SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- FACILITATED ACCESS TO THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY
- Notice Date
- 3/10/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNH10FAST01
- Response Due
- 4/19/2010
- Archive Date
- 3/10/2011
- Point of Contact
- Amy B Hiltabidel, FAST Program Coordinator, Phone 216-433-8063, Fax 000-000-0000, Email Amy.Hiltabidel@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Amy B Hiltabidel
(Amy.Hiltabidel@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology (FAST)ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITYOPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY MATURITY IN A MICRO-GRAVITY OR REDUCED GRAVITYENVIRONMENT1.0INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUNDThe FAST program has been established to increase opportunities to advance the maturityof key technologies and thereby reduce the risk of adopting those technologies byproviding access to space-environment testing. The FAST program also encouragescommercial development and competition by using commercially available services whenavailable.The purpose of the FAST program is targeted toward technologies that: Support NASA's missions but are not yet mature enough for adoption into NASAsprograms with acceptable risk; and Might not otherwise be tested due to lack of funding, such as those developed byprivate companies including SBIR/STTR contractors and other small companies, universitiesor research institutions and NASA projects in early development.This Announcement solicits interest from U.S. federal, state and local governmententities, U.S. private entities (including, but not limited to, commercial firms,non-profit entities, and academic institutions), and partnerships between such entities,for the use of a parabolic aircraft as a micro-gravity or reduced-gravity testbedenvironment. Awards under this Announcement to private entities will be made using NASAsauthority to enter into Space Act Agreements and will include providing access to NASAfacilities, personnel and technical information. There will no funds provided to anyProposer in connection with awards made under this Announcement. Proposers areresponsible for financing their own activities. Awards made to NASA organizations orother public entities will be made under appropriate agreement structures. NASA Centersproposing partnerships will be responsible for entering into appropriate agreementssupporting the proposed activities, subject to the review and concurrence of the FASTProgram Coordinator. Selected Project Teams will be provided flight time in a micro-gravity or reduced gravityenvironment through access to parabolic aircraft flights. Each flight includesapproximately 40 parabolic trajectories and each parabolic trajectory providesapproximately 25 seconds of reduced-gravity time. Microgravity and reduced gravityconditions such as lunar gravity (.16 g) or Mars gravity (.38 g) as well as other partialgravity levels can be created. The aircraft and its payload will experience increasedgravity levels (~ 2 g) in between parabolas. It is anticipated that 15-20 experimentswill be selected from this Announcement for flights scheduled during September 2010.Proposals that are not selected under this Announcement due to limited flightopportunities may be considered for future flight opportunities.Response Date:This announcement is open through April 19, 2010. NASA will not issue paper copies of this Announcement. NASA reserves the right to selectfor negotiations all, some, or none of the proposals submitted in response to thisAnnouncement. NASA provides no funding for reimbursement of proposal development costs.Material submitted in response to this Announcement will not be returned. It is thepolicy of NASA to safeguard all proposals as confidential and privileged information, asprovided by law. NASA will not, without permission of the proposers, use the proposalcontents for other than evaluation purposes. It is not NASA's intent to publicly discloseproprietary information obtained during this Announcement. To the full extent that it isprotected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations,information identified by a respondent as 'Proprietary or Confidential' will be keptconfidential. NASA may use contractor support personnel to assist in providing expertiseregarding proposals. Any support contractor involved in the evaluation process shall befree of conflicts of interest, will be bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements toprotect proprietary and competition sensitive information. By submitting a proposal underthis Announcement, the proposer is deemed to have consented to release of data in itsproposal to NASA contractors supporting evaluation of proposals. 2.0GENERAL INFORMATION Agency Name: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Opportunity Title: Opportunity to Advance Technology Maturity in a Micro-Gravity orReduced Gravity Environment.Response Date: 4:30 PM, EDT, April 19, 2010Points of Contact: If you have questions concerning this Announcement please contact theFAST Program Coordinator: Amy B. Hiltabidel, NASA Glenn Research Center, Phone:216-433-8063, Email: Amy.Hiltabidel@nasa.gov. Proposers are encouraged to periodicallycheck the FAST program website:http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/innovation_incubator/FAST/index.html. The websitewill be used to post information pertinent to this Announcement. For other issues contactthe FAST Program Executive at NASA Headquarters: Andrew Petro, Phone: 202-358-0310,Email: andrew.j.petro@nasa.gov.Instrument Type(s): It is anticipated that awards to private entities under thisAnnouncement will be in the form of Space Act Agreements, executed under the authority of42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(5). A Space Act Agreement template for the FAST program will be postedon the FAST program website.Selection Recommendation Committee: Government personnel from NASA and NASA contractorsmay participate in the evaluation of proposals. All contractor personnel participating inthe evaluation will be bound by conflict of interest provisions and appropriatenon-disclosure requirements to protect proprietary information. Selection Notification Date: Selection for negotiations is anticipated to be within 45days of the Response Date. Proposals that are not selected under this Announcement due tolimited flight time and space may be considered for future flight opportunities.Submission Instructions: All Proposals, including signed Commitment Letters, must besubmitted in a single PDF file by electronic mail to the FAST Program Coordinator:Amy.Hiltabidel@nasa.gov no earlier than April 12, 2010 and no later than the deadline of4:30 PM, EDT, April 19, 2009. If a proposal includes partners at a NASA Center, a copy ofthe proposal must also be submitted to the appropriate NASA Center Point of Contact (seesection 7.0 below). Paper submissions will not be reviewed. Proposals received after theResponse Date will not be accepted. If a proposer is concerned about information securityduring transmission NASA has the ability to accept secure transmission. Contact the FASTProgram Coordinator for secure transmission requirements. Schedule: The following milestone schedule is provided as a guideline. Some dates may bemodified and updates will be provided on the FAST program website.March 10, 2010 - Call for proposals April 19, 2010 - Proposal deadlineMay 14, 2010 - Selection AnnouncementJune 18, 2010 - Space Act Agreements completedJune-August 2010 - Project teams prepare for flight-testing and submit requireddocumentationSeptember 2010 - Parabolic aircraft flight week occurs3.0ELIGIBILTY INFORMATIONAll categories of domestic entities are eligible to submit proposals in response to thisAnnouncement. NASA will not consider proposals that do not include a domestic entity asthe lead proposer. 4.0PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION4.1 Evaluation and Selection Process.All proposals will be initially screened to determine their compliance to the eligibility(section 3.0), technical requirements (section 5.0) and proposal instructions (section6.0) of this Announcement. Proposals that do not comply may be declared noncompliant andrejected without further review. Proposals deemed in compliance with this Announcementwill be assessed against the evaluation criteria outlined in Section 4.2 by the SelectionRecommendation Committee. Proposers should be aware that during the evaluation and selection process, NASA mayrequest clarification of a specific point or points in a proposal. Such a request and theProposers response shall be in writing. The Selection Recommendation Committee memberswill conduct independent assessments of the proposals according to evaluation criteriaoutlined in Section 4.2. 4.2 Evaluation Criteria The evaluation factors below are of equal weighting during evaluation. 1.Relevance and Value to NASA The proposed effort must accomplish reduced-gravitytesting of a technology of interest and value to NASAs missions, programs or projects. 2.Technology Readiness for Testing in a Micro-Gravity or Reduced GravityEnvironment The proposal must demonstrate that the technology is appropriate for theavailable parabolic testbed and that the proposed testing will advance its TechnologyReadiness Level (see Appendix A). There must be a reasonable expectation that thereduced-gravity testing will significantly contribute to advancing the maturity of thetechnology. Highest priority will be placed on an approach or concept that will createsubstantial increases in the current state-of-the-art. The proposal must clearlydemonstrate that the technology is ready for flight-testing.3.Resources and Schedule The overall merit, rationale, feasibility, andsuitability of the proposed effort or concept for testing in a micro-gravity or reducedgravity environment in light of available resources and schedule. Proposers shouldrequest the minimum number of flight days, aircraft volume and number of on-boardparticipants required to meet the proposal objectives. The FAST program would like toaccommodate as many projects as possible and so the extent of requested flight time,volume, personnel or other special needs may be a factor in the selection process. 4.Strength of Project Team The brief resumes of the project leader and key teammembers should indicate knowledge of the subject technology area and familiarity with thetest hardware and planned test operations. Previous experience among team members inflight-testing or other space-environment testing is not mandatory but is desirable.4.3 Selection Factors As described in Section 4.1, the results of the proposal evaluations based on thecriteria above and the subsequent Selection Recommendation Committee deliberations willbe considered in the selection process. The Selection Recommendation Committee may takeinto account a variety of programmatic factors in deciding whether or not to select anyproposals, including, but not limited to, available resources and alignment with NASAtechnology needs. All eligible proposals, regardless of source, will be evaluatedtogether and ranked for selection. The Selection Authority shall be the Director of theInnovative Partnerships Program. The Selection Authority will make the final selection ofthose approved for this opportunity after the completion of negotiations, depending onthe outcome of the negotiations. 4.4 Selection Notification NASA will notify all proposers of the results of the evaluation and selection process.After the completion of the evaluation and selection process, NASA will begin discussionswith the selected proposer(s). The purpose of the negotiations is to finalize the termsand conditions of any Agreement. All work will commence after the parties execute theSpace Act Agreement or other agreement, as applicable.5.0TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTSTechnologies selected for reduced-gravity environment testing aboard the parabolicaircraft flights must meet equipment design and other requirements as provided in theJSC Reduced Gravity Program Users Guide and Experiment Design Requirements andGuidelines which can be found at:http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/Reduced_Gravity/guides.html. All projects selected for parabolic flights must submit information for technical andsafety reviews including a Test Equipment Data Package. Project teams must also submitspecified information on proposed participants. All participants must attend a safetybriefing at the flight facility and flight participants must complete PhysiologicalTraining in advance of the flight week. All participants must comply with safetyrequirements on the aircraft and in ground facilities and must follow all directionsgiven by NASA staff and aircraft crewmembers. All participants must behave in aprofessional manner and must not interfere in the research activities of others. Failureby participants to submit required information, obtain training by required deadlines, orengage in appropriate behavior will render a Project Team ineligible to participate inscheduled flights. Participants include all researchers, test subjects, support personneland any others associated with the Project Team who are present at the airfield facility.Parabolic flight activities will be conducted at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas. NASAcannot guarantee the ultimate schedule or availability of the parabolic flights. Ifflights are cancelled due to weather or mechanical problems, reasonable efforts will bemade to reschedule those flights. Project Teams remain responsible for all costsassociated with rescheduled or cancelled flight opportunities. Project Teams shouldprovide margin in their travel budgets to account for an unlikely but possible change inflight location or postponement of a flight week. A flight week typically includes a test readiness review on the first day (Monday) andone flight per day for four days (Tuesday through Friday). Project Teams can request one,two, three or four flight days in their proposal. The aircraft will allow for relativelylarge equipment and can accommodate several test personnel for each project, if required. A space experiment support system called FASTRACK, developed by NASA Kennedy Space Center(KSC) and Space Florida may be available to support proposed investigations. FASTRACKprovides a rack structure and standard mid-deck locker accommodations with demonstratedinterface compatibility aboard the reduced gravity aircraft. Proposers who wish toconsider use of this capability should contact Alexis Hongamen of the KSC IPP Office at321-867-3107 (email Alexis.Hongamen-1@nasa.gov).Proposers should anticipate that multiple Project Teams will occupy the aircraft cabinand pre-flight preparation areas on the ground at the same time and the aircraft will becarrying multiple projects. Aircraft operations personnel will participate in loading,securing and unloading project hardware. In accordance with NASAs mission to providefor the widest practicable dissemination of information, video recording and photographyof FAST program activities will be conducted by NASA. It is likely that aircraftpersonnel and other project teams will engage in similar recording activities on-boardthe aircraft and in preparation areas. These photographs and video recordings will beposted on public websites and in other publications. Project teams are responsible forensuring the protection of any proprietary aspects of their technology. For all selectedproposals, NASA will publish information regarding the selected Project Team, includingthe abstract provided in the proposal, and may use photographs and video recordings ofrelated flight test activity in public briefings and publications. Reporting RequirementsAll Project Teams are required to deliver reports as described below. All reports mustinclude a separate publicly releasable summary of the Project Teams activities under theFAST program. Failure to provide required reports will disqualify the Project Team fromparticipation in any future FAST program activities.1. Preliminary Report (1 page, not including photographs or video): A brief summary ofthe test activity prepared immediately after the flight. Photographs and video recordingsare also desired, if available. Due: No more than five business days after the finalflight day.2. Final Report (5-20 pages, not including photographs or video): A full description oftest activity and results including an assessment of the technology readiness levelbefore and after reduced-gravity testing, any lessons learned or other observations andconsiderations for further development. Due: No more than 60 calendar days after thefinal flight day.3. Follow-up Report (1 page): A brief update on further progress with the technologyincluding any new technical conclusions based on data from the reduced-gravity testing.Project Teams should advise the FAST program regarding any opportunities for furtherdevelopment or use of the subject technology through contracts or agreements withgovernment or commercial partners. Due: One year after the final flight day. 6.0PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONSProposals must comply with the following requirements and the page limits noted. Pages inexcess of the page limitations for each section will not be evaluated. A page is definedas one (1) sheet 8 1/2 x 11 inches using a minimum of 12-point font size for text and8-point for graphs. Proposals shall include Letters of Commitment described below foreach organization involved. These letters are excluded from the page limit and should beplaced at the end of the proposal. Proposals must include the following sections, in this order:Proposal Cover Page (1 page): Include title of Announcement, Project Title and identifyeach proposing company or organization. For each include the city, state and nine-digitzip code. Include Notice of Restriction on Use and Disclosure of Proposal Information, ifany.Points of Contact (1 page): List contact information for the Project Manager and asecondary Point of Contact, if available. Include complete mailing address, telephonenumber and email address for each point-of-contact. Overview (1 page): a)Project Titleb)Abstract: Publicly releasable abstract (no more than 150 words) describing theprominent and distinguishing features of the proposal and the anticipated outcomes,including how proposed participation in FAST program activity will accelerateavailability of technology for NASA programs and projects, also include information onadvancement of commercial applications of technology.c)Relevant NASA Mission Directorates and Programs: Indicate which NASA MissionDirectorate (Aeronautics Research, Exploration Systems, Science or Space Operations) ismost aligned with Proposers technology. Identify all applicable. If known, include anyspecific programs, projects or future applications that the Proposers technology mightsupport.d)Relevant NASA Centers: Indicate any NASA Center associated with the technology orfor which the proposed technology would have relevance. e)Government Contracts and Agreements: If the proposed technology is thesubject of any current or previous contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or otheragreements (such as Space Act Agreements) between the proposing entity and the USgovernment, including SBIR or STTR contracts or an IPP Seed Fund project, provide thecontract or agreement numbers, the name of relevant agency, the name of the COTR (ifapplicable), and the starting and ending dates of those contracts, grants or agreements. Proposal Detail (7 pages):Description of Technology (1 page): Describe the background of the technology and itsvalue and relevance to NASA missions, program or projects including the specific benefitsexpected. Also describe any commercial applications or other characteristics of thetechnology that may be of interest. Indicate the current technology readiness level(TRL) with supporting evidence. Indicate the TRL expected after testing and explain howthe proposed testing will advance the TRL. (Definitions in Attachment A)Planned Test Objectives and Process (1 page)Test Hardware to be Used (1 page, including figures and tables): Include at least onerecent photograph of the hardware to be tested, preferably in its flight-testconfigurationTest Requirements (1 page, including figures and tables):a)Indicate size category (Type 1, 2 or 3) and actual dimensions of the equipment,including objects stored separately. (Dimensions: length-along along aircraft axis, widthacross aircraft and height above aircraft floor in cm.)Type 1: 50 x 50 x 50 cm or lessType 2: larger than Type 1 but 100 x 100 x 100 cm or lessType 3: Larger than 100 x 100 x 100 cm (provide justification in Proposal Attachment)b)Indicate dimensions (in cm) of the overall volume required inside the aircraftfor test operation including the space for on-board researchers positioned aroundhardware c)Mass of the equipment in kgd)Amount and type of power required, if any e)Required gravity level(s) f)Duration of test and number of flight days needed to adequately validate results;g)Number of test personnel required for flight and a description of the requirementfor each participating individuals presence if more than three persons, includejustification in Proposal Attachment,h)Special testing or accommodation requirements such as venting, cooling, heating,etc., special constraints or support required, including security.Preliminary Hazard Analysis (1 page, including figures and tables): Identify hazards andcontrols, if applicable.Project Team Resources (2 pages, including figures and tables):a)Describe the experience, capabilities and facilities available to the projectteam. Brief resumes of key personnel should be included.b)Indicate how the team resources will support the conduct of this project. c)Include any relevant experience in reduced-gravity testing.d)Provide an estimate of the overall cost in dollars of the project preparation andtesting activity including labor, hardware, software, facilities, shipping and travel. Ifthe proposal is a partnership, provide a breakdown of the cost by partner. Thisinformation will be used to establish the level of team commitment and assess the realismof the proposal. Note that the FAST program will not provide funding for any of theseexpenses.AppendixQuad Chart 1 page, must use template at the FAST Program website. Letters of Commitment (1 page per letter per organization): Provide a letter committingthe organizations resources in support of the proposal, signed by an official who isauthorized to commit the organizations resources in support of the proposed project.Proposals from partnerships of more than one entity must include a letter of commitmentfrom each partner organization.Proposal Attachment (1 page): a)If applicable, explain the requirement for equipment larger than 100x100x100 cm. b) If applicable, explain the requirement for more than three on-board researchers.7.0NASA CENTER POINTS OF CONTACT(NASA Center, name, phone number and email address)Ames Research Center: David Morse, 650.604.4724, david.r.morse@nasa.gov Dryden Flight Research Center: Ronald Young, 661.276.3741, ronald.m.young@nasa.gov Glenn Research Center: Kathy Needham, 216-433-2802, kathleen.k.needham@nasa.govGoddard Space Flight Center: Nona Cheeks, 301-286-5810, nona.k.cheeks@nasa.govJet Propulsion Laboratory: Indrani Graczyk, 818.354.2241, indrani.graczyk-1@nasa.gov Johnson Space Center: Kathy Packard, 281-244-5378, kathryn.b.packard@nasa.govKennedy Space Center: Alexis Hongamen, 321-867-3107, alexis.hongamen-1@nasa.govLangley Research Center: Elizabeth Plentovich, 757.864.2857, elizabeth.b.plentovich@nasa.gov Marshall Space Flight Center: Gwen Jasper, 256-544-1666, gwenevere.l.jasper@nasa.govStennis Space Center: Ramona Travis, 228-688-3832, ramona.e.travis@nasa.gov
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/HQ/OPHQDC/NNH10FAST01/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02088222-W 20100312/100310235029-2ff117dd7ad5cb18bad868ec2db0ec96 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |