Inactive

NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) has a requirement for production of three Laser Air Monitor System (LAMS) units which are intended to be used on approximately eight Artemis missions, beginning with Ar... NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) has a requirement for production of three Laser Air Monitor System (LAMS) units which are intended to be used on approximately eight Artemis missions, beginning with Artemis III. The LAMS will measure oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperature, and pressure accurately enough to detect unsafe levels of these elements within the Orion spacecraft in time to allow the crew to respond to the fast changes in air composition in the Orion cabin. The LAMS is a heavily integrated component of the Orion spacecraft, with integration required early in the production flow, prior to integration of numerous other spacecraft components. Any delays in hardware delivery, acceptance testing, or the occurrence of any testing failures would directly delay the production of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis III, which is planned to launch in August 2024. The subsequent LAMS flight units that will be incorporated into the Orion spacecraft starting with Artemis IV will need to be developed to include Radiation Hardened Military Standard Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) parts, which have an approximately two year procurement lead-time, and will need to pass additional acceptance testing. Effective development, on-time delivery, and successful acceptance testing of the modified LAMS will be critical in order to avoid delays to the Agency’s launch date requirement for Artemis IV in August 2025. NASA/JSC intends to purchase the LAMS units from Dynetics, Inc. under the authority of FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B), "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Suppliers or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements." This authority allows for other than full and open competition when supplies are deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, when it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Agency’s requirements. Dynetics, Inc. is the incumbent contractor under the current contract for Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation (DDT&E) of the highly specialized LAMS to meet the mission requirements through Artemis II. Dynetics has developed custom equipment and software, not owned by the Government, with the broad temperature and pressure ranges and accuracy required for the gas constituents in those ranges, in order to ensure successful sensor alignment and unit calibration for the LAMS. Dynetics also possesses the capabilities and certifications required to perform the LAMS requirements, such as Capability Maturity Model Integration Level 3 Certification, AS9100 Certification or ISO9001 Certification, and ISO certified clean room facilities. Given the market research performed, including responses received to the Sources Sought Synopsis posted to beta.sam.gov on November 14, 2019, the Government is not aware of any vendors other than the incumbent that produce air monitors or lasers with the capability requirements of the LAMS that also have the aforementioned equipment, software, certifications, and facilities. The process for obtaining these capabilities would be expected to take a minimum of three years. Given the Government’s required delivery dates for the LAMS flight units and the production lead-times described above, the multiple year lead-time required for a new vendor to obtain these necessary capabilities would cause an unacceptable delay in fulfilling the Agency’s launch manifest requirements. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336419, Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,000 employees. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. All responsible sources may submit a written capability statement which shall be considered by the Agency. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort via email to Amber.n.coyne@nasa.gov not later than 4:00 p.m. CDT on March 2, 2020. Such capabilities and qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not 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. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html.

Inactive

Introduction The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC) is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties h... Introduction The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC) is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement for the productionof the Laser Air Monitor System (LAMS) which will be delivered to the Government for subsequent installation on the Orion spacecraft for Artemis missions III, IV, and V. Background The Orion spacecraft, also known as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), is the spacecraft that will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. An anchoring capability of the Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Projects is a human-rated Orion that will safely carry human crews from Earth into deep space and back again. The LAMS will measure oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperature, and pressure accurately enough to detect unsafe levels of these elements within the Orion spacecraft in time to allow the crew to respond to the fast changes in air composition in the Orion cabin. Current LAMS Contract Requirements NASA’s current contract with Dynetics, Inc. is performed through NASA’s NextSTEP Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), NNH15CN79C, which requires the Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation (DDT&E) and flight unit production of the LAMS to meet the capability requirements necessary to support Artemis II. The capability requirements for the LAMS developed under the NextSTEP BAA are summarized as follows: Detect, measure, and transmit oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperature, and pressure every 1 second (1 Hz) while meeting accuracy requirements. Detect, measure, and trasmit oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperaure, and pressure during the entire operation of each Artemis vehicle from initial power on through landing and recovery, including all dynamic events. Detect, measure, and tranmist oxygen with an accuracy of +/- 0.05 Pounds Per Square Inch Absolute (PSIA) and +/- 0.5 PSIA to support fast changes in oxygen composition in the Orion cabin within the Orion environment. Detect, measure, and transmit carbon dioxide with an accuracy of +/- 0.31 mmHg within the Orion environment. Detect, measure, and transmit water vapor with an accuracy of +/- 0.2 mmHg within the Orion environment. Detect, measure, and transmit temperature and pressure with an accuracy to support fast changes within the Orion environment Contemplated Future Requirements NASA JSC is considering acquisition strategies to enable initial production of the LAMS flight units for Artemis III, IV, and V. The contemplated future requirements are anticipated to include production of the LAMS developed under the NextSTEP BAA for Artemis III, with limited DDT&E required to incorporate use of Radiation Hardened Military Standard Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) parts on the LAMS for Artemis IV and V. Hardware Deliverables The anticipated hardware deliverables for this requirement are listed below: Build-to-Print one LAMS flight unit for the Artemis III to be delivered by approximately August 15, 2020. Build and deliver one LAMS flight unit for each of the Artemis IV and V missions which shall be upgraded to use Radiation Hardened Military Standard EEE parts by approximately April 15, 2022. Deliver one qualification unit and one spare unit at the same time as the Flight Unit delivery for Artemis IV and V (approximately April 15, 2022). Build and deliver three fully assembled printed ciruit boards for radiation testing and six printed circuit board spares at the same time as the Flight Unit delivery for Artemis IV and V (approximately April 15, 2022). Performance and acceptance testing will be performed by the Government on all units following delivery. The contractor for the contemplated LAMS contract would be expected to provide any and all facilities required to meet the contract requirements. Government Furnished Property is not currently anticipated to be provided for the contemplated LAMS contract. Data Deliverables NASA requires documentation and review of the documentation supporting the required hardware deliverables before delivery to NASA. A summary of the types of data that the Contractor will be required to deliver is provided below: Analysis Reports (including stress, thermal, fracture, EEE parts stress, and derating) Materials, Bill of Materials, and As-Built Part List Electrical Bonding and Isolation Test Report Limited Life Items List All Engineering Drawings Software/Firmware Documentation (including version description, requirement verification, test reports, user guide, and test procedures) End Item Specifications Science Verification Test Plan, Data, and Reports Calibration Data As-Built Flight LAM Mass, Dimensions, Software Interfaces and Power Draw of the Designed Flight Units. Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3 Certification and Documentation Data will be used to support verification closures. Response Instructions If your organization has the potential capability to perform the contemplated future requirements listed above, please provide the following information to the best of your ability. Partial responses are also accepted. Organization name, address, email address, website address, DUNS number, and size and type of ownership for the organization (e.g. large business, small business, women-owned small business, etc). Expression of your organization’s interest in the LAMS requirements, which would require producing the LAMS based on NASA-provided requirements and interface control documents. Identification of any perceived barriers to competition, and any suggested mitigations, assuming NASA’s intent to require the production of multiple units of the LAM system developed under the NextSTEP BAA. Discuss your company’s ability to perform each of the contemplated future requirements listed above. If subcontracting or joint venture is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the anticipated administrative and management structure of such arrangements (if this information is known at this time). Also address what elements of work would be performed by the prime or joint venture and which elements would be performed by subcontractors. Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform one or more elements of the contemplated future requirements described above are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Synopsis by December 2, 2019. All responses to this Sources Sought Synopsis must be emailed to amber.n.coyne@nasa.gov and not exceed 10 pages. Please reference 80JSC020LAMS in any response. The government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to 1) fulfill the requirements consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) assess feasibility of competition; and 3) identify capable small businesses which may be able to perform these requirements or or a portion thereof. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 336419, Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,000 employees. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and there is no solicitation at this time. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals (RFP); submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred nor will the respondents be notified of the results of the evaluation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in beta.SAM.Gov. It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. If the Government issues a RFP, the Government reserves the right to restrict the procurement to small businesses. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html. An Interested Vendors List is enabled within this posting. This list is available to other vendors to allow potential offerors the opportunity to network. Parties that would like their information posted to the Interested Vendors List shall use the “Add Me to Interested Vendors” button. If a vendor would like to be removed from the Interested Vendors List, use the “Remove Me from Interested Vendors” button.