NAC Priority Focus Area Work Plan

Commercial and Industry Partnerships

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Commercial Communications

Priority Focus Area – Advise NASA on the full spectrum of capabilities offered by Commercial Space enterprises including architecture for communication in

space. Based on 2022 findings, current NAC focus on the regulatory and policy challenges to enabling SCaN’s commercialization and partnership efforts.

Engagement – NASASCaN and ongoing policy discussions across industry with government stakeholders (NSpC, NASA, FCC, DOC, FAA, Congress)

Initial Observations

• SCaN is executing a detailed commercialization plan including regular assessments and substantive engagement with commercial partners

• The most pressing near- and medium-term challenges to commercialization are regulatory and policy in nature

• FCC is increasingly active on space issues. The FCC recently sought input on its role regarding “novel space activities,” is considering rulemakings 

impacting space spectrum licensing, orbital debris mitigation, and launch spectrum. FCC recently approved plans for a separate Space Bureau.

• As NASA shifts to service-based contracts, this impacts NASA’s historic, beneficial role with the FCC and other agencies for spectrum access

• Impacts may be particularly acute for future Commercial LEO Destinations providers and in-space servicing efforts where needed space-to-Earth and 

space-to-space communications traditionally fell under government umbrella

Initial Recommendations and Next Steps

• Opportunity for NASA to development new roles and responsibilities to support providers and enable NASA goals

• NASA SCaN is developing a white paper to communicate SCaN’s desired operational vision and policy implications to help guide the NAC’s deliberations

(paper expect mid-February)

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Priority Focus Areas – Advise NASA on the status and results of their outreach to Small Business for involvement in NASA’s space and aeronautics

programs and advise NASA on opportunities to improve its outreach initiatives, especially to Small/under-represented businesses.

Engagement – Briefing and discussion with NASA’s Office of Small Business and AIA and AIAA engagement with an initial set of current and former small 

businesses with deep government contracting experience. Companies included a Huntsville-based woman and minority-owned small business services 

provider, Colorado-based small business software provider; Nevada family-owned business that has grown into a major supplier, and a California smallbusiness that provides parts to government and commercial aerospace companies. Outreach is continuing.

Initial Observations

• NASAhas met SBA’s small business scorecard goals with an “A” rating for the last four years (B in 2016) – 2021 EO steadily increasing goals annualy

• Office of Small Business is implementing a metric-driven outreach plan, including metrics on participation rates and the demographics of participants

• Insights from initial discussions with businesses include:

• Important role of existing contractors in the current small business outreach system

• Potential benefits of tracking successful new small business procurements created per outreach effort

• Scope of NASA contracts and transferability to other work important to small business growth

• Immense value of NASA publicly sharing its small businesses’ successes

• Supply chain issues (including compliance costs) are usually direct impacts on NASA’s small business partners

Next Steps

• Continue small business discussions and share initial findings with NASA’s Office of Small Business for next step development

Small Business Outreach

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