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Contractor - Blog Posts
DC Metro Traditional Exterior
Large elegant white two-story concrete fiberboard gable roof photo
Kids Room Salt Lake City Kids' room: small traditional kids' room idea with gray walls and carpeting that is gender-neutral.
Open - Family Room Example of a medium-sized open concept transitional game room with a light wood floor, white walls, a wood stove, a tile fireplace, and no television.
Bedroom - Modern Bedroom
Example of a large minimalist loft-style light wood floor and brown floor bedroom design with white walls and no fireplace
Dallas Modern Pool An illustration of a medium-sized minimalist backyard landscape with a specially-shaped infinity pool
How to Do Business with NASA
It’s Small Business Week! To celebrate, we’re breaking down the process and explaining how YOUR small business can work with us. Here are 10 steps:
Prior to working with us, identify which of your products or services best fit within our industry. It’s also important to know the Federal Supply Class or Service Codes (FSC/SVC) for your products or services. Prepare a capability brief in both printed and electronic versions with an emphasis on Government work.
In order to register your business with us, there are three systems you’ll need to use. The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), the System for Award Management (SAM) and the NASA Vendor Data Base (NVDB). After you’ve survived all those acronyms, your business is registered!
Here at NASA we have centers around the country that each procure different types of business. Where does your product or service fit in? The best thing to do is visit THIS site and find out more about each center. You can also take a look at our Acquisition Forecast to find out about expected contract opportunities.
You can find current procurement opportunities in your product or service area by checking the Federal Business Opportunities website. This site also helps you identify our requirements and even send you e-mail notifications of released requirements.
Contracting procedures can be tedious, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), as well as our supplement to those regulations. Which can be found HERE.
Did you know that many of our purchases are orders on the Federal Supply Schedule contracts? They are, which means you can contact the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for information on how to obtain a contract.
There are some very beneficial resources available to you throughout this process. You can request training and counseling on marketing, financial and contracting issues at minimal or no cost from Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).
You also have the option to consult with the SBA’s Procurement Center Representatives (PCRs) and the SBA Business Development Centers. The SBA provides each of our centers with a liaison.
There is also an option to get free and confidential mentoring by former CEOs through SCORE.
Direct contracting is not the only route for small businesses. Consider subcontracting opportunities, and get information through the SBA’s SUB-Net or Subcontracting Opportunities Directory. Solicitations or notices are posted by prime contractors. Our list of prime vendors is located on our Marshall Space Flight Center’s website.
Explore other small business programs, such as our Mentor-Protégé Program, the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Program. Information on these and other programs is available on our Office of Small Business Programs website.
After you have identified your customers, researched their requirements and familiarized yourself with our procurement regulations and strategies, it’s time to market your product or service. Present your capabilities directly to the NASA Centers that buy your products or services. Realize that, as with yours, their time is valuable. If the match is a good one, you can provide them with a cost-effective, quality solution to their requirements. Good luck!
Here are a Few Small Businesses We’re Already Working With…
Dynetics Technical Services, Inc., of Huntsville, AL works with us on enterprise information technology services so that we have the right tools to reach for new heights. This company was also named Agency Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year.
Arcata Associates, Inc., of Las Vegas, NV manages operations and maintenance for our Dryden Aeronautical Test Range in Edwards, CA. Their work ensures that we can continue our critical work in aviation research and development. This company was even named Agency Small Business Subcontractor of the Year.
Want to learn more about our Office of Small Business Programs? Visit their site HERE.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Kitchen - Contemporary Kitchen Enclosed kitchen - mid-sized contemporary galley ceramic tile and beige floor enclosed kitchen idea with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, quartzite countertops, gray backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and white countertops
Dallas Rustic Pool
Large rustic backyard concrete pavers and a naturally shaped pool landscaping idea
Transitional Bedroom - Guest Large transitional guest dark wood floor bedroom photo with white walls
Privacy Dallas Photo of a sizable, rectangular, natural, and private pool in a mid-century modern backyard with decking
New York Traditional Kitchen
Large, elegant kitchen image with a beige floor and a u-shaped ceramic tile backsplash, recessed-panel cabinets, medium-tone wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, stainless steel appliances, an island, and a mosaic tile backsplash.
