SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO EVOLVING ARCHITECTURE FOR SPACE COMMUNICATIONS
- Notice Date
- 4/21/2005
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135
- ZIP Code
- 44135
- Solicitation Number
- NASA-SNOTE-050421-001
- Archive Date
- 4/21/2006
- Description
- THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION. IT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). NASA does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this information, but may release an RFP at a later date based on the need for this type of technology and its feasibility based upon the responses to this request for information (RFI). This request is for information planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to provide information on related technologies. Prospective offerors are invited to submit comments or questions to the identified point of contact, no later than May 6, 2005. In responding, use reference RFI-NNC0500001L. This announcement is not tied to any scheduled or anticipated procurements at this time. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) solicits information and white papers on space qualifiable Software Defined Radio (SDR) evolving architectures and their associated technologies for space-based NASA applications. The purpose of the RFI is to assess SDR architectures and core technology elements to determine an appropriate investment strategy to advance these technologies to meet future mission needs. NASA GRC seeks to advance the technologies of SDR architectures to enable advanced on-orbit frequency and waveform reconfigurability and programmability and increase data rate capability while reducing power, mass, and cost of SDRs for space communications. Technologies of interest include: (1)Operating Environment Components: ?The Operating Environment (OE) consists of three software components: Core Framework, and Middleware, and Real-Time Operating System. ?Throughout this section it may be helpful to refer to Figure 1 which includes sample NASA space software defined resource allocations for each OE component. ?Core Framework 1. Describe your core framework?s ability to be tailored to meet NASA space specific requirements for memory, power and performance. Current COTS and open source core frameworks memory requirements are orders of magnitude larger than NASA space based core framework memory allocations. 2. Provide, as a minimum, the means for NASA to evaluate and/or gain access to Reduced Footprint Core Framework (RFCF) source software. NASA desires the use of the RFCF (?CF Light?) examples for evaluation purposes. 3. NASA desires to dynamically allocate waveform resources across the platform but envisions a high cost for increased memory footprint required by XML processing and space qualifying multiple configuration deployments. Responses are encouraged to suggest alternative designs, to XML processing, to support dynamic waveform resource allocation within their corresponding core framework. 4. If NASA decides to reduce or eliminates the requirement for dynamic waveform resource allocation describe how your core framework will continue to support portability, reconfigurability and scalability requirements. 5. Describe your plans to support stringent NASA flight verification requirements of OE components. 6. Document performance testing associated with your core frameworks?s overhead rates. 7. Document core framework memory footprint size in Kbytes per source language (C, C++). 8. Document processing or logic resources for any implementation in hardware devices. ?Middleware 1.Discuss any middleware (e.g. CORBA ORBs, software buses, and messaging software) designed specifically for space based software defined radio. Discuss standardization activities for any middleware recommendation. 2.NASA desires to maximize portability between processing elements and therefore is interested in ORBs (or other middleware implementations) that run on GPPs, DSPs as well as hardware processing devices (e.g. FPGAs). Document your middleware capability to execute on a hardware device (e.g. FPGA and DSP) or future plans to execute on reconfigurable logic. 3.Document how CORBA vendors? ORBs utilize shared memory when the space waveform application components reside on the same processor. 4.Document performance testing associated with your middleware?s overhead rates associated with its protocol layer communication between peer components. 5.Document middleware memory footprint size in Kbytes per source language (C, C++). 6.Document processing or logic resources for any implementation in hardware devices. ?Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) 1.Describe how your RTOS meets POSIX AEP while not restricting resource limited environments common in space applications. 2.Describe how your RTOS meets POSIX AEP on a General Purpose Processor (GPP) and supports POSIX AEP minimum on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). 3.Describe how your RTOS meets a minimum POSIX subset and while not using memory and performance resources associated with the unused POSIX subset. 4.Discuss RTOS certification to FIP 140-2 out of the box or plans to achieve. 5.Discuss RTOS certification to FAA DO-178B, out of the box, or plans to achieve Level A certification for reliability. 6.Document performance testing associated with your RTOS overhead rates. 7.Document RTOS memory footprint size in Kbytes per source language (C, C++). 8.Document processing or logic resources for any implementation in hardware devices. II. Response Requirements The following information is requested in accordance with this RFI: 1.A description of related technologies and experience within your organization or company that would support the NASA technology needs as described above. For each technology identified, provide a brief description of the technology and how it would support the NASA need. 2.Provide an assessment of the effort (schedule and ROM cost) required to raise the technology to a sufficient level to demonstrate the technology in the space environment. Note other organizations funding the technology development or using the products intended for space applications. 3.Provide your assessment of the limiting factors to advance the core technologies to enable the characteristics and system architecture described above. 4.Responders may offer proprietary (marked as appropriate) evaluation products for NASA use in the interim. NASA will provide white paper study results to responders on the technical findings of the evaluation products. Dependant on the negotiation of Nondisclosure Agreements (NDA?s) directly between the Responder and the on-site contractor, NASA may utilize on-site Contractors to review responses. RESPONDERS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRANGE DIRECTLY WITH THE ON-SITE CONTRACTORS FOR NDA?S AS NECESSARY TO ALLOW FOR THIS REVIEW. Contact points for the contractors are set forth in the attachment. NASA will review all responses evaluations,however, sufficient time to characterize performance will be needed. Responders are encouraged to allow NASA to use their evaluation responses for 3-6 months. 5.Provide the name of a business and technical point of contact for your organization or company along with their phone number, e-mail address and mailing address. III. Submittal Instructions Respondents should address all the items in the order that they are listed in Section II to Tammy M. Blaser, NASA Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, MS 86-11, Cleveland, Ohio 44135, TEL: 216-433-2699, E-mail: tammy.m.blaser@nasa.gov. NASA GRC would be pleased to meet with potential respondents to discuss this RFI or host contractor presentations at GRC related to this RFI. THIS RFI IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. NASA expects that responses to this RFI will initiate discussions about the mutual benefit of partnering and, if NASA and the responder agree that a partnership is in the best interest of both parties, the partnership will be documented in an appropriate agreement. Prospective responsdents with questions regarding this RFI may submit them via e-mail to Michael Kinkelaar no later than May 6, 2005, at Michael.J.Kinkelaar@nasa.gov. THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT, NOR WILL THE GOVERNMENT PAY FOR THE INFORMATION SOLICITED. All information received in response to this RFI will be combined and used for government procurement planning purposes. This information will be reviewed and summarized by a panel of experts. Some or no part of the summarized reommendations may or may not form the basis of a future NASA solicitation, such as a Request for Proposals (RFP). Respondents will not be notified of the results of the review. An Ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B".
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