The Importance of Subcontracting

We often get asked the question, “How do I do business with NASA?” One avenue that I always stress, that is often overlooked, is subcontracting opportunities. Last year, or the first time since I’ve been at NASA, subcontracting awards accounted for more dollars to small businesses than prime awards. In fiscal year (FY) 2017, NASA awarded $5.5 billion to small businesses. Subcontracting awards accounted for 51% of those awards.

Subcontracting provides you a path to get your foot in the door with NASA by establishing past performance and a relationship with NASA stakeholders. You’re able to learn the ins and out of the agency while handling smaller, more manageable scopes of work. This is especially important for new businesses that are just starting out.

This is where business development becomes a key factor in your small business. You must build relationships with prime contractors and demonstrate how you will help them achieve their goals faster, more efficient or with better quality. Prime contractors attend many government small business outreach events and should not be overlooked when you are attending. You may be able to find information for small business liaison officers (SBLO) on many company websites, as well.

The opportunities are out there. Over 800 small businesses worked on each the Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) programs. Our large primes can’t do this work alone and are actively searching for companies like yours to help achieve the NASA mission.

NASA OSBP FY2018 Update

The NASA Office of Small Business Programs has had a busy and productive year so far. At the NASA Industry Forum in March, we announced our Agency-level Small Business Industry Award winners and presented them with their awards in front of their peers and the NASA small business team. I extend my congratulations and thanks to our winners:

Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Omitron, Inc.

Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Metis Technology Solutoins, Inc.

Large Business Prime of the Year: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year: URS Federal Services, Inc. (Mentor) & Seabrook Solutions LLC. (Protégé)

More information about the awards and these winners can be found at https://osbp.nasa.gov/award-industry-winners.html.

Last week, we held the HBCU/MI Technology Infusion Road Tour at Clark Atlanta. I’ve spoken to these Road Tours before, but I am continuously impressed with the relationships from these events that produce actual results. Our office’s time at Clark Atlanta was no different. Thank you to those who made this event possible and we’re looking forward to continuing the Road Tour in August at University of Hawaii at Mānoa. If you or your school are interested in hosting a Road Tour, please feel free to reach out to us at smallbusiness@nasa.gov.

Finally, we’ve kicked off our Small Business Learning Series – webinars aimed at the small business community that contain invaluable information. We’ve collected a great group of speakers to help answer some of the frequently asked questions from the industry and are providing a unique opportunity to ask questions directly to subject matter experts. Our upcoming trainings can be found at https://osbp.nasa.gov/knowledge-portal.html.

We look forward to a continued strong year as we head into spring and I look forward to working with you soon.

Happy Holidays from the NASA Office of Small Business Programs

I and everyone here at the NASA Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) would like to wish you and your family a very happy holiday season. We hope that this holiday brings you happiness, health and peace.

I would like to extend a special thank you to the center's small business specialists and the OSBP team for their hard work this year. As the year winds down, I like to reflect on years past. We moved forward with a  number of initiatives, including regional outreach events and the NASA HBCU/MI Technology Infusion Road Tour that proved to be great successes. I wish each of you and your families a happy holiday!

In the coming year, we will face new challenges; however, with the team we have assembled, who I often call the best small business team in the government, I know we will face them head on and thrive in 2018. We will continue to find new and exciting ways to reach our small business partners who have always had a hand in making sure NASA meets its mission.

I am looking forward to the next year and finding new ways to introduce small businesses into NASA's various missions.

National Entrepreneurship Month

As I discussed yesterday, the President declared November National Entrepreneurship Month. Today we are featuring Linc Research, Inc., a HUBZone company that is currently doing great work with NASA!

Linc Research, Inc.

What is your company doing to support the surrounding HUBZone community?

To be a successful and sustainable HUBZone (HZ) business you really must be about the "HUBZone" just as much as the "Business".

Regarding the “Business” piece, Linc with two other HUBZone companies started an initiative called Workforce NOW. The Workforce NOW mission is about giving hope, vision and tools to our HZ communities to focus on a career and to improve their lives. We believe the pathway out of these HZ communities is enabled with a good career. We target our local HZ community through venues such as Government project housing, non-profits and churches. We also partner with organizations such as NASA, Large Primes, Veterans Affairs, Public Library and Still Serving Veterans. In addition, we recently helped to stand up a new organization called the HUBZone Accelerator (HZA). The HZA is concerned with the business mission of HZ companies such as small business training; a database for Primes and Federal procurement officials; and a RFI/Sources Sought Center to make it easier for multiple HZs to respond. One of the HZA main missions is to emphasize the technical and engineering capabilities of HZ companies. Also, in the name of advocacy, we are collecting the great community stories to show the impact of HZ companies working and locating in the community.

Regarding the “HUBZone” piece, Linc started a 5^th Grade Space Art contest for local Title I schools. The students create art to show how they view people traveling or living in space. In addition, we are working with a local non-profit to stand up a program called Safe Solutions, one of the objectives is to replace predatory loans with a bank based payment system and very low interest rates along with financial education.

What benefits or challenges have you seen in hiring from a HUBZone area?

Benefits

·       We are advocating, operating and living as a HZ company because we believe the HZ Program is the best government program to increase career opportunities for people now and increase career paths for their children. The interest in our work helps us to create our HZ talent pipeline. This approach in itself does not yield contract work, but it is one answer to the question of “How are you going to keep your HZ certification?”

·       The SBA HZ program is set up so that small businesses do the work of creating interest in careers outside of what is normally seen in these neighborhoods.

·       This population is largely untapped and the people who live here have great potential for contributing to our nation. A few dollars in the HZ is worth more than a few dollars most anywhere else.

·       As stated before, our approach to the community enables us to create a pipeline of HZ talent pipeline. A HZ business must have as a minimum 35% of their employees living in a HZ area. One such approach is a partnership with a local HBCU to provide Linc HZ interns on a rotating basis. It gives valuable hard and soft skills to interns in their senior year.

Challenges

·       Even though we have personally worked in inner city programs you can’t really understand what under-resourced means until you daily operate there. Linc does see first hand what that means for our employees; e.g., just because someone gets a good job doesn’t mean they have transportation to work or have childcare from 8 to 5.

·       The social network in the HZ is not interlaced very well so getting the message out (e.g.; Workforce NOW or career openings) to people that are not at a University or are not in the mainstream of the community is a challenge.

·       You know from day one that your overhead costs are automatically higher than other non-HZ companies.

·       HZ approved areas are not currently stabilized due to changing demographics; therefore, you run a great financial and certification risk that residences and main office buildings may at any time fall out of certification due to a redesignation of the HZ approved area. Legislation is in work and has been approved by Congress to stabilize HZ tract designations for five years.

What are the challenges you face in keeping your HUBZone certification?

·       People can move at any time out of the HZ designated tracts. Examples of this are (1) an employee decides to move back home with family and the move is this coming weekend and (2) an employee improves their financial condition due to successful work at Linc and can now move out of the HZ to a house in the county.

·       Being involved and present where your employees live.

·       Remembering to not continually reinvent the wheel. Our model from day one was to work with successful organizations already in place and serving the HZ community.

How do you track employee residences in order to comply with the HUBZone certification?

·       Initial and annual review of residences and other HZ records like driver’s licenses, rental agreements and utility bills. We already have relationships with many of our employees before we hire them, but some others not so much. We have had an example where a residence doesn’t appear on the SBA HUBZone map due to the road not being shown. We must go to something like Google Maps and document where the address is in the HZ area. The Linc President has personally driven to unfamiliar addresses in the past.

·       Monthly audit of HUBZone employees of hours worked and a forecast of whether they are changing residences.

·       A written communication from the Linc President to ask that HZ employees give Linc as much notice as possible if they are planning a move.

National Entrepreneurship Month

Earlier this month, the President declared November National Entrepreneurship Month. At NASA, our small business entrepreneurs are the backbone to the Agency’s mission. We took the time to speak to two of our Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) partners to find out how they are supporting their community and paving the way for new entrepreneurs while doing important work, creating jobs and driving America forward. The first company, Summit Technologies & Solutions, Inc. is featured below. Stay tuned for part two later this week.

Summit Technologies & Solutions, Inc.

What is your company doing to support the surrounding HUBZone community?