Deck - Modern Deck Deck - modern deck idea with a pergola
Traditional Entry - Mudroom
Ideas for a mid-sized, traditional mudroom renovation with gray walls and a medium-toned wood floor
Contemporary Bathroom - Bathroom
Porcelain and large, fashionable multicolor tiles Picture of a bathroom with gray walls, a gray floor, and porcelain tile, as well as recessed-panel cabinets, medium-tone wood cabinets, a one-piece toilet, yellow walls, an undermount sink, quartzite countertops, and a hinged shower door.
Pool - Privacy
Large rectangular natural and private pool design from the 1960s with decking
I had the awesome opportunity to have coffee with Johnson Space Center (JSC) Director Ellen Ochoa and Deputy Director Mark Geyer. Above I am pictured to the left of Ochoa in a red blazer and I look pretty serious writing notes. JSC leaders have been striving to hear voices from employees up high, in the trenches, wise, and new. Recently JSC Center and Deputy Directors have hosted coffees to share their goals for JSC and listen to concerns. Ochoa and Geyer shared their vision of JSC 2.016, how NASA can do more with less resources and deliver what is expected and beyond on current missions. Out of all NASA contractors and civil servants I was randomly selected to share my perspective and concerns as a Co-Op.
JSC 2.016
It's no secret that NASA's budget is far less than it was during the Apollo Era. NASA's budget was over 4% of the federal budget during the Space Race to the Moon and now below 1% despite NASA's goals to journey to Mars. Keeping realistic in funds and resources JSC 2.016 is a mantra adopted by NASA employees to do more with the resources they have. At the coffee Ochoa shared that the goals of JSC 2.016 is to ensure our work is pushing forward NASA's current missions, enabling change by listening to and adopting new ideas, removing obstacles that hinder progress, and share NASA's missions with communities.
Concerns
Before attending the coffee I polled JSC interns and Co-Ops to see if they had concerns and questions to share. Within moments of the coffee starting Ochoa and Geyer shared essential insights on how NASA’s mission is evolving in a five, ten and beyond year sense - it was very Carl Sagan Cosmos-esk. Once I was brought to this level of long-term thinking my key concern broadened from specifics. During my opportunity to talk I mentioned the concern about the vagueness of the Journey to Mars mission compared to the solidity of Space Launch System, Orion, Space Station and Commercial Crew missions. I was surprised to hear that fluidity of our Journey to Mars is actually intended. Discoveries and knowledge from Space Launch System, Orion, Space Station and Commercial Crew missions are necessary before solidifying the Journey to Mars. During those missions we will collect a lot of data on the vehicles that will be carrying our astronauts, learn new things we didn’t plan to learn and test the waters with deep space collaboration with private industries and international partners. Fluidity is the nature of NASA’s long-term impact on humanity which is unique to all other forces in the world advocating for short term instant gratification (short term can even mean one year, eight years and even decades compared to humanity as a whole). NASA must deliver what is expected of us and beyond on these current solid missions to ensure more solidified Mars related mission in the future.
We Still Need NASA
With all the SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and general private space industry hype some may have the impression that we no longer need NASA for space exploration. Articles titled "U.S. government should fund private space companies, not NASA" paint false claims of competition between government space missions and private industry. During this coffee this misconception of competition was expunged and I was re-energized about why we still need NASA. NASA, as a subset of the US Government, awards contracts to private space companies that would otherwise not be able to pursue these aerospace endeavors because they do not bring in a profit. The government can risk to make these long-term investments without certainty of short-term instant gratification like profit. There is a tendency to forget that NASA has been contracting work to private companies since the 1960s. Grumman Aircraft was contracted to build the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) in 1962. Being a government agency, NASA can foster a unique relationship between other countries space agencies such as ROSCOSMOS, JAXA and ESA. Through decades NASA is the government agency that has lead the cohesiveness and steady beat of the drum of space exploration progress.
Pergolas - Modern Deck
Image of a minimalist deck with a pergola
Natural Pool Large rustic backyard concrete pavers and a naturally shaped pool landscaping idea
Beach Style Dining Room
Inspiration for a huge coastal dark wood floor enclosed dining room remodel with blue walls
Privacy Pool
Big rustic backyard stone pool with a custom-shaped natural and private pool idea
Roof Extensions Deck in Salt Lake City Mid-sized arts and crafts backyard deck photo with a fire pit and a roof extension