Inactive

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO PROPOSALS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. This notice is issued by the NASA/MSFC to post a Statement of Work to solicit responses from interested... THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO PROPOSALS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. This notice is issued by the NASA/MSFC to post a Statement of Work to solicit responses from interested non-profit parties. This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is seeking capability statements from all interested non-profit parties to assist in the planning and acquisition for development of a public private partnership that includes technology maturation in advance manufacturing processes for exploration applications, new material development, process capabilities development and large-scale hardware design, analysis, fabrication, inspection, and testing under the MSFC led technology development projects. Industry response to this Request for Information (RFI) is requested within the context of the requirements and general approach described in the below sections. I. Background NASA is seeking information for MSFC technology development projects to provide advanced manufacturing processes for exploration applications (propulsion and light weight structures), new material development (including refractory materials and high strength light weight composites), process capabilities development including surface enhancements for additive manufactured components and insitu fabrication and assembly, and large scale hardware design, analysis, fabrication, inspection and testing. These technology development projects seek to create a domestic supply chain and develop specialized manufacturing technology vendors available for use by all government agencies and commercial space companies. This activity is planning to take advantage of government and industry investments through public-private partnerships and provide process development data and technology improvements across the propulsion and related industries. This topic is particularly interested in domestic United States non-profit businesses to enable technology development at specialty manufacturing vendors. NASA has established the use of public private partnerships (PPP) with academia and specialty manufacturing companies under a consortium to provide cost sharing from industry and academia. The purpose of this public private partnership is to advance advanced manufacturing, specifically additive manufacturing (AM), composite manufacturing, novel AM alloy development, multi-metallic AM, AM post-processing, and a integrated solution combining these technologies for industrialization and infusion into NASA and commercial space applications. NASA has been evaluating the feasibility of several techniques for manufacturing of propulsion components and large-light weight structures and maturation of these technologies for current and future flight applications. The goal of these manufacturing technologies is to reduce overall mission and support costs, associated schedules, and improve performance. NASA is realizing the benefits of additive manufacturing (specifically laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) and laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED)) through past significant investments. These investments include material characterization, property development, specifications and standards development, component and engine design and development, and demonstration during hot-fire testing. The technology development maturation will ultimately lead to integration into spaceflight applications. However, broader use of L-PBF additive manufacturing in aerospace and NASA mission applications is limited by the size of the components that can be fabricated. The LP-DED additive manufacturing process was developed and matured for these large scale aerospace applications under the Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT). Follow-on approved and future technology development projects seek to further address scale limitations and enhance optimization of thrust chamber assemblies through performance including design, material properties and surface improvements and to apply these large scale advanced processes to components such as tanks and propellant storage and feed components for liquid engines. Based on these needs described above, NASA is interested in partnering for development and integration of the following Technology Areas as part of MSFC’s technology development projects. Additive post-processing surface enhancement/polishing techniques, evolving the enabling materials for high performance and advanced materials and process modeling and validation Develop large-scale freeform laser blown powder deposition technology for forming regen-cooled nozzle components. Enabling materials for high performance and extreme environments for large scale propulsion applications. (Ox-rich, H2 Compatibility, High Conductivity, Composite) Advance materials and process modeling and validation that allows for “First Time Through” and repeatable part fabrication that enables an additive digital model twin. Additive manufactured C103 thruster and extension development and test. Additive manufactured optimized Nb, MoW, and W-alloy formulation and feedstock development. Additive manufactured optimized MoW and W-alloy development and testing. Emerging thermoplastic material systems for space applications. High-reliability thermoplastics joining processes Analytical tools for structural behavior of unitized thermoplastic components. Material property and compatibility assessment for long duration service life for a light weight tank. This includes permeability and property development for cryogenic tanks. Manufacturing processes for lond storage cryogenic tanks. Process models and advanced analytical tools for structural systems II. Detailed RFI Information Being Requested The following information is being requested that addresses company information, industry capabilities, process information, and partnership interest. A. Company Information and General Capabilities Please address the following information, if applicable: Manufacturing Core Competency and Capabilities Relevant facilities and Machines available supporting technology development Key Personnel and Experts (comment if staff metallurgist or specialty composite materials engineer) including biographic information including related education and experience Relevant Facilities and equipment available supporting specialty manufacturing technology development Relevant current or past projects, industry use of your manufacturing process/hardware, and any size capabilities that may support key technology area Quality Certifications and other relevant certifications Comment on International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) Data Handling, Compliance, or Certifications. Do you currently handle ITAR data? What is the Technology Readiness Level of your technology? (aerospace or non-aerospace applications) What is the Manufacturing Readiness Level of your technology? (aerospace or non-aerospace applications) Are you willing to be a provider of this technology, develop component/hardware to US government agencies, commercial industry and commercial space partners? What procurement mechanism or approach would you recommend? B. Detailed Process Information that Addresses the Technology Areas Please address the following information, if applicable: Materials available and general property data Process Development Approach for samples and full hardware fabrication What high level challenges would you expect for sample and hardware fabrication? C. Process Development Estimates and Partnership Please address the following information, if applicable: Comment on conceptual development plan for samples that would complete mechanical and characterization testing at NASA Would you consider a 25% cost share under a public private partnership? This could be in the form of machine and process development time, materials, labor, fringe and overhead, reduced rates, and covering other direct costs. Does this align with current aerospace business or is this a new market for your company? III. RFI Responses All responses should be provided in MS Word or PDF document format via electronic media. Font should be Time new Roman, size 12. Responses shall not exceed 8 pages. Bulleted, numbering, and graphics are acceptable as needed within text. The cover page is excluded from the page count. Provide name of submitter and contact information (Company Name, Location, Contact Name, Phone Number and Email Address) on the cover page. If a company has capabilities in more than one key technology area, they are requested to submit a response to each key technology area. It is understood that company information and process information may be identical, but the intent is that the company addresses the specifics of the key technology area. This presolicitation synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. The Government may not respond to questions/concerns submitted. The Government will use the information to finalize the RFP as necessary. All comments or questions shall be submitted electronically via email to Kimberly Ojeda, kimberly.r.ojeda@nasa.gov no later than January 06, 2023 at 10:00am CST. When responding reference RAMPT II. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at : https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, then it and any additional documents will be available on www.SAM.gov. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any. NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents in order to facilitate teaming arrangements. Should your firm desire not to be included in this listing, clearly indicate this desire in your response.