By Lane Figueroa
Large and small business contractors and subcontractors, NASA program leaders, and regional industry representatives gathered Sept. 29 for the 34th Marshall Space Flight Center Small Business Alliance meeting and 16th annual Industry and Advocates Award Ceremony. Hosted by Marshall at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama, the event featured key NASA program updates and information on policy, oversight, and optimization of procurement resources to enable collaboration between small businesses and NASA. The event was held in person for the first time since February 2020.
“It’s very exciting to be back in person after two years of virtual meetings,” said David Brock, small business specialist at Marshall. “This is one of the best agendas we’ve had for this event, and the future holds multiple opportunities for small companies to get involved with work across NASA centers.”
In addition to remarks from the mayors of Huntsville, Madison, and Decatur, several key NASA programs provided updates on current projects, including the Exploration Production and Operations Contract, Human Landing System Program (HLS), Marshall Logistics Support Services, and Protective Services. Small business office representatives from a number of NASA centers also presented statistics on their collaboration with small companies in fiscal year 2022 and provided valuable information on their center’s specific work.
Dr. Don Krupp, associate manager of the HLS program, provided an overview of lunar lander contracts in development, and highlighted opportunities to contribute to lunar surface technologies such as terrain vehicles, rovers, power sources, and habitats.
“The HLS Program is leaning forward in partnering with industry to ensure the experience, skills, and capabilities of NASA can be applied to the speed and innovation of commercial partners,” said Krupp. “This model has proven to work over the last couple of years.”
The Marshall Small Business Alliance was created to provide industry with maximum exposure to the Marshall marketplace. This meeting was held in conjunction with the NASA Office of Procurement, which oversees the acquisition process to support the successful accomplishments of the agency’s current and future missions.
Following the presentations, Marshall presented the 16th annual Industry and Advocates Awards. The awards reflect leadership in the aerospace business community and sustained achievement in service to Marshall and to NASA’s overarching mission.
The 2022 award recipients are:
Procurement Team of the Year:
- Brian Speer
- Brannon McDowell
Program Team of the Year:
- Shannon Fullenwider
- Thad Stripling
Technical Person of the Year: Paul Johnson
Small Business Technical Advisor of the Year: Clyde S. Jones
Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Jacobs
Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Acuity Edge, Inc.
Small Business Prime Contractor Excellence Award:
- Aerie Aerospace LLC
- Bastion Technologies, Inc.
- Victory Solutions, Inc.
Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Arcata Associates, Inc.
Small Business Subcontractor Excellence Award:
- Davis Strategic Innovations
- JBS Solutions, Inc.
- Martinez and Turick, Inc.
- Quadrus Corporation
- Seabrook Solutions LLC
- Vetpowered LLC
Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year:
- The Boeing Company
- Southern University
Small Business Leadership Award:
- Kerry Webb
- Lee Ann Hunt
For more information about doing business with Marshall, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/about/business.html
To learn more about NASA’s Office of Small Business, visit: