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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA is marking progress in strengthening the agency’s small business partnerships, supply chain resiliency, and domestic space manufacturing capabilities.
Under the agency’s enhanced Mentor-Protégé Program, NASA has announced the first Mentor-Protégé Agreement between L3Harris Technologies, a NASA large prime contractor, and Parametric Machining, Inc., a veteran-owned small business.
This agreement will help advance NASA’s mission by fostering innovation and reinforcing the agency’s supply chain. As NASA continues to advance the Artemis campaign, deep space exploration, and aeronautics research, partnerships like this are essential in securing a resilient and efficient supplier base.
“We are excited to facilitate the first agreement under the newly enhanced NASA Mentor-Protégé Program,” said Dwight Deneal, assistant administrator for NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs. “This agreement, and the many that will follow, promote domestic ingenuity and manufacturing and provide opportunities for small businesses to grow and thrive within NASA’s industrial base.”
Through Mentor-Protégé Agreements, large prime contractors serve as mentors, offering technical and business development assistance to small business protégés. This collaboration not only enhances protégés’ capabilities but also provides mentors with a stronger, more reliable subcontracting base, enabling them to fill their supply chain gaps. Additionally, protégés gain potential prime and subcontract opportunities, enhanced technical capabilities, technical training, and long-term business growth.
Relaunched in November 2024, the merit-based NASA Mentor-Protégé Program is designed to bolster small business development while strengthening NASA’s supply chain and industry base. By focusing on a targeted set of North American Industry Classification System codes, including research and development and aerospace manufacturing, NASA ensures that participating small businesses are well-positioned to contribute to long-term mission objectives.
The agreement between L3Harris Technologies and Parametric Machining, Inc. demonstrates the value of NASA’s revamped Mentor-Protégé Program. NASA is actively accepting new Mentor-Protégé Agreements and encourages large prime contractors and small businesses to explore the benefits of forming partnerships under the program. Participating in the Mentor-Protégé Program provides:
Enhanced manufacturing capabilities and subcontracting opportunities. Mentorship from experienced NASA prime contractors. Opportunities to advance competitiveness in government contracts. Access to technical assistance and business development support. A pathway for small businesses to integrate into NASA’s supply chain. L3Harris Technologies is a prime contractor at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, supporting the Geostationary Extended Observations Imager Instrument Implementation contract. NASA Goddard also will serve as the administering center for this agreement.
For more information on NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program and how to participate, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/osbp/mentor-protege-program
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Last Updated Apr 17, 2025 ContactTiernan P. Doyletiernan.doyle@nasa.govLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) View the full article
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By Space Force
The Space Force releases the Space Warfighting framework, outlining the service's vision for achieving and maintaining space superiority while ensuring the long-term safety and sustainability of the space domain.
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By Space Force
The Space Force released the Space Warfighting framework, outlining the service's vision for achieving and maintaining space superiority while ensuring the long-term safety and sustainability of the space domain.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Piloted by NASA’s Tim Williams, the ER-2 science aircraft ascends for one of the final science flights for the GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) on Feb. 1, 2025. As a collaboration between engineers, scientists, and aircraft professionals, GLOVE aims to improve satellite data products for Earth Science applications. NASA/Steve Freeman In February, NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft flew instruments designed to improve satellite data products and Earth science observations. From data collection to processing, satellite systems continue to advance, and NASA is exploring how instruments analyzing clouds can improve data measurement methods.
Researchers participating in the Goddard Space Flight Center Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) used the ER-2 – based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California – to validate satellite data about cloud and airborne particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists are using GLOVE instruments installed onboard the aircraft to measure and validate data about clouds generated by satellite sensors already orbiting in space around Earth.
“The GLOVE data will allow us to test new artificial intelligence algorithms in data processing,” said John Yorks, principal investigator for GLOVE and research physical scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “These algorithms aim to improve the cloud and aerosol detection in data produced by the satellites.”
Jennifer Moore, a researcher from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, checks the cabling on the Roscoe instrument at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, for the GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) on Feb. 1, 2025. The Roscoe instrument will be uploaded onto NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman The validation provided by GLOVE is crucial because it ensures the accuracy and reliability of satellite data. “The instruments on the plane provide a higher resolution measurement ‘truth’ to ensure the data is a true representation of the atmospheric scene being sampled,” Yorks said.
The ER-2 flew over various parts of Oregon, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, as well as over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. These regions reflected various types of atmospheres, including cirrus clouds, marine stratocumulus, rain and snow, and areas with multiple types of clouds.
“The goal is to improve satellite data products for Earth science applications,” Yorks said. “These measurements allow scientists and decision-makers to confidently use this satellite information for applications like weather forecasting and hazard monitoring.”
Researcher Jackson Begolka from the University of Iowa examines instrument connectors onboard the ER-2 aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 1, 2025. The GLOVE instrument will validate data from satellites orbiting the Earth.NASA/Steve Freeman The four instruments installed on the ER-2 were the Cloud Physics Lidar, the Roscoe Lidar, the enhanced Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Airborne Simulator, and the Cloud Radar System. These instruments validate data produced by sensors on NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) and the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE), a joint venture between the ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
“Additionally, the EarthCARE satellite is flying the first ever Doppler radar for measurements of air motions within clouds,” Yorks said. While the ER-2 is operated by pilots and aircrew from NASA Armstrong, these instruments are supported by scientists from NASA Goddard, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and the Naval Research Laboratory office in Monterey, California, as well as by students from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the University of Maryland College Park.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactErica HeimLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
Armstrong Flight Research Center Airborne Science Earth Science Earth Science Technology Office Earth's Atmosphere ER-2 Goddard Space Flight Center Explore More
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.SpaceX NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for the agency. NASA and SpaceX are targeting launch at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, April 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will deliver several new experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test worldwide synchronization of precision timepieces.
The public can register to be virtual launch guests and receive curated mission resources, interactive opportunities, timely launch updates, and a mission-specific collectible stamp for their virtual guest passports delivered straight to their inbox after liftoff.
A new way to collect and share passport stamps has arrived! Receive one for your virtual guest passport and another that is sized perfectly for sharing. Don’t have a passport yet? Print one here and start collecting!
Learn more about NASA research and activities on the International Space Station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 EditorJason Costa Related Terms
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