Suemin Starek

Suemin Starek serves as a key procurement professional at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, supporting the agency’s mission to advance next-generation propulsion systems and deep space vehicle technologies. Responsible for managing complex research and development acquisitions, Starek oversees contracts for high-fidelity engineering analysis, computational modeling, and propulsion test infrastructure—critical components of the Moon to Mars architecture. Their work directly enables mission-critical capabilities in rocket engine development, guidance systems, and real-time data analytics for flight validation, aligning tightly with NASA’s strategic focus on human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Starek maintains consistent contracting relationships with specialized aerospace and engineering firms, most notably Bastion Technologies Inc. and Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC. These partnerships are centered on advanced technical services including systems integration, hypersonics research, and propulsion test bed optimization. The working relationships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in aerospace systems engineering, computational fluid dynamics, and mission-critical software development, often involving long-term, performance-based task orders under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) vehicles. Starek’s procurement portfolio exhibits no set-aside preferences, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a mission-driven emphasis on technical capability over socioeconomic categorization, prioritizing the most qualified entities capable of delivering highly specialized engineering solutions under stringent NASA safety and performance standards. While small business participation is not formally targeted, vendors of all sizes are evaluated strictly on technical merit and past performance. The primary NAICS classification for Starek’s acquisitions is 541715—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—reflecting an exclusive focus on advanced engineering R&D. Procurements encompass propulsion system prototyping, thermal management modeling, structural dynamics analysis, and autonomous control system development, underscoring deep technical expertise in spaceflight systems engineering and high-performance computing applications.