We support the HUBZone communities in which our employees reside in several ways.  Wherever possible, we patronize the various businesses located within the HUBZones in which we operate.  We support the HUBZone Council and other organizations that advocate for both the HUBZone program and the communities which we serve.  Most importantly, Summit subsidizes, encourages, and supports employees who donate money to and volunteer for charities.

What benefits or challenges have you seen in hiring from a HUBZone area?

The benefits we have seen include the diversity and enthusiasm brought to the work place by our HUBZone employees.  In addition, the appreciation of our HUBZone employees shines through as many of them could not make ends meet without the additional income they earn from working for Summit.  Being a part of improving the lives of those most in need provides a sense of pride and satisfaction that is hard to quantify in words. The challenges we have seen include finding people who could most use the benefits the HUBZone program provides, supporting training and employment efforts, and encouraging employees to live, work, and help these HUBZone areas improve economically. 

What are the challenges you face in keeping your HUBZone certification?

Because of our involvement in the HUBZone communities we are a part of, we do not run into the typical challenges that other companies might experience.  We have a large database of HUBZone employees and our current HUBZone employees are our best marketing and recruiting tool for other qualified HUBZone employees through their efforts.  One challenge that is always present is remaining cost competitive while still keeping the 35% HUBZone requirement. 

How do you track employee residences in order to comply with the HUBZone certification?
Summit has strict policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with the HUBZone certification requirements at all times.  These policies include regular review of the current HUBZone maps, continual verification of employee status, and close monitoring of changes to the regulations governing HUBZone companies.

FY16 Small Business Administrator's Cup Award

Earlier this week, Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot and I traveled to Stennis Space Center, (SSC) located near Bay Saint Louis Mississippi to present the FY16 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup Award. This award has been presented to the NASA center that has the best overall agency small business program yearly since 2008. SSC also received this prestige award previously in 2011.

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot (l) and Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs Glenn Delgado (r) present the 2016 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup for small business excellence to Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech during a site visit May 17. Credits: NASA/SSC

In FY2016, Stennis’s team strongly supported the agency’s effort to promote and better integrate all small businesses into the competitive base of NASA contractors, leading to its most successful overall year on record with regard to the percentage of small business awards. Stennis increased in all small business subcategories and went from meeting two small business goals in FY15 to all five in FY16, making it one of only two NASA centers to meet all federally mandated small business goals.

I’d like to recognize Mr. Robert Watts, who, while acting as the Stennis small business specialist, earned the FY16 Small Business Specialist of the Year Award. SSC is only the second center to have both the reigning Small Business Specialist of the Year as well as the Small Business Administrator’s Cup. This is in no small part due to the efforts of SSC Center Director Dr. Richard J. Gilbrech, Procurement Officer Mr. Robert Harris, and all the technical and acquisition personnel at SSC.  

Participants in the presentation of the 2016 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup on May 17 included Stennis Office of Procurement Director Rob Harris (l) and former Stennis Small Business Specialist Robert Watts. Watts received the NASA Small Business Specialist of the Year award earlier this spring for his work at Stennis. He recently accepted a position at Johnson Space Center. Credits: NASA/SSC

Congratulations to all those at the Stennis Space Center who contributed to this well-deserved honor and for the outstanding achievements they accomplished during FY-16.   

NASA Celebrates National Small Business Week

NASA is excited to celebrate National Small Business Week April 30-May 6, 2017. This event recognizes the contributions that small business owners across the country make daily. At NASA, we are marking the event in a big way. It’s no surprise that we here in the Office of Small Business Programs fully support our small business partners and work hard to ensure the small businesses in our industrial base are competitive. Please take a moment to view Acting Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot’s video supporting National Small Business Week:

More information about our remarkable Small Business Advocate and Small Business Industry winners can be found at https://osbp.nasa.gov/award.html.

To amplify Mr. Lightfoot’s message, the NASA Office of Small Business Programs, in collaboration with the Technology Transfer Program and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, will be featuring the immeasurable impact small businesses have at NASA in a display in the West Lobby of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC throughout the month of May.

If you’re in the area, I hope you will stop by and take a look at let us know what you think via our Twitter @NASA_OSBP or Facebook @NASASmallBusiness accounts.

I hope you will take time this week to join us in supporting your local small businesses!

