Alicia Carter

Alicia Carter serves as a key procurement lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, supporting the agency’s mission to advance space science and Earth observation through the acquisition of specialized research, development, and educational services. She manages complex contract actions for high-precision scientific instrumentation, space systems integration, and advanced data analytics platforms, ensuring alignment with NASA’s strategic priorities in Earth science, heliophysics, and deep-space communications. Her work bridges technical innovation with federal acquisition compliance, facilitating the procurement of mission-critical capabilities from academia and specialized technology providers. Carter maintains strong, long-term relationships with leading research institutions and aerospace innovators, notably the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for high-caliber technical collaborators capable of delivering cutting-edge solutions in space systems engineering, remote sensing, and telecommunications. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor, performance-based outcomes, and sustained collaboration with organizations possessing deep domain expertise in space science and engineering. Her contracting portfolio shows no reliance on socioeconomic set-asides, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a mission-driven focus on technical excellence over socioeconomic preferences, prioritizing capability and proven performance in highly specialized domains where only a limited pool of qualified entities exists. Carter’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 611310 (Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools) and 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), underscoring her specialization in funding academic and R&D-driven innovation. She routinely procures advanced scientific instrumentation, spaceborne sensor development, data processing algorithms, and mission-critical software systems—services essential to NASA’s Earth and space observation missions. Her expertise lies at the intersection of federal acquisition policy and advanced scientific research, ensuring that taxpayer investments yield transformative space science outcomes.