Inactive

Sources Sought for the Roman Space Telescope (RST) Outer Barrel Assembly (OBA) Description The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is seeking capab... Sources Sought for the Roman Space Telescope (RST) Outer Barrel Assembly (OBA) Description The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is seeking capability statements, rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) estimates, and production schedules from all interested businesses that can design, analyze, manufacture, and test the RST Outer Barrel Assembly (OBA). The OBA is a primary structure element of the RST, manufactured from aluminum honeycomb panels with graphite-reinforced composite facesheets, epoxy-paste bonded titanium fittings, composite tubes, bonded composite brackets, potted aluminum sandwich inserts, and mechanical fasteners. The structure prevents stray light from reaching optical components of the telescope, and supports other elements such as the Solar Arrays and Deployable Aperture Cover. The draft Statement of Work, Specification, and draft high-level technical drawing are included with this release. After thoroughly reviewing the provided documents, vendors are requested to provide ROM cost and schedule estimates. The final Statement of Work, Specification, and technical drawings will be updated prior to release of the formal Request for Proposal, in Fall 2021. They should serve to provide vendors with an understanding of what will be required and allow them to provide a reasonable ROM cost estimate and schedule estimate. Qualified vendors should provide details on a documented history of fabricating complex composite space structures for satellites or spacecraft. Structural stiffness and thermal expansion are critical elements of the design, and vendors should be experienced in working under such constraints. NASA/GSFC will consider information submitted in response to this request as non-binding and will use it for market research purposes only. A high level assembly drawing is shown above. The structure is approximately 4 meters wide, by 5.5 meters tall. The structure occupies a cylindrical volume of approximately 130 m2. Vendors must have adequate autoclave and fabrication facilities for handling a structure of this size. The OBA consists of three major subassemblies, which can be provided as detailed technical drawings to responding vendors at a later stage of procurement. These subassemblies include: The Elephant Stand, a composite tube truss structure. The Main Ring, a flat hexagonal structure composed of titanium corner fittings and honeycomb/composite sandwich panels. The Shell Section, a set of six large honeycomb/composite panels joined with composite and titanium fittings, and several honeycomb/composite panel decks with an interior baffle system for stray light protection. NASA/GSFC will provide to the selected vendor a subset of the components required for fabrication, as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). Additional details on this are described in the Statement of work, but in general include: Elephant stand tubes Elephant stand titanium fittings All T300/954-6 and M55J/954-6 graphite-reinforced composite prepreg material (uncured) FM-73U film adhesive All aluminum honeycomb core. All remaining material and hardware will be the responsibility of the vendor. This material must be aerospace grade, and provided with certifications which will be made available to NASA/GSFC. The OBA shall be qualified for spaceflight use over the mission lifetime, commensurate with the requirements of a NASA Class A mission, as specified in the OBA Specifications and Statement of Work; details include, but are not limited to, the following: The OBA shall meet physical requirements in accordance with a Mechanical Interface Control Document (MICD); this includes, but is not limited to, interface definition, physical envelope, and mass properties. In addition to fabrication of the structure, the selected vendor will be expected to perform a comprehensive set of laminate property and workmanship tests, in order to show that their capabilities are comparable to pathfinder test already performed by NASA/GSFC. The OBA shall meet cleanliness requirements as defined in the Specification including, but not limited to, surface contamination, contamination generation, and cleanability. The OBA shall meet design and construction requirements as defined in the Specification including, but not limited to, Parts, Materials & Processes; workmanship; joint design, and mechanisms design. RST OBA expects to procure one (1) Flight Unit; and, an option for two (2) joint workmanship tests. NASA is seeking capabilities from large and all categories of small businesses and HBCU/MSIs for the purpose of performing the work and in order to determine the appropriate level of competition and small business and HBCU/MSI subcontracting goals for this requirement. Interested offerors having the necessary specialized capabilities to meet our requirements outlined above should submit a capability statement, ROM cost estimate, and schedule. This capability statement should indicate the ability to be the Prime Contractor or Subcontractor and perform all aspects of the effort described herein. It is insufficient to provide only general brochures or generic information. Additionally, your responses must include the following: name and address of firm, size of business; whether they are large, small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, and/or woman-owned, affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, and a summary of past relevant experience with the components mentioned above. ROM Cost estimates and schedules should be itemized per the hardware and data deliverables listed in RST-MECH-LIST-0074.pdf and show as much detail as possible. Technical and procurement questions should be directed to: Julie Janus at julie.a.janus@nasa.gov. It is requested that capability statements and ROM estimates be submitted as described in the previous paragraphs by electronic mail to: Julie Janus at julie.a.janus@nasa.gov, no later than 5:00 PM ET on July 2, 2021. Qualified vendors are requested to be available for a site visit by government representatives in the later half of July 2021, so that they may assess the capabilities of vendors in person. Arrangements for such a visit can be made through the contact above. It is emphasized that this synopsis is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Upon review of the information provided to NASA, it is the Government’s intent to release a “Request for Proposal", which could lead to a contract award. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business based on responses hereto. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. 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. An ombudsman has been appointed -- The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf