NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space technology pays dividends on Earth. Image Credit: NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center is a technology magnet, drawing scientific and engineering-related businesses and professionals to the Tennessee Valley area. In support of NASA's exploration and discovery missions, Marshall collaborates with other federal agencies, businesses, academia and key institutions throughout the nation. As you seek to do business with Marshall, there are primarily three ways to participate:

1. Providing goods and services to Marshall in support of our missions
2. Making use of Marshall resources in support of your missions
3. Encouraging the use of technology to improve our quality of life

1. Providing Goods and Services to Marshall (procurement and acquisition)
Several online resources are made available to help you understand more about procurement and the acquisition process with NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center. Key links are provided below to help you access the information and resources. How to Do Business With Marshall
Links to documents that are designed to provide a better understanding of Marshall’s operations and assist your company in obtaining business.

Marshall Procurement Site
A complete source for procurement points of contact, FAQs, forms, and helpful procurement tools.

• Marshall Acquisition Planning Tool (APT)
  Summary information for Marshall's major competitive contracts. For planning purposes, the site provides up-to-date information on current and upcoming acquisitions.
• Marshall Business Opportunities
  A complete list detailing the competition and recompetition status on contracts with Marshall. Also provides links to the schedule and supporting documents associated with each of the contracts.

2. Using Marshall Resources in Support of Your Objectives
Because NASA is a federal entity, and Marshall Space Flight Center is a NASA field center, there are strict requirements for documenting non-mandated uses of NASA resources. Specifically, a formal agreement, known as a Space Act Agreement, shall be used whenever there is a commitment of NASA resources involving an entity other than NASA. The committed NASA resources may include time and effort of people and support services, use of facilities, use of equipment, and, where appropriate, direct funding.

What are Space Act Agreements?
A Space Act Agreement (SAA) establishes a set of legally enforceable promises between NASA and the other party to the Agreement. Such Agreements constitute commitments of resources by the Agency (including people, funding, services, equipment, expertise, information, or facilities) to accomplish stated objectives of a joint undertaking with an Agreement Partner. The Agreement Partner can be a U.S. or foreign person or entity, an educational institution, a federal, state, or local governmental unit, a foreign government, or an international organization.

How Do I Seek a Space Act Agreement?
The easiest way to initiate a SAA is to contact the Marshall organization with which you would like to partner. Speak to someone in that organization about what you want to do, or what you would like Marshall to do for you. An individual organization is most knowledgeable about its capabilities and schedules, so this is an excellent starting point. If, however, you are unsure of the organization or capability you need, or if you seek the support of multiple organizations, please email us.

What Type of Space Act Agreement Do I Need?
NASA undertakes Reimbursable Agreements when it has unique goods, services, and facilities not being fully used to accomplish mission needs, which it can make available to others on a noninterference basis, consistent with the Agency's missions. In a reimbursable agreement, the Agreement Partner provides either all, or a portion of, the full cost of the activity. Payment is determined based on the value to NASA of the activity being performed.

Non-reimbursable Agreements involve NASA and one or more Agreement Partners in a mutually beneficial activity that furthers the Agency's missions, wherein each party bears the cost of its participation and there is no exchange of funds between the parties.

3. Encouraging the Use of NASA Technologies to Improve the Quality of Life on Earth
NASA's Technology Transfer Program seeks to maximize the nation's return on investment in the space program by encouraging American private enterprise to adapt and commercialize technologies derived from our work in space. To learn more about these technologies or the Technology Transfer Program, please visit the links below:

> NASA In Your Life
> NASA Tech Briefs
> Marshall Technology Transfer Program
> Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Programs
> Patents and Licenses
> TechFinder