Inactive

NASA intends to award a sole-source contract to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) pursuant to 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source, in support of Wallops Flight Facility (WFF... NASA intends to award a sole-source contract to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) pursuant to 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source, in support of Wallops Flight Facility (WFF)/Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) requirements for tracking small satellite missions. Wallops Flight Facility plans to award a Cost Reimbursable contract with an estimated one-year base award period; including two (2) one-year option performance periods. This award is necessary for the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) ground station, which provides CubeSat command uplink and telemetry downlink for a set of spacecrafts in orbit. WFF requires an alternate UHF system for Small Satellite tracking during unplanned failure events. This unique expertise is based on MIT's related technical efforts with an existing NASA Heliophysics small satellite project under the VISTA contract. A UHF multi-mode phased array feed has been created by a MIT student and installed on the Westford telescope. The UHF feed is operational and has been successfully used for ghost tracking of several cubesat missions in receive-only mode. This engineering effort is being extended to put in place a more robust and higher performance antenna system that meets the requirement to provide and operate a UHF tracking capability as a backup to the WFF system. The uniqueness is that the overall system implementation will enable regular satellite tracking operations using the MIT Westford telescope. Industry would have to build and configure their systems to track the Wallops supported small satellites. Using the existing capability at MIT eliminates the constraints with system development and implementation; and leverages the technology that MIT provides for other NASA programs. The specialized nature of the requirement for the Wallops UHF tracking station demonstrates that MIT is the only known source that can meet the WFF small satellite operations support services within the WFF schedule constraints. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 12:00 PM. local time on, the response due date. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf (nasa.gov) All contractual and technical questions must be submitted in writing via e-mail only to LaShawn K. Feimster@nasa.gov, no later than December 10, 2021. Telephone questions will not be accepted. -End of Synopsis