The National Security Space Association has released its recommendations to help mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the space industrial base, SpaceNews reported Monday.
NSSA’s recommendations are classified into three areas: fiscal policy and funding; contracting and acquisition policy; workforce security and personnel development.
The organization wants the government to speed up contract awards using industrial base justification and award authorities and undefinitized contract actions, ensure flexibility on contracts and expand the use of other transaction agreements and other innovative contracting methods, according to NSSA’s proposed actions.
NSSA’s fiscal policy proposals include the elimination of full funding requirements for all national security satellite procurements and provision of guarantee loans to selected U.S. space companies.
The association also urged the government to expand and speed up security clearances for industry, emphasize supply chain risk management and come up with a space intern and new hire initiative.
“We believe the sum of our recommendations would represent a small fraction of proposed spending on stimulus and/or recovery but would have an outsized, positive impact on our national security,†NSSA said in the document.