SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION MISSIONS BAA
- Notice Date
- 3/1/2011
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall SpaceFlight Center, AL 35812
- ZIP Code
- 35812
- Solicitation Number
- NNM11ZDA001K
- Response Due
- 5/31/2011
- Archive Date
- 3/1/2012
- Point of Contact
- Mark R. Stiles, Contracting Officer, Phone 256-544-0381, Fax 256-544-6062, Email mark.r.stiles@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Mark R. Stiles
(mark.r.stiles@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space FlightCenter is releasing a Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) Broad Agency Announcement(BAA) in support of the Office of Chief Technologist (OCT). The BAA will be available onMarch 1, 2011, by opening the NASA Research Opportunities homepage athttp://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and then linking through the menu listingsSolicitations to Open Solicitations. This announcement solicits proposals for the demonstration of space technologies thatprovide new system-level technological capabilities. OCT TDM is seeking to identifycandidate crosscutting, system-level technologies to be demonstrated in the relevantenvironment such as ground, air, suborbital or orbital regimes. A key requirement in thisprogram is that the technology under consideration must clearly be crosscutting.Crosscutting is defined as a technology with potential to benefit more than one customer,where a customer can be a NASA Mission Directorate, another government agency, academia,or the aerospace industry. Specifically, system-level technologies implies anintegrated system with mission capability and not component-level demonstrations. OCT isseeking new capability demonstrations that advance the technology readiness of theselected systems, provide tangible, innovative technology products, are cost effective,and capture significant public interest and awareness. The candidate technology must bemature, at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 at the time of the proposalsubmission, and the proposed demonstration must raise the technology readiness of the newcapability, to TRL 7 or higher, such that it may be infused into the critical path forfuture missions. This announcement solicits technology demonstration proposals in the following fourfocused technology areas: High Bandwidth Deep Space Communication, Navigation, and TimingCommunication and navigation are enabling services that are required by all spacecraft.Advancement in communication and navigation technology will allow future missions toimplement new and more capable science instruments, greatly enhance human missions beyondEarth orbit, and enable entirely new mission concepts. Future mission requirements drivethe need for increased navigation precision and enhanced communication solutions.Demonstrations that advance high bandwidth deep space communications capabilities are ofinterest. Navigation technologies that significantly enhance timing accuracy as well asautonomous navigation techniques for precise spacecraft maneuvers are of interest.Systems that integrate technology developed across communication and navigation are alsoof interest. The capability can be self-contained or distributed, such as a constellationof two or more spacecraft flying in relatively close formation that together demonstratean aperture or baseline that is larger and more capable.Orbital Debris Mitigation or Removal SystemsOver the course of 50+ years of space activities, over 500,000 man-made objects haveaccumulated in Earth orbit, ranging from low to geosynchronous altitudes and beyond.These objects pose long-term dangers to current and future space missions. Once theseobjects are accurately located and tracked, methods must be developed to de-orbit,destroy, collect, or divert these objects. This solicitation seeks proposals for thedemonstration of systems capable of mitigation or removal of small debris (1-10centimeters), as well as systems capable of mitigation or removal of large objects (10+centimeters) from Earth orbit.Advanced In-Space Propulsion SystemsIn-space propulsion begins where launch vehicle upper stage propulsion leaves off,providing primary propulsion and orbital maneuvering capabilities. Advanced in-spacepropulsion technologies will enable much more effective exploration of the solar systemby allowing mission designers to plan more robust missions with shorter trip times andlower costs. This solicitation is seeking proposals to demonstrate novel in-space systemsproviding primary propulsion capabilities. Systems utilizing green propellants, solarsails, tethers, beamed-energy propulsion and other advanced systems are of interest. Note: Solar Electric Propulsion, Nuclear systems and Aerocapture technology demonstrationmissions are not solicited in this BAA.Autonomous Rendezvous, Docking, Close Proximity Operations and Formation FlyingThe ability of space assets to autonomously rendezvous and dock enables human and scienceexploration, as well as satellite servicing/rescue, and is an essential capability forthe future of human and robotic missions. One of the challenges for autonomous rendezvousand docking is proximity operations. Proximity operations to targets such as spacecraft,space telescopes or Near Earth Objects (NEOs) will require advanced autonomous rendezvousand coupling technologies. Objects like NEOs that lack docking infrastructure, and mayalso be tumbling, are particularly challenging. This solicitation is seekingdemonstrations of full autonomy and automation of rendezvous, docking, close proximityoperations and formation flying that would provide future missions with a ready-to-flycapability that is reliable, versatile, cost-effective, and could be utilized in eitherlow Earth orbit or deep space.For crosscutting space technology demonstrations, such as those sought in this BAA, costsharing (a goal of at least 25% is desired) of the total life cycle costs from a sourceother than NASA OCT is required. Cost sharing can be through in-kind contributions and/orfunding provided after ATP. A signed, dated Letter of Commitment shall be provided fromsource(s) funding or in-kind contributions outside of OCT. It is anticipated thatfirm-fixed-price contracts with priced options will be awarded for this effort. Anappropriate interagency or intra-agency agreement will be used for awardees of Federalentities. Proposals shall be submitted electronically, and all proposers shall use NASAs proposaldata system, NSPIRES (http://nspires.nasaprs.com ). In addition, the electronicproposals must be submitted by an authorized official of the proposing organization.Participation is open to all categories of organizations, including educationalinstitutions, industry, nonprofit organizations, Federally Funded Research andDevelopment Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), the JetPropulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA Centers, and other Government agencies. Everyorganization that intends to submit a proposal in response to this BAA must be registeredwith NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizationalrepresentative(s) who will submit the electronic proposal. Potential proposers andproposing organizations are urged to access the electronic proposal system(s) well inadvance of the proposal due date(s) to familiarize themselves with its structure andenter the requested information. Specific proposal submission deadline dates, evaluationcriteria, and submission information will be identified in the BAA. Proposals will be dueon May 31, 2011. Awards based on this solicitation are contingent on availability of appropriated funds.Obtain additional programmatic information from: Bonnie James/NASA HQ Email:bonnie.f.james@nasa.gov
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