Joint Project will Collect Data on Supply Chains Affiliated with NASA and NOAA

Washington, D.C.—The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Technology Evaluation (OTE) is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the U.S. Civil Space Industrial Base (CSIB) in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

For the purposes of this study, the domestic civil space industrial base consists of nonmilitary/DOD space-related work primarily supporting NASA and NOAA, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Department of Energy, including prime contractors, commercial companies, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), universities, and laboratories.

To collect data for the assessment, OTE will deploy a survey instrument to hundreds of U.S. space companies and suppliers. The principal goal of this survey is to better understand the CSIB supply chain network. The data collected will help identify the structure and interdependencies of organizations that participate in the CSIB, especially NASA and NOAA systems and subsystems. This effort will enable NASA and NOAA to understand and respond to supply chain deficiencies and disruptions related to diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages (DMSMS), foreign sourcing and dependencies, cyber security incidents, critical minerals and materials, COVID-19 pandemic impacts, and other challenges. The resulting data and subsequent analysis will allow industry representatives and government policy officials to better monitor trends, benchmark industry performance, and raise awareness of potential issues of concern.

FAQs

Q. What authority does the BIS/OTE have to conduct this survey?
A. BIS has authority under Section 705 of Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) (50 U.S.C. § 4555), as amended, and Executive Order 13603 to conduct research and analysis of critical technologies and industrial sectors to advance U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. BIS uses industry-specific surveys to obtain production, R&D, export control, employment, and other relevant data to inform U.S. Government policies and proposals.

Q. Who requested the CSIB assessment?
A. The assessment was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), and NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC).

Q. Who are NASA and NOAA?
A. NASA is America’s civil space program and the global leader in space exploration. At its 20 centers and facilities across the country – and the only National Laboratory in space – NASA studies Earth, including its climate, our Sun, and our solar system and beyond.

NOAA provides secure and timely access to global environmental data and information from satellites and other sources to promote and protect U.S. national security, the environment, the economy, and quality of life. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources as the Nation’s authoritative environmental intelligence agency.

Q. Who is required to complete the survey?
A. Organizations representing multiple facets of the civil space industrial base and related supply chains supporting NASA or NOAA missions and programs are required to participate in this mandatory data collection pursuant to Section 705 of the DPA (50 U.S.C. § 4555) and Executive Order 13603. Companies that do not receive a survey notification but believe their participation is warranted should contact OTE at [email protected] for more information.

Q. Is this an annual or repeated collection?
A. This assessment is a one-time information collection performed by OTE, though similar assessments were performed in the past and may be necessary in the future. Q. Has OTE conducted similar studies in the past? A. Yes. Since 1986, OTE has conducted over 60 assessments and 150 surveys on a wide range of topics, including the U.S. defense industrial base, healthcare products, information and communications technology (ICT), microelectronics and semiconductors, NASA’s rocket propulsion sector, and strategic materials, among others. The results of most of OTE’s industrial base assessments can be found here: https://www.bis.doc.gov/dib Q. What are the uses for the information collected by the assessment? A. The information collected will help benchmark industry performance and evaluate the current health and competitiveness of the U.S. CSIB. More specifically, this multi-year collaboration will build upon a substantial record of space sector analysis conducted with NASA, NOAA, and the broader U.S. Government (USG). The primary purpose is to evaluate the current health and competitiveness of the civil segment of the U.S. space industrial base (SIB) and inform the planning and execution of the civil space provisions of the 2020 National Space Policy (NSP) and subsequent U.S. national space policy priorities.

This information will be used to afford NASA and NOAA visibility into the current and prospective civil space industry, specifically, the supply chain impacts resulting from the trends in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), advances in emerging technology (e.g., artificial intelligence, quantum computing, additive manufacturing, etc.), foreign sourcing and dependencies, workforce/STEM practices, cybercrime and trends in cybersecurity investments, U.S. federal acquisition constraints and reforms, supply chain disruptions, impacts of export controls, and more.

Q. Will the findings from this assessment be publicly available?
A. To safeguard the U.S. civil space industrial base and associated suppliers, as well as ensure the integrity of respondent information, data will be released only in aggregate form. Data provided by industry is deemed business confidential under the DPA and can be withheld from release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). For more information on the assessment and overall program, contact Jason Bolton, Director, Defense Industrial Base Division, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and Security, at [email protected].

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