NASA Administrator Bolden and SBA Administrator Mills "Hangout" with Curiosity Small Business ATA Engineering

Sept. 19, 2012

Lauren B. Worley
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
lauren.b.worley@nasa.gov

Emily Cain
Small Business Administration, Washington
202-205-6420
emily.cain@sba.gov

RELEASE: 12-330

NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN AND SBA ADMINISTRATOR MILLS "HANGOUT" WITH CURIOSITY SMALL BUSINESS ATA ENGINEERING

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and Small Business
Administration Administrator Karen Mills highlighted the
contributions of small businesses to the success of the Curiosity
rover's landing on Mars during a Google+ Hangout Wednesday with ATA
Engineering, headquartered in Herndon, Va.

ATA Engineering partnered with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
team to test and analyze the entry, descent and landing of the rover,
specifically the wheels, actuators and thermal control systems.

"The dedicated and mission-focused work of our small business partners
like ATA Engineering has been essential to Curiosity's ongoing
success story, and I'm especially proud of NASA's work with them,"
Bolden said. "Curiosity is the largest rover that ever has been sent
to another planet and will provide invaluable data regarding Mars
that will benefit the scientific community for years to come. Small
businesses helped support the design and fabrication of Curiosity and
also took part in many other activities that made the mission
possible."

Mills praised ATA Engineering and the many other small businesses that
contributed to last month's successful Curiosity landing and
contribute to NASA's other science and exploration missions.

"ATA Engineering and the many other small businesses involved in the
Mars Science Laboratory project embody the entrepreneurial spirit,
drive and ability of America's small businesses to build
groundbreaking tools and parts that help make even the most
sophisticated projects successful," Mills said. "This mission is a
shining example of what is possible when America's small businesses
are given the chance to do what they do best."

ATA Engineering worked with the JPL Curiosity team for six years to
assist in the development of cutting-edge technologies that led to
the Curiosity landing, as well as the tools aboard the rover that
will help scientists investigate whether conditions on Mars may have
been favorable for microbial life.

"As a 100 percent employee-owned small business, the staff at ATA
Engineering is incredibly proud to have been part of the development
team for Curiosity," said Mary Baker, president of ATA Engineering.
"Over the course of six years, we have had the unique opportunity to
work closely with the talented engineers and scientists at NASA JPL
to help drive and validate the design of a number of key subsystems
on one of the most exciting robotics development programs in history.
Not only do programs like this give small businesses such as ours the
opportunity to contribute directly to the development and advancement
of state-of-the-art technology, they act as an inspiration to the
next generation of engineers and scientists."

NASA exceeded its small business goal for fiscal year 2011 and was one
of only three of the "big seven" Federal agencies -- the ones that
together spend approximately 90 percent of small business-eligible
dollars -- that exceeded its small business goals. Approximately $2.5
billion in prime contracts were awarded directly to small businesses
in 2011, up about $75 million from the previous year. NASA's large
prime contractors awarded approximately $2 billion in additional
subcontracts to small businesses in fiscal year 2011.

NASA also released "Curiosity and NASA's Mission to Mars," a
publication that details the contributions of small businesses across
the country which contributed to the mission. To read the document,
visit NASA's Office of Small Business Programs at:

http://osbp.nasa.gov

For information about the Small Business Administration, visit:

http://www.sba.gov

For more about Curiosity, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/msl

and

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl


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