Small businesses around the U.S. are benefiting from partnerships with NASA as they help to build the most powerful launch vehicle in the world. The businesses may be small, but there’s nothing small about enabling human travel to multiple deep space destinations.
Just how many small businesses? Over 800!
Located across more than 40 states, these businesses provide essential tools and services for NASA’s Journey to Mars. When NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) launches in 2018, hundreds of small businesses will be able to see their hard work in action.
By supporting a variety of crew and cargo needs, the evolvable design of SLS gives our nation the ability to both pioneer human deep space missions and revolutionary scientific missions.
A publication by NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs featured many business that support SLS.
Multiple categories of small businesses answered questions about company size, how long they have supported SLS, and how their business have evolved by supporting SLS. The number of employees of the featured small businesses ranged from Emerald City Initiative’s eight professionals to Major Tool & Machine’s 340 employees.
Aerojet Rocketdyne, a prime contractor, will provide the four RS-25 engines for core stage propulsion. Their featured subcontractors provide numerous services in support of SLS that include engineering, precision manufacturing, test fixtures and supply-chain management.
SLS will have two solid rocket boosters which will be supplied by Orbital ATK, a prime contractor. The company spends about 40 percent of the subcontracted dollars with their small business partners. A subcontractor of Orbital ATK, AcuFast Aircraft Products, stated that “supporting NASA programs has heightened our sense of pride and precision.” Another small business, BST Systems, Inc., stated that their “efforts in support of the SLS program have resulted in great engineering strides in the design of robust batteries for launch vehicle applications.”
Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. is a prime contractor building the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA). This will connect the core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage. One of their subcontractors, AMRO Fabricating Corporation, machines panels for the LVSA. They are becoming known internationally for their expertise resulting from their role with SLS. An additional subcontractor, CRM Solutions, Inc., stated that “providing engineering support for the SLS with partner Teledyne Brown directly resulted in a 60 percent growth of our company.”
Developing the core stage of the advanced launch vehicle is The Boeing Company whose supply chain encompases more than 250 small businesses. A subcontractor stated about themselves that “the growth and stability provided by the SLS Program has allowed Geocent to mature as a company.”
The high level of performance and commitment by these businesses is essential to the Journey to Mars. NASA isn’t building the world’s biggest rocket on it’s own – small businesses throughout the U.S. are making the vision of future deep space exploration a reality.