Metis Flight Research Associates (MFRA), a Metis Technology Solutions (Metis) Joint Venture (JV), has been named the 2023 NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year. MFRA serves as prime contractor on the Technical Services for Aerospace Systems Modeling and Simulation (SimLabs) III contract, operating and maintaining world class aerospace and aviation simulation facilities. In the JV, Metis serves as the managing partner. 2023 is the third time MFRA has received this award, previously being named ARC Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year for 2022 and 2019.
“We are honored to be named NASA ARC’s Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year for the third time in five years,” said Neil Otto, Program Manager for SimLabs. “This award recognizes the exceptional work and diligence of all members of the SimLabs team in support of our NASA customers.”
MFRA work on SimLabs includes developing and running simulation studies with the Vertical Motion Simulator, Future Flight Central, and Crew-Vehicle Systems Research Facility. Projects at SimLabs range from Lunar Lander demonstrations for NASA Administrators to software that predicts airport traffic conditions to determine the best time for flights to depart. In addition to NASA, projects at SimLabs are also undertaken for the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense, and numerous industry partners.
This year’s honor for MFRA is part of the larger NASA Small Business Industry Award program, which recognizes companies that demonstrate outstanding performance while making significant contributions to the NASA mission. In all, Metis has received seven total NASA Small Business Industry awards. In addition to the NASA ARC Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year awards in 2023, 2022 and 2019, Metis has won: NASA ARC Small Business Subcontractor of the Year in 2020; NASA Agency-Wide Small Business Subcontractor of the Year in 2017; NASA LaRC Small Business Subcontractor of the Year in 2017; and NASA ARC Small Business Subcontractor of the Year in 2016.