NASA To Expand Mentor-Protege Program NASA plans to open its mentor-protégé program to veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned and HUBZone firms. Glenn Delgado, assistant administrator for small business programs, said proposed rule changes are in the final stages of clearance and will be published shortly. He spoke April 11 at the Small Business Executive Breakfast sponsored by Set-Aside Alert and National Business Programs and Conferences Inc. Shortly after arriving at NASA a year-and-a-half ago, Delgado shut down the mentor-protégé program for a complete overhaul. It is now open to small disadvantaged businesses and woman-owned firms. Unlike the Defense Department’s program, NASA mentors are not eligible for cash reimbursement for their work with protégés. Delgado said he will propose a pilot program that will allow award fees for mentors working with certain companies in the Small Business Innovation Research program. He warned that small businesses may face tough times at NASA over the next few years. Space shuttle flights will end in 2010, and a new rocket, called Ares, is not due to begin carrying astronauts until 2014. In the interim, Delgado said there will be fewer prime contracts available for small firms. He is searching for additional subcontracting opportunities. “I have to make sure you guys stay alive,” he said. The agency is also preparing new contract clauses to provide more effective monitoring of its large prime contractors, to make sure they are living up to subcontracting plans. Delgado said small businesses should concentrate their marketing on NASA’s 10 centers, such as the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, FL. “The money is being spent at the centers,” he said. NASA’s small business website, www.osbp.nasa.gov, has links to each center’s small business office, as well as a description of what products and services the center buys.