Happy New Year from NASA OSBP

This year will bring unique challenges to the NASA Office of Small Business Programs, including the ongoing administration transition. While we are prepared to carry on serving the NASA small business community and the incoming leadership, I’d like to take a moment to thank former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Since 2009, his recognition of the contributions that small businesses make to NASA has allowed us to grow our small business base and achieve critical mission successes. Both the agency and I will miss his steadfast leadership and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.

We are ready to face the challenges of 2017 head on. It currently appears that NASA surpassed our negotiated FY16 Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) goal; however, we will fall short of achieving the statutory goals for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran–Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and overall Small Business goal. 

In an effort to achieve these goals in the future, NASA developed a Small Business Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on the following initiatives:

1. Advocacy:  Promote small business programs through advocacy and collaborative efforts with internal and external partners/stakeholders.

2. Outreach:  Promote small business awareness and participation, utilizing innovative techniques at non-traditional venues in geographically targeted areas, to enhance all categories of small business.

3. Small Business Sub-Category Improvement:  Improve Agency performance in small business subcategories by identifying, increasing, and promoting small business prime contracting opportunities.

In addition to the above initiatives, we will continue to discover innovative ways of reaching our small business base. A prime example is our ongoing HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour with the NASA Office of Education and the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Road Show is designed to assist educational institutions integrate new technology that supports the Agency’s mission while aiding NASA in making and exceeding our 1% goal for Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institution. I was excited to attend our first successful Road Show stop of the year last week at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

We will look back on 2016 with fond memories and face 2017 with determination. Happy New Year from all of us here at the NASA Office of Small Business Programs. We look forward to working with you.

Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day, August 09, 2016

I am pleased to announce that NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Industry Assistance Office will be hosting a Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day on August 9, 2016 from 7:30a.m. to 2:00p.m. in Greenbelt, Maryland. The event will include networking.

HUBZone companies, and all small businesses, will have an opportunity to network with NASA Small Business Specialists, contracting officers, large prime contractors and Government agencies, in addition to participating in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with the GSFC Technical Directorates.

To sign up, please register in Eventbrite. Registration closes on Friday, July 22, 2016 at midnight and all participants must be issued an event badge before accessing the facility. Access to the Center is limited to U.S. Citizens only.

If you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one matchmaking appointment with any of the Technical Directorates or have any further questions, please email the GSFC Small Business Office at GSFC-SmallBusiness@mail.nasa.gov. 

Inaugural Aerospace and Defense Small Business Industry Day, June 28, 2016

I am proud to announce that NASA, in association with the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, will be participating at the Inaugural Aerospace and Defense Small Business Industry Day on June 28, 2016, from 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m in Lakewood, Colorado. The event will include a full day of workshops and networking opportunities.

This is an ideal opportunity to get information about upcoming Agency requirements, by participating in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with NASA Small Business Specialists.

To register, please visit www.nasa-aerospace-smallbizindustryday.eventbrite.com. Priority registration will be given to Colorado based companies.

For any information regarding exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities, don’t hesitate to contact Tom Livingston at (720) 544-5507 or tlivingston@jeffcoedc.org.

HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour

A new creative initiative was proposed to me not too long ago by one of my Project Managers’, Ms. Tabisa Kalisa, on how we can better increase our partnerships and engagement with Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs). The event would be hosted by the Office of Small Business Programs, the Office of Education and the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The initiative would test out a pilot program called the NASA Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs) Technology Infusion Road Tour. At the 2^nd Annual HBCU/MSI Partnerships Meeting at Marshall Space Flight Center there was great interest expressed from colleges and universities that wanted to participate in the pilot program including North Carolina Central University, The University of Texas at El Paso and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University whom were among those selected to participate in FY16. This initiative is two-fold as it is designed to help assist educational institutions integrate new technology that supports the Agency’s mission and it also aids NASA in making and exceeding our 1% goal for HBCUs/MSIs. We are also the only Agency in the government with this goal to date.

Our first event for the NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour was held at North Carolina Central University on March 22-24, 2016. I was able to attend the first two days of the event and I have to say I was quite impressed with all the enthusiasm and participation among the attendees. There were about 50 HBCU/MSI attendees and a good amount of NASA prime contractors including Boeing and SAIC that participated in the open forum Q&A. This was a good opportunity to ask questions about the Mentor Protégé Program, STMD’s Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technical Transfer opportunities and the Office of Education’s grant and cooperative agreement opportunities. I felt like the event was extremely productive and we took away many lessons learned to make our next event even more beneficial.

