Original Broadcast Date: 09/27/2026
Sponsored by Deloitte
NASA’s biggest missions can take years to become visible to the public, but Bradley Neese says the acquisition work supporting them begins long before a launch or first flight.
Niese, senior procurement executive at NASA, describes acquisition as a “team sport” that brings procurement professionals together with program offices, requirements organizations and industry partners.
That collaboration is helping support programs including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and X-59 supersonic aircraft.
For Niese, one of the most important lessons is straightforward: “early is better than later.”
He says acquisition professionals need to be involved with programs when ideas are still taking shape. Earlier involvement gives procurement teams more time to understand requirements, develop acquisition strategies, engage industry and determine what capabilities already exist in the market.
That understanding is essential to becoming what Niese calls a “smart buyer.”
Contracting officers do not necessarily have to become technical experts in every requirement, but they need enough understanding to know what they are purchasing and how industry can potentially meet the need.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to help with that work.
Neese says NASA is still “dipping our toes” into AI within acquisition. The agency is initially concentrating on routine administrative functions while teaching its workforce how to use the technology responsibly and effectively.
The objective is not simply automation.
By shifting some administrative work to AI and other technologies, Niese wants procurement professionals to have more time for higher-value responsibilities, including acquisition strategy and engagement with industry suppliers.
AI can also accelerate research and data aggregation. Niese says that can leave people with more time for analysis and interaction with their customers.
Those capabilities could become particularly important as NASA enters what Niese describes as a new era of exploration.
He says NASA is preparing to return astronauts to the lunar surface and pursue a phased approach toward a permanent presence on the moon.
That mission is pushing the acquisition workforce to think differently about requirements and speed.
Neese says NASA needs to determine a minimum viable set of requirements rather than “gold plate” systems. The agency still needs to maintain safety and operability, but he says it also has to accept some risk and get systems flying earlier.
The approach involves learning through phases.
In the first phase, NASA gains reliable access to the lunar surface, experiments and learns. The agency can then use those lessons to build and expand during the second phase. Eventually, Niese describes a third phase in which astronauts live and work permanently on the lunar surface.
Contracts play a significant role throughout that process alongside the agency’s internal expertise.
Niese says that phased acquisition model can also provide lessons for NASA’s longer-term ambitions beyond the moon.
At the same time, Niese has another perspective on federal acquisition as a voting member of the FAR Council.
He says the council is working to reduce red tape and remove non-statutory barriers that have accumulated in the procurement process. The objective is to give the acquisition workforce more flexibility and allow procurement to operate with greater agility and at the speed required by the mission.
But changing policy is only part of the job.
Neese says NASA now needs to make sure its workforce understands how to use those flexibilities.
The agency is deploying 45 trainers across NASA centers and developing practical instruction for acquisition professionals. Niese says NASA delivers 1,200 hours of practical training in 2026 focused on what the new FAR means and how to apply it.
That training extends beyond contracting officers to program managers, project engineers and others involved in acquisition.
For Niese, the connection between procurement and mission success runs throughout NASA. Whether the agency is supporting science, aeronautics or future exploration, acquisition establishes a foundation that can begin years before the public sees the final result.
Learn more about NASA's mission and first Lunar outpost here!