Small businesses are essential propelling America to explore the depths of deep space. Through the services and support provided by small businesses around the country, a new crew vehicle for deep space is being developed. NASA’s Orion spacecraft will enable a human crew to explore multiple destinations in deep space and return them safely to the Earth.
When the Orion crew vehicle launches next year atop NASA’s new rocket, it will fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the moon and splash down safely in the Pacific ocean.
Small businesses across the country benefit from sustained deep space exploration programs at NASA. Here’s a closer look at a few of the businesses that play vital roles in enabling the future of exploration.
Coalition member Houston Precision Fasteners (HPF) has been supporting the Orion program since 2010. HPF is known for reliably manufacturing a wide range of fasteners for Orion under extremely tight deadlines. The company first fulfilled a demand for a critical fastener for Orion when they began supporting the program, and has since provided non-stock specialty fasteners for the program.
In 2013, the growing company with now more than 70 team members supported several critical needs for Orion that enabled testing milestones to be completed on schedule. This earned them NASA’s Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award.
In order to become more involved and valuable to Orion, the company made significant investments in their infrastructure that quickly paid off. In addition to becoming completely self-sufficient for all processes needed for the Orion program, the investments allowed the company to lower costs and improve manufacturing lead times which greatly benefited the program. With the quality of fasteners they provide to Orion reflecting the pride and excitement of the team, HPF is committed to ensuring that their value as a supportive fastener manufacturer for NASA remains exceptionally high.
Another member of the Coalition, ISYS Technologies, has supported Orion since 2009. This woman-owned small business employs more than 200 people and has supported the prime contractor for the Orion crew vehicle, Lockheed Martin, with the development of Orion. The company has also been a part of public support activities for the Orion program and has participated in many of Lockheed Martin’s activities that raise awareness for the NASA and Orion missions.
Having supported multiple Orion functional teams with engineering capabilities, ISYS has program management oversight for around 75 engineers who bring their specialized skills to the program in many areas. The areas that are supported include thermal analysis, flight software test engineering, electrical design and drafting, printed circuit board design and stress analysis. The company has supported the crew vehicle through efforts in design, development, production, assembly, test and certification. Furthermore, the company created a custom configuration management tool which earned them the Orion Nebula Award in 2011. The company has grown considerably in size and capabilities since supporting Orion.
Founded in 1946, Major Tool and Machine (MTM) has supported the Orion program since 2011. This small business of more than 350 employees provides the program with concurrent engineering and precision machining, fabrication and assembly. The company has expanded their manufacturing capabilities and developed core competencies which is increasing their value as a key supplier to the Orion program. As a result of supporting Orion, MTM has made investments in additional machining centers and engineering, quality assurance and skilled labor personnel.
With this closer look at just three of the more than 800 small businesses that support Orion, their valuable work toward enabling the nation new deep space crew vehicle is clearly evident. Through all of the small businesses supporting the program across 47 states, we are truly a nation that is enabling the future of human deep space exploration.
Learn more about Orion at NASA.gov.