NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is hosting a Small Business Supplier Conference on June 24 to give smaller companies that provide spaceflight hardware an opportunity to cultivate relationships among themselves and with larger prime contractors.
Those relationships could lead to additional work for the small business suppliers, said David Brock, small business specialist at Marshall. That’s important because the hardware they provide for a NASA project may account for the majority of their work.
“NASA has a vested interest in the stability of the many small business suppliers that supply vital hardware for the Space Launch System or other missions,” Brock said. “This conference could lead to other opportunities to expand the business base of these suppliers, providing sustained growth among critical suppliers of America’s space programs.
Technical and procurement representatives from 13 small businesses currently providing hardware are participating in the conference, to be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 24 in Marshall’s Morris Auditorium, in Building 4200. Representatives from each business will make a brief presentation, as well as take part in networking activities. Brock said this will be the first conference of its kind, and plans are to repeat the event in the coming months to allow participation by other potential suppliers.
Marshall Center Associate Director Robin Henderson and Kim Whitson, director of the Office of Procurement, will address the conference participants.
Brock will be available to media at 10:30 a.m. in the lobby of Building 4200. Media interested in the conference or availability with Brock should contact Kimberly Newton at 256-544-0371 no later than 5 p.m. June 23.
For more information about NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit us on the Web: www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall
