The effort will bring space system designs within NASA's safety and performance expectations for future flights to the International Space Station.

ENGADGET: NASA awards Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada $30 million in contracts

Safety is essential to any transportation system whether on land, sea or air, and space shuttles are a vivid example of that axiom.

FORBES: He Brought Safety To The Skies

By moving everyone to the more efficient digital system, the government hopes to free up additional bandwidth space for public safety awareness programs and advanced wireless use.

FORBES: The Switch To Digital