Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Dual Use Program was initiated primarily in response to the Administration's emphasis on increasing NASA's commitment to being more relevant and applying "space technology" to the commercial market when possible. The program was developed to involve potential commercial partners and take advantage of their expertise early in the development stage. The overall goal is to produce one product that meets both NASA's and the commercial partner's needs, thus "giving back" to the public for their tax dollar investment. A Dual Use project should not be confused with a spinoff project which usually results in two end products, one that meets the NASA need and a second which is similar but is redesigned to fill a commercial need. The different paths of a dual use project and a spinoff project are illustrated below.

As stated above, projects that come under the Dual Use umbrella are those that develop technology into products that both meet a NASA/KSC need and have commercial opportunities as well. Technologies under consideration at KSC typically go through a process for selection as Dual Use projects as outlined in the above process flow. However, the flexibility of the program also allows for streamlining this process for some projects.

NASA also has a strategic alliance with the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) to deliver the successful and cost-effective transfer of cutting-edge technologies to small businesses in the State of Florida.