Defense Acquisition Magazine March-April 2025

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

NASA launched the Artemis I, complete with solid rocket boosters and an Orion capsule, on Nov. 16, 2022 at 1:47 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The Defense Con- tract Management Agency was a part of the team that launched the rocket into space. Source: Photo courtesy of Joel Kowsky from NASA This photo was cropped to show detail. This image was edited using multiple filters and dodging and burning techniques.

Utah, where I saw the boosters before their journey here to New Orleans, where the core segment was carefully prepared, this mission represents the collaboration and innovation in our partnership with NASA. The work we do—providing critical acquisition insights—ensures these systems are integrated safely and efficiently.” The Artemis I uncrewed test flight in November 2022 was key to NASA’s success and attended by DCMA’s team, who now focus on meeting NASA’s goals and the contract ad- ministration for Artemis II. “These collaborative efforts aren’t just about returning to the moon,”

Ebright said. “It’s about advancing human exploration in a safe and effici- ent manner by leveraging the capabili- ties and expertise of our teams to help contribute to this massive endeavor.” Supporting Deep Spaceflight DCMA NASA Program Manager Craig Bennett and DCMA NASA Product Operations Director Brian McGinnis represented the agency at the Kennedy Space Center two years earlier, providing insight that enabled DCMA to become the first DoD orga- nization to support NASA’s goals of human deep spaceflight.

“Our relationship with NASA is essential to ensure that spacecraft are capable of spaceflight,” said Ben- nett. “Working together as a group, we jointly harness the experience and skills of the [DCMA] Office of Space Development and NASA in the field of spaceflight. Together, we are able to solve some of the most difficult problems associated with this type of procurement, therefore assuring unfettered access to spaceflight, both uncrewed and crewed.” With the Artemis campaign fo- cused on landing the first woman and the next man on the lunar sur- face, DCMA and NASA established

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