The next NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour will be on April 19-21, 2016 at The University of Texas at El Paso. Based off our first event, I have no doubt that I will be just as impressed with this one if not more. Our Eventbrite link is open where you can register and find out more details on this upcoming Road Tour. 

I wish everyone a happy and safe spring and thank you for reading my latest post!

FY16 Small Business Industry Days

March 1, 2016 is just around the corner. The NASA Small Business Program will be in Pasadena, California for the Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Industry Day hosted by the NASA Management Office (NMO) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). You can still register for the event here:SDVOSB Industry Day. Glenn Research Center (GRC) will be hosting the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Industry Day on May 7, 2016 and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) will be hosting the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day on August 9, 2016.

Registration for the WOSB and HUBZone Industry Days will open a couple months before the event takes place. Please keep a lookout on our Website, Twitter and Facebook for the events to open registration and for further details.

The NASA Small Business Program holds industry days to reach out to small businesses that may not have had networking opportunities with NASA. Attending one of our industry days will provide the perfect opportunity to seek further information on how you can do business with NASA. Your business could help support our various missions here on earth and into deep space. We encourage small businesses to sign up across the nation no matter what socioeconomic category you may be!

Ringing in the New Year

As we say farewell to 2015 and welcome the New Year, what do you typically reflect on as the year comes to a close? I like to reflect on what has transpired over the last 12 months and brainstorm new resolutions for the road ahead. We all like to be reminded of the highlights, success and cheerful endeavors, however, let’s also look at our setbacks and weaknesses so we can learn and grow from them moving forward.  

The NASA Office of Small Business Programs will continuously look for new innovative and creative ways to promote the development and management of NASA programs that assist all socioeconomic categories of Small Business.

As you think about your 2016 New Year’s resolutions, consider your local small businesses and think of ways to continue supporting them! We are looking forward to seeing the new ways that small businesses will help NASA achieve its mission next year and the years ahead! 

Happy Holidays!

The NASA Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) would like to wish you and your families a very Happy Holiday season. We hope that this holiday brings you happiness, health and peace in the winter months ahead.

If you are traveling, please travel safely and enjoy your time with friends and relatives.

As the calendar year comes to an end, I would like to thank the center’s Small Business Specialists and the OSBP team for their hard work this year and I wish each you and your families a happy holiday season!

Small Business Saturday

I want to invite NASA personnel and the country to participate in Small Business Saturday on November 28, 2015. Small Business Saturday is a way for everyone to celebrate your community’s local small businesses. 

My office will be hosting a Small Business Saturday Facebook Event and photo contest to encourage everyone to participate. Join our event and post a photo showing us how you support small business by using the following hashtags: #NASA #SmallBizSat and "Like" our page, NASA Office of Small Business Programs – NASA OSBP. 

You can also participate on Twitter by following us and tweeting your photos @NASA_OSBP using the hashtags #NASA #SmallBizSat. The best photos that show the most small business pride on Facebook and Twitter will have a feature in our next newsletter!   

Help us share the #NASA #OSBP #SmallBizSat photo contest! Tweet

 

2nd Annual NASA Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) Partnerships Meeting

I am pleased to announce that the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) will be holding the 2nd Annual NASA Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) Partnerships Meeting.This event is hosted by NASA's Office of Small Business Programs, the Office of Education and the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Small Business Office. This event is crucial for targeting NASA's current and future prime and subcontracting opportunities for HBCUs/MSIs. One of our centerwide goals has always been to target this particular socioeconomic category by providing an event for HBCU/MSI representatives to network. NASA's prime contractors such as Aerojet Rocketdyn, Ch2M Hill, Jacobs, Lockeed Martin, United Launch Alliance, SAIC, Orbital ATK, The Boeing Company, Northrop Gruman, Teledyne Brown Engineering and Wyle will be in attendance. This special opportunity will be hosted by Marshall Space Flight Center on September 16, 2015. Please visit this link for further details and to register.

