NASA introduces mission support updates at Marshall Small Business Meeting

Huntsville AL (SPX) Feb 21, 2020 As NASA prepares to send astronauts to explore the Moon and Mars, working hand-in-hand with our mission support contracts will be essential. At Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, a strong, skilled workforce of contractors and small businesses has always worked in tandem with the agency to push the bounds of exploration. At Marshall's 29th Small Business Alliance Meeting, nearly 900 industry leaders gathered to learn about the Artemis program and a new contracting operating model.

"NASA relies heavily on a wide range of expert support and services from its contract partners to achieve mission success, from spaceflight to day-to-day operations," said Monica Manning, assistant administrator of NASA's Office of Procurement. "It is our hope that this new framework will improve our processes and relationships, and create even more opportunities for partnership."

Held at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, leadership from NASA Headquarters and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center presented the new model, which better aligns the people, processes, procurements and policies of mission support. These services are traditionally managed and operated at each NASA center, and include functions such as financial management, human resources, information technology, communications, education, procurement, general counsel, and many others.

"Our small businesses are critical for mission support and helping us achieve the ambitious goals that have been set before us," said Glenn Delgado, associate administrator of NASA Office of Small Business Program. "Their experience and capabilities enhance our own, and we hope to increase their utilization through this enterprise model."

The agency's Office of Procurement has organized its buying locations to become more effective and efficient. Services will be managed locally, regionally, or centrally at one or more of the NASA buying offices located at centers, allowing them to share resources and lower operating costs. This modernized approach will create new prime and subcontracting procurement opportunities for small businesses.

"Huntsville has long had a well-respected small business and contract community, and a decades-long history of successful partnerships with NASA and other government agencies," said David Brock, a Marshall small business specialist. "These improvements will help organize and simplify how we work with our industry base."

Other topics at the biannual meeting included a Small Business Administration small business legislative update, a Human Landing System Program update, a Marshall administrative support services acquisition update and NASA contracting product service lines acquisition update.

For more than a decade, the Marshall Small Business Alliance meeting has aided small businesses in pursuit of NASA procurement and subcontracting opportunities. The meeting is sponsored by Marshall's Office of Procurement and Small Business Office.

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