheed Martin Corp., is estimated to be worth $3.9 billion through mid-2013.

There will be competition for the contract, but "I certainly wouldn't rule them out," said Jeff Foust, senior space industry analyst with Futron Corp. in Bethesda, Md. "There's going to be room for a large number of companies to take part in the overall system."

Raytheon will need to demonstrate its value in technical capabilities and price competitiveness to win, he said.

Booen said Raytheon has the expertise to tackle the project, citing the company's missile-defense work in space that includes guided "kill vehicles" designed to smash into enemy missiles above the Earth's atmosphere.

Raytheon built a prototype of the ring-shaped avionics unit — about 8 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter — in just 13 days at its secretive "Bike Shop" advanced technology-lab in Tucson, he said.

"Typically, that's been our expertise — putting complicated avionics in very small packages," Booen said.

"We think this is right in our wheelhouse."

Raytheon tried to break into NASA's future space program in 2005, when it proposed the Lunar Penguin, a proposed unmanned lunar lander that would hop around the moon by firing small rocket motors. But the company didn't win that contract. Raytheon is committed to breaking into space exploration, Booen said.

"We've made a key corporate commitment to this program," he said. "Raytheon has made it a priority to really get into the space and NASA business more than we are right now."

McMonagle, who is vice president of quality and mission effectiveness at Raytheon Missile Systems, was a test pilot in the U.S. Air Force and a crew member on three space-shuttle missions. He commanded NASA's 66th space-shuttle flight, aboard the shuttle Atlantis in 1994.

To develop its Ares proposal, Raytheon is working in Huntsville, Ala., where the company has a field office near the Marshall Space Flight Center. If the company wins the contract, work would be done in Huntsville and Tucson.

Ares is in the early stages, with a demonstration launch planned for 2009. The final product won't be ready until early in the next decade. It's also dependent on Orion's schedule, Foust said.

If Raytheon wins the contract, it would be part of a growing space industry in Tucson.

In Tucson, Paragon Space Development Corp., 3481 E. Michigan St., also is an Orion supplier. The company is a subcontractor for Lockheed on the radiators, ducting, plumbing, thermal analysis and systems engineering for the spacecraft, said Grant Anderson, a company founder and vice president of engineering.

And the University of Arizona is leading part of the Phoenix Mars Scout Mission and is involved in the development of some of the instruments on board.