Our principal responsibility is managing the Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Program, which is designed to fund technologies or capabilities that give the Center a competitive advantage in future mission and instrument opportunities. These investments are focused in technological areas that satisfy Goddard's Lines of Business.
Goddard Technology Federation
We also coordinate the Goddard Technology Federation, a board that advises Goddard management on technology issues. The Federation is made up of representatives from the Office of the Chief Technologist, the Goddard Sciences and Exploration Directorate, Flight Programs and Projects Directorate, Wallops Flight Facility, as well as the Assistant Chiefs of Technology for the various divisions within the Advanced Engineering and Technology Directorate and the Sciences and Exploration Directorate.
The Office of the Chief Technologist is the primary point of contact for advanced-technology development at the Goddard Space Flight Center. We manage the Center’s internal technology investments and assist with long-range planning, making sure that the Center’s R&D investments are well integrated, strategic, and opportunity driven.