![]() NASA is seeking a partner in the private sector to help transport crew members to the space station. The agency’s funding efforts to support the commercial space industry began in 2006, when it entered into commercial orbital transportation agreements with those two companies to send cargo to the International Space Station. Those other avenues include partnering with companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to spur development in the private sector. “We’re spending that money on different types of things, not just contracts.” ![]() “While most of our funding is used for carrying out NASA programs, you see that is going down,” Thompson-King told those gathered at the forum. Today, the agency spends an increasing portion of its resources on collaborating with the commercial space industry and other government agencies, and Thompson-King says those relationships will grow. In 1993, she said, NASA spent about 90 percent of its funding on contracts - buying goods and services from contractors to carry out NASA programs - but by 2006 that portion had fallen to 87 percent, and in 2012, it was down to about 80 percent, according to government reports. ![]() Thompson-King - her first name is pronounced “sue-MARE-ah, a combination of the names of her great-great grandmother, Sudy, and her great-grandmother, Mary - talked about the agency’s transition last week at the American Bar Association’s Space Law Forum at Jones Day in the District, her first speaking engagement since assuming the general counsel role. She rose to associate general counsel of contracts procurement, and later, deputy general counsel. She joined NASA’s legal team in 1986 at Goddard Space Flight Center and moved to the agency’s headquarters in 1991 as a senior attorney, litigating disputes over contracts. She is the first woman and the first African American to lead the agency’s legal department, which has about 175 attorneys. Thompson-King became NASA’s general counsel on June 1, replacing Michael Wholley, who held the post since 2004. That transition promises to be a prime preoccupation for the agency’s new top lawyer, Sumara Thompson-King. Ready to explore a partnership, or simply need more information? Please submit your inquiry to our KSC Facilitator.NASA is changing the way it is doing business, spending less on traditional contracts and partnering more with the private sector and local governments to further the growth of the commercial space industry. You will travel approximately nine miles on SR 405. Turn right (East) onto SR 405 and follow the signs for Kennedy Space Center. Turn right (North) on SR 407 and follow it until it dead ends into SR 405. You will travel approximately 11 miles on SR 405. Turn right (East) on to SR 405 and follow the signs for Kennedy Space Center. Turn left (East) onto SR50, passing under the I-95 overpass at the next intersection. Travel along I-95 to Exit #215 (SR 50).Take SR 407 until it dead ends into SR 405. ![]()
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