Space and Missile Systems Center, now part of the U.S. Space Force, approached California’s state and local officials to maintain space technology production activities amid the coronavirus outbreak, Space News reported Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. John Thompson, SMC’s commander, said they had to sustain authorities’ awareness of work being done in support of national defense.
“We worked very closely last week with Santa Clara County in California, for example, to help Lockheed Martin and ensure the county knew the work done at Sunnyvale is critical to national defense,” he said in a home-based interview with Space News.
The commander also pointed out SMC’s priority to sustain work with small businesses and nontraditional contractors. He said these contractors offer technologies that SMC intends to incorporate into the defense procurement ecosystem.