High-Tech Small Business at Ames Research Center

I had the opportunity to go to Ames Research Center (ARC) where I met with many companies to learn about their current projects coming out of the Research Park. High-Tech Small Businesses with emerging technologies are constantly providing NASA with the resources to reach our goals faster than ever before. Just to name a few, I had the opportunity to meet with a company called skyTran. They are working on transporting high-speed vehicles using magnetic levitation (Maglev) with a patented Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. I got to see the folks over at Made In Space for the second time this year. Made In Space is the SBIR/STTR Phase II Company that invented the 3-D printer that operates in zero gravity. Rhombus Power, is known for a scaleable platform for detecting sub-atomic particles with their product known as Mercury. Scanadu Technology uses sensor technology to personalize medicine and The Peregrine Falcon Corporation helped design parabolic reflectors for the A1 antenna on the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A) flight instrument. It was a pleasure meeting each and every one of these companies and learning about their continued successes at NASA. 

With the folks at skyTran

Johnson Space Center (JSC) Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day

I'm proud to announce that NASA Johnson Space Center along with the JSC Industry Assistance Office, JSC Small Business Council, and JSC Prime Contractors Roundtable are hosting a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business Industry Day on August 11, 2015 from 7:00am-4:00 PM. The networking event will be held at the Gilruth Conference Center, 2101 E. NASA PKWY., Houston, Texas 77058.

HUBZone businesses are encouraged to participate; however this event is open to all businesses.

Businesses will have an opportunity to network with the NASA Office of Small Business Programs, NASA Small Business Specialists from each center, JSC Small Business Technical Coordinators, and JSC prime contractors.

To register please click HERE.

NASA Prime Contractors interested in exhibiting should email
JSC-SmallBusiness@mail.nasa.gov and reference “Exhibit Request” in the subject line.

Representatives of NASA and federal government prime contractors will be available to answer questions about doing business with their respective organizations. Matchmaking will be scheduled and further information will be posted on the JSC Small Business Website.

Registration is open to all Small Businesses who want to do business with NASA. Due to limited seating, registration will be handled on a first come first serve basis.

If you have any questions please contact the JSC Industry Assistance Office at (281) 483-4512.

There is no fee to participate and no Government-issued badge is required.

Make your plans to join us at this exciting event as we expect a great turn out as always! 

Welcome Message: New NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Newman

I want to take the time to welcome aboard our new Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman to the NASA family. Dr. Newman took her Oath of Office a couple weeks ago and her first day was on May 18, 2015.

This is going to be an exciting ride for Dr. Newman. She received her PhD in Aerospace Biomedical Engineering from MIT. One of her well-known accomplishments is her design of the BioSuit which is a form fitting space suit that replaces gas pressure with mechanical pressure using metal coils. With cutting-edge technology providing the fundamental tools in order to take human to deep space, leadership progression at NASA goes hand-in-hand as we continue to move forward into the universe.

Again, welcome Dr. Newman, we all look forward to working with you!

Did I mention this is the best place to work in the Federal government?

2015 National Small Business Week

2015 National Small Business Week was a great success! I wanted to highlight a significant experience I had while at Ames Research Center (ARC) for our Small Business Improvement Plan (SBIP) Meeting. I had the opportunity to meet the staff and management of a SBIR Phase II company called Made In Space. Made In Space has a partnership with NASA and is located at ARC. What makes this small business so unique is that they designed and engineered the first ever 3-D printer that operates in zero gravity in space. In 2014, Space X launched the printer out of Cape Canaveral, Florida en route to the International Space Station (ISS). They started with sending specific code to the ISS where they printed the first ever manufactured in space object. This means that they are able to print a real tangible object to use to their benefit at the ISS. Yes, I know what you are thinking, literally out of this world manufacturing!

Talking tech with senior staff at Made In Space

Also during Small Business Week the NASA Administrator had the privilege to meet a Small Business in DC called Compass Coffee. Compass Coffee is owned by Marines that use NASA technology when brewing their coffee. The technology used is called Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers. When roasting the coffee beans, this technology measures time temperature profiles to ensure every cup of coffee tastes the same. Another technology used is near infrared abridged spectrometry (NIRS) which NASA uses to collect data for the Aqua satellite about Earth’s water cycle. Compass Coffee uses the same technology to assure that each cup has the same level of quinic acid. Why? Again, for the same great taste each time a cup is brewed. There is more space in your life than you think! 

View the video for more information here: