On Wednesday, June 25, the Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship hosted the city’s latest NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) event.

The agenda for the event included a welcome from Catalyst’s COO, Sandy Edwards; CEO Lisa Mays; and Don Carver, President of Cepeda Systems.

For the main portion of the event, staff members from various MSFC departments gave presentations explaining NASA’s relationship to small businesses, as well as ways these companies can earn contracts with the government organization.

Attendees also spent time networking in the Saturn V Hall before and after the presentations.

Davey Jones, Center Strategy Lead at NASA MSFC, provided attendees with an idea of what to expect when considering a partnership with his organization.

“We are making a shift as the agency moves to more of a commercial services model. We are looking at how we leverage our capabilities and build strategic partnerships in the areas that are within our capabilities,” Jones said.

David Brock, Small Business Specialist at NASA’s MSFC, noted that not every product or service pitched to Marshall aligns with its immediate needs. However, Marshall actively connects businesses with other NASA locations when there’s a better fit.

“Be aware, too, that if you come to Marshall, you may be marketing something that we may not have an interest in, but there may be a market for it at some of these other NASA centers,” Brock said.

Brock continued, “Oftentimes, when we get those types of situations, we might refer you over to another center. We talked to my counterpart at the Johnson Space Center or Kennedy Space Center, and we got contacts, and we can get you in touch with them.”

Toward the end of the event, MSFC hosted a panel titled “Doing Business with Prime Contractors.”

The panelists emphasized the importance of small businesses having the necessary certifications, quality ratings, and cybersecurity measures in place before engaging with the large companies. They also advised small businesses to be honest about their capabilities and limitations, and to communicate effectively with the companies’ small business liaison officers and procurement teams.

Panel participants included small business liaison officers from the following companies:

The Boeing Company: Taylor Beitler, Moderator
Amentum Space Exploration Division: JoAnn Belt
L3Harris: Georgina Gastelum (joined virtually)
Lockheed Martin: Nick Dugan (joined virtually)
Northrop Grumman: Jennifer Scoffield
SpaceX: Christopher Rad
Teledyne Brown Engineering: Debbie Baston

Dugan offered guidance to small business leaders aiming to secure NASA contracts on how to target their efforts strategically.

“Being mindful of quality, being mindful of the relationships you’re forming with your small business liaison, it’s very important. Something Lockheed Martin is focusing on now is anti-fragility in the supply chain,” Dugan said.

Baston, a panel participant and the Marshall Prime Contractor Supplier Council Events Coordinator, ended the presentation portion of the day by sharing upcoming MSFC events.

Upcoming local gatherings include MSFC’s 65th Anniversary Celebration on July 19th, the 28th Annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium from August 5-7, and the 40th Marshall Small Business Alliance on September 25.

Companies interested in partnering with MSFC for these events, or business in general, can visit the organization’s website to learn more.