Industry Leading Government Commercialization Company

In 1999 Rothe developed an External Customer Plan that allows external customers access to NASA/JSC facilities. Today Rothe continues supporting this discipline as a member of the External Customer Office at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, TX. In this capacity, Rothe works to connect industry partners with the capabilities of the facility for their specific mission testing. In partnership with Vertex, Rothe has made alliances with various industry-leading companies (external customers) to use the facility’s excess capacity.

We have hosted product development testing, underwater vehicle development testing, software correlation testing, failure analyses, topside and underwater product training, and product demonstrations, with some projects involving international partners from England, Germany, Scotland, and Sweden. As NASA’s mission grows, the excess capacity of the facility shrinks, however since 2010 the External Customer Office has been able to offset NASA over $12 million with this endeavor.

NASA NBL | Rothe Development

Industry Leading Government Commercialization Company

In 1999 Rothe developed an External Customer Plan that allows external customers access to NASA/JSC facilities. Today Rothe continues supporting this discipline as a member of the External Customer Office at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, TX. In this capacity, Rothe works to connect industry partners with the capabilities of the facility for their specific mission testing. In partnership with Vertex, Rothe has made alliances with various industry-leading companies (external customers) to use the facility’s excess capacity.

We have hosted product development testing, underwater vehicle development testing, software correlation testing, failure analyses, topside and underwater product training, and product demonstrations, with some projects involving international partners from England, Germany, Scotland, and Sweden. As NASA’s mission grows, the excess capacity of the facility shrinks, however since 2010 the External Customer Office has been able to offset NASA over $12 million with this endeavor.

NASA NBL | Rothe Development
Neutral Bouyancy Lab | Rothe Development RDI

Contracts/Space Act Agreements (SAA)

We have successfully been writing external customer plans since 1999. Our expertise in this area has helped develop accurate and thorough strategies for the commercialization of government facilities. We have used our knowledge to navigate contract agreements between Rothe and external customers while ensuring the priorities of our Prime and NASA customers remain uncompromised. Our strategies result in a win-win for all associated parties.

Partners include, but are not limited to,

  • Haliburton
  • INTECSEA
  • Nauticus Robotics, Inc.
  • OceanWorks International
  • OneSubsea
  • SAAB
  • Sonardyne
  • TechnipFMC
  • University of Houston
  • Raytheon Technologies

System Engineering & Integration (SE&I)

Technically integrating external customer underwater vehicles and equipment into the NASA facility requires significant coordination to ensure all NASA and Contractor facility stakeholders have a voice to mitigate any risks associated with new and complex hardware operating in the facility. Various assessments are performed to address acoustic, electrical, structural, lifting, hazards, radio frequency, diving operations, and deconflict planned crew training runs in the same facility. In some projects, external customer stakeholders reside in international locations requiring attention to time zones and detailed guest escort plans for facility access. Our approach has successfully solved complex challenges unique to each external project.

Demo | Rothe Development

System Engineering & Integration (SE&I)

Technically integrating external customer underwater vehicles and equipment into the NASA facility requires significant coordination to ensure all NASA and Contractor facility stakeholders have a voice to mitigate any risks associated with new and complex hardware operating in the facility. Various assessments are performed to address acoustic, electrical, structural, lifting, hazards, radio frequency, diving operations, and deconflict planned crew training runs in the same facility. In some projects, external customer stakeholders reside in international locations requiring attention to time zones and detailed guest escort plans for facility access. Our approach has successfully solved complex challenges unique to each external project.

Demo | Rothe Development
Rothe Development Inc | EVA Training facility

Scheduling & Logistics

Our staff has become adept at quickly maneuvering through the various stakeholder calendars and scheduled operational events to identify excess capacity availability. As NASA’s mission and facility operations grow, these efforts become more challenging, however, we rely on a ‘yes if’ mentality and shy away from the easier ‘no because’ perspective. For this reason, we have been able to successfully manage and identify test time for our legacy customers in a high-demand facility. When needed our Shipping & Receiving staff has dealt with large international packages involving customs and unique documentation.

Product Demonstrations

On various occasions, pre-pandemic, Rothe has managed unique product demonstrations that provide our partners with the capability to highlight their products to their own customers at the government facility. In some cases, the demos involved multiple days with up to 150 guests per day. Events were catered on-site, with accommodations for presentations, topside, and underwater multimedia views, and underwater cinematography level video captured as a deliverable. Our team excels in customer service and the benefits of these unique demonstrations extend to the government facility as news and media organizations showcase the collaboration of industries.

Neutral Bouyancy Lab | Rothe Development RDI

Product Demonstrations

On various occasions, pre-pandemic, Rothe has managed unique product demonstrations that provide our partners with the capability to highlight their products to their own customers at the government facility. In some cases, the demos involved multiple days with up to 150 guests per day. Events were catered on-site, with accommodations for presentations, topside, and underwater multimedia views, and underwater cinematography level video captured as a deliverable. Our team excels in customer service and the benefits of these unique demonstrations extend to the government facility as news and media organizations showcase the collaboration of industries.

Neutral Bouyancy Lab | Rothe Development RDI