SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- STRUCTURALLY-EFFICIENT COMPOSITE STRUTS FOR AEROSPACE VEHICLES
- Notice Date
- 9/24/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 144, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton,VA 23681-0001
- ZIP Code
- 23681-0001
- Solicitation Number
- NNL10ZB1014
- Response Due
- 10/30/2009
- Archive Date
- 9/24/2010
- Point of Contact
- Susan E. McClain, Contracting Officer, Phone 757-864-8687, Fax 757-864-8863, Email Susan.E.Mcclain@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Susan E. McClain
(Susan.E.Mcclain@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley ResearchCenter (LaRC) Request for Information (RFI). It is emphasized that the requestedinformation is only intended to determine the current state of the art in the areasdescribed herein. It does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that NASAwill solicit for such procurement in the future. White papers in response to this noticewill also verify reasonableness and feasibility of future requirements and promotecompetition. The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred in furnishing thisinformation. Do not include any proprietary, International Traffic in Arms Regulations(ITAR), or other controlled information in the white paper. To the extent that anyinformation submitted in response to this RFI is marked as or construed to be proprietaryor business-sensitive, Respondents are hereby notified (a) about the potentiality thatsuch information may be publicly disclosed and that (b) submission of information inresponse to this RFI constitutes consent to such handling and disclosure of submittedinformation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of any governmentassessments. All information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Governmentfor program planning and acquisition strategy development. As stipulated in FAR15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted bythe Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation exists; therefore, please donot request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will besynopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is thepotential Offerors responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of anysolicitation or synopsis. Submittal of a white paper response to this RFI is due byOctober 30, 2009.NASA evaluates the structural efficiency of concepts for aircraft and spacecraftcomponents with the goal of designing reduced-mass parts. The use of fibrous compositessuch as carbon-epoxy in place of traditional metallic structure creates the potential formass savings in many Constellation Vehicles. One candidate for mass savings is the Altairlunar-lander. The current Altair lunar-lander point-of-departure design consists of atruss-based descent module composed of a large number of truss members. The lander trussserves as the support structure for the massive liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogenpropellant tanks, and payload mass. The current lunar-lander is significantly larger andmore massive than the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) of the Apollo program, and hencepresents significantly new and different design challenges. Because of the extreme needto reduce mass, it is essential that the lander truss elements be designed to operate atpeak efficiency. This RFI is intended to determine the state of the art in bothmanufacturing technology, and capability to develop and fabricate structurally-efficientcomposite struts.General requirements for consideration in the conceptual design and manufacture ofcomposite-material struts:Anticipated strut lengths range from 30 to 150 inches.Anticipated strut loads range from 110 Kips (compression) to +60 Kips (tension),which include factors of safety.As many as 11 struts may join at a node.The suggested resin and fiber system shall be readily available and able towithstand the launch and lunar environments for the lunar lander.Concept-development, design, and analysis topics of interest related to the generalrequirements listed above:Methods of performing strut-mass optimization analyses.Prediction of strut structural-response under extreme conditions.The implications of various strut concept geometries and manufacturingapproaches.The advantages and disadvantages of various strut material system options.Strut end-fitting concepts, which efficiently transmit strut internal-loads toadjacent structure (e.g. nodes, hard-points).The white paper shall describe a Respondent-proposed structurally-efficientfiber-reinforced strut concept which satisfies all requirements identified above.RFI Requirements and Preparation of White Paper responses.Interested parties should respond with the following critical information: 1. General Description: (a) Describe the proposed composite strut concept and the designprocess. (b) Describe the manufacturing technology, including tooling. (c) Explain whythe Respondent believes the concept and techniques discussed in (a)-(b) promotestructural-efficiency. (d) Describe known or anticipated sensitivities pertaining to thestrut concept, manufacturing technology and manufacturing-induced imperfections, andflight qualification. 2. Experience: (a) Describe any relevant company experience to include composite-materialstructural concept development, design, manufacture, repair, test, or deployment. (b) Asit pertains to (a), comment on strut structural scale-up. (c) Comment on a potentialapproach and the feasibility for operations ramp-up necessary to undertake a project asdescribed by Respondent in the white paper.Responses fulfilling the RFI requirements are requested by 4:30 pm. EST by October 30,2009. Interested firms should submit white paper responses to this RFI to the followingthree individuals: Eric C. Lundgren at Eric.C.Lundgren@nasa.gov, Susan McClain atSusan.E.McClain@nasa.gov, and Liliana J. Richwine at Liliana.J.Richwine@nasa.gov with thesubject line Composite Strut RFI, (Company Name). If additional information is requiredto respond to this RFI, please contact Eric Lundgren at the e-mail address listed above.Limit your white paper response to 10 pages or less including diagrams, pictures, orfigures. Responses that can stand on their own without further explanation are expected.However, if NASA has specific questions, please provide your contact information so wecan contact you. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B". The RFI and any documentsrelated to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents willreside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browserapplication.The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/LaRC Business Opportunities home page ishttp://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=23. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet site for the release of thesolicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible fordownloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any. Any referencednotes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.Point of Contact================Name: Eric C. Lundgren (Technical Monitor)Title:Aerospace EngineerPhone:757-864-7399Fax: 757-864-7943E-mail: Eric.C.Lundgren@nasa.gov
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/LaRC/OPDC20220/NNL10ZB1014/listing.html)
- Record
- SN01969671-W 20090926/090925001750-360543fa26f1c52da1e4973549c406c8 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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