NASA deal aims to give Maryland's small firms a big lift

BYLINE: Joe Bacchus

When it comes to the big federal contracts coming out of NASA, Maryland wants to make sure the little companies aren't left out - especially when their expertise could be essential.

"What we bring to the table is the niche type of work that is needed for flagship missions," said Robert Rashford, president and CEO of Genesis Engineering Solutions.

The Lanham-based aerospace firm, with a staff of about 20, has worked closely with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center since Genesis was founded in 1993. The company helps determine what materials work best on satellites. It has worked on the James Webb Space Telescope - the Hubble's successor - as well as the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's trek to Pluto.

Because of the company's small size, Genesis can bring a focus to fine detail that large organizations - like Goddard - are simply not equipped to handle, he said. Those big groups must subcontract out to the little technology companies that are pushing the limits of innovation.

However, to get the business, the small companies first have to get noticed, and that's no easy task.

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. has struck a deal with Goddard to make it easier for the state's companies to see what NASA researchers have to offer, and even work with those researchers to bring new technologies to life.

NASA also has its own Small Business Innovation Research program to help out early-stage businesses.

TEDCO will act as the go-between for Goddard and the Maryland business community, keeping each apprised of what the other is doing, letting each know what development opportunities could be coming in the future, and using its business and technology experience to help potential deals come together. The tech organization will also use its own early-stage funding programs and capital loan funds to assist Maryland companies.

Or, in the words of TEDCO Interim Executive Director Renee Winsky, the new Space Act Agreement will allow Maryland to get the NASA technology "out of the labs and into our lives. "

Federal facilities such as Goddard - and other Maryland facilities such as the Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Detrick - research new technologies but do not commercialize them. For that, they rely on the private sector and the licensing and contracting process.

The agreement will be formally announced at this week's "NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Technology Partnering Opportunities: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," an Oct. 12 showcase that will feature about a dozen presentations by NASA scientists. It will also feature contracting opportunities and the chance to network with Goddard officials and other Maryland technology companies.

The event will be held at the Marriott Greenbelt. Winsky said she expects people from across the spectrum of Maryland's technology community, including entrepreneurs, investors and representatives from academia.

She said Goddard is a valuable local asset that Maryland businesses and academics need to tap. Besides the obvious benefits to the United States' mission to continue exploring space by returning to the moon and eventually going to Mars, the federal facility is also important due to the country's increasing need for protective technologies.

"There is a lot of technology that is just ripe for today's homeland security issues," she said.

Nona Cheeks, head of Goddard's Office of Technology Transfer, said she believes Goddard has the potential to get just as much out of the event as does the state of Maryland. She said NASA has had successful Space Act Agreements with other organizations and agencies. The agreements are NASA's official way to partner for technology transfer - moving advancements between public and private laboratories.

Winsky said TEDCO and Goddard have worked together in the past, but this agreement will make the process easier and give Maryland businesses quicker access to opportunity.

"It just gives the relationship more teeth," Winsky said.

Cheeks said there are a number of areas where she thinks Maryland researchers can help the space agency, especially the field of information technology. While IT work is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks about NASA scientists, advanced communication ability - especially between mission control and space-faring vessels - is vital to the success of the space program, she said.

NASA hopes to close out the day with new partnerships between Goddard and Maryland technology companies already lined up, Cheeks said.

Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, said taking advantage of federal assets is vital for a state that prides itself on its technological savvy. He said both Goddard's and Maryland's technology resources run the gamut, making the partnership a good match. However, without the state's help and NASA's willingness to open its doors to other researchers, much of the potential technology would stay just that: potential, and not realized.

The mission of TEDCO, Melissaratos said, is to make sure Maryland's businesses and universities connect with the state's federal resources. Maryland has more federal laboratories than any other state, Winsky said.

"We do these things ... to make sure that these technologies see the light of the day," he said.

TEDCO has similar technology-transfer agreements with Aberdeen, Fort Detrick and the Naval Air Warfare Center at Patuxent River. Melissaratos said those partnerships have been beneficial to the state, and he expects the NASA pact will also prove successful.