SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - MEDLI2 SPACE QUALIFIED LOW-PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS
- Notice Date
- 9/8/2014
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334519
— Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 12, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton,VA 23681-0001
- ZIP Code
- 23681-0001
- Solicitation Number
- RFIMEDLI2
- Response Due
- 10/3/2014
- Archive Date
- 9/8/2015
- Point of Contact
- Timothy P Cannella, Contracting Officer, Phone 757-864-5028, Fax 757-864-9097, Email Timothy.P.Cannella@nasa.gov - Robert B. Gardner, Contracting Officer, Phone 757-864-2525, Fax 757-864-7898, Email Robert.B.Gardner@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Timothy P Cannella
(Timothy.P.Cannella@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) Request For Information (RFI). It is emphasized that the requested information is for preliminary planning purposes only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that NASA will solicit for such a procurement in the future. The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred in furnishing this information. NASA is issuing this Request For Information (RFI) to request industry input on the availability and capability of pressure sensors in pressure ranges (0 1) psia and (0 0.1) psia to support the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI2) experiment on MARS 2020. The second Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI2) experiment will measure