Image Caption: This artist's concept shows an astronaut preparing to use a special tool to take samples from the captured asteroid after it has been relocated to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system. NASA's Exploration Surface Systems Office may help develop such tools. Credit: NASA

By Bob Granath, NASA

Engineering is about making dreams a reality. At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the team in the Engineering and Technology Directorate not only puts those visions on paper, but sees the designs all the way through from development to reality.

This key organization recently aligned its structure around four new lines of business. This fresh approach is designed to bring its functions in line with the spaceports efforts to transition from a historically government-only launch facility to an affordable, sustainable, multi-user spaceport for both government and commercial customers. Its also about meeting the complex challenges facing an increasingly technological world.

Its all about being proactive in our current environment, said Jack Fox, technical assistant for Engineering and Technologys Lines of Business. We have many areas of expertise here at Kennedy. We want to engage the emerging multi-users and apply our capabilities to help them accomplish their missions.

The four new lines of business focus are Exploration Surface Systems, Spaceport and Space Systems Development, Technical Mission Success, and Small Payload Integrated Testing Services, or SPLITS.

Tom Aranyos, Technical Integration manager in NASAs Fluids and Propulsion Division and leader of the Spaceport and Space System Development line of business, explains that NASA Engineering and Technology is looking for ways to assist other NASA centers, as well as commercial industries.

We need to listen to what is keeping them up at night and offer assistance and advice on how we can help make them successful, he said. Our strategy is to respond to others needs by raising our hands and offering to help.

Fox says that being a multi-user spaceport means Kennedy is transitioning from supporting two or three large programs for long periods of time to supporting multiple customers with numerous, short-term efforts.

In the past, the bulk of our work focused on supporting programs such as the space shuttle and International Space Station, he said. We now are approaching other Kennedy directorates, other NASA centers, industry and academia to establish partnerships for proposing and winning engineering and technology development work.

The rest is here:

NASA's Four New Lines Of Business Focus On Problem-Solving