Suggested Searches

3 min read

NASA Invites Small Businesses to Make a Big Impact on its Missions

A woman in a conference room at a NASA display talks with a male business owner.
A NASA small business program representative talks to a business owner about partnerships with the agency during a past in-person event.
Credits: NASA

Being a small company doesn’t limit opportunities to do business with NASA. During National Small Business Week, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will host an outreach event to share this message and grow relationships with small enterprises.  

“The Small Business Connection at Glenn” event is Tuesday, May 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. The virtual summit is hosted by the agency’s Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) whose mission is to ensure small businesses have the information and opportunities to compete for contracts supplying NASA with products and services to fulfill its various missions.  

“While we are facing unique circumstances, NASA Glenn’s first Small Business Connections virtual event is designed to empower and educate small business owners every step of the way,” says Eunice Adams-Sipp, small business specialist at NASA.

Attendees can expect to learn about how to do business and partner with NASA; upcoming contract and procurement opportunities; space, technology and Earth science programs and initiatives; and NASA’s technology commercialization programs. 

NASA’s Small Business Program Manager Charles Williams will provide a keynote presentation and answer audience questions.  There is no cost to attend the event and registration is required.  

“At NASA, we recognize that small businesses are facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. Opportunities like this one can help boost small businesses future success,” says Glenn A. Delgado, associate administrator of OSBP.

Federal agencies are required to meet small business goals, and NASA is engaged and deeply committed to ensure that all types of small businesses have a fair chance to participate in contracting opportunities. Recently, the agency selected 365 U.S. small business proposals for funding awards, resulting in a total investment of more than $45 million

Small enterprises support major programs including the agency’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon. At Glenn, they conduct space and aeronautics test operations and maintain the world’s largest and most powerful space simulation facilities at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility.

OSBP views outreach to small businesses as more than a mandate. Connection events like Glenn’s help the agency raise awareness about funding and technology development opportunities that are available, and specifically designed for small businesses.  

In 2021, NASA Glenn is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the theme “80 Years of Pushing Boundaries and Breaking Barriers.” The small business event will carry the theme in honor of the contributions small companies have made to the center’s decades of advancements.   

Nikki D. Welch
NASA’s Glenn Research Center