The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is proud to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of the 2010 NASA Small Business Industry Award for NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in the category of Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year. Under USRA management, The National Center for Space Exploration Research (NCSER) has been honored for its ongoing commitment to small business during an awards ceremony in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.
According to NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs, “Small Business Industry Awards (SBIA) are presented annually to NASA contractors who make significant contributions to the Agency’s small business program. The awards recognize successful and innovative practices that promote small business participation in the initiatives that NASA undertakes.”
Understanding the added value that small businesses can bring to a contract, USRA’s efforts to involve small businesses begin during the earliest stages of pre-proposal efforts. Additionally, USRA recognizes the unique challenges (i.e., cash flow, salary/benefit discrepancies) that many small businesses face and continually seeks innovative methods to bring success to their small business partners. Finally, USRA offers training and flexible processes to assist their small business partners in meeting their goals.
Mr. Stephen Simons, Director of the National Center for Space Exploration Research, recognized the impact small businesses have had on the SSETS contract, stating that, “small businesses are an integral component of the SSETS work at GRC and have been instrumental to USRA obtaining an ‘excellent/very good’ rating in all four factors of the most recent SSETS contract Evaluation of Performance.”
About NCSER
The National Center for Space Exploration Research (NCSER), a research team led by USRA and Case Western Reserve University, provides on-site microgravity expertise to NASA Glenn Research Center and is currently executing the Science and Space Exploration Technology Support (SSETS) contract. The NCSER team specializes in reduced gravity fluid mechanics, reduced gravity combustion processes, human physiological systems, theoretical modeling, and advanced technology development.
About USRA
Founded in 1969, USRA is an independent research corporation with competencies that span space, Earth and life sciences related disciplines, and are closely aligned with the nation’s science and national security agencies. As a member based non-profit corporation with 105 major research universities as members in lieu of for-profit shareholders, our members provide our corporate governance, and along with USRA’s 300 scientific and technical staff provide a unique platform for conducting ground-breaking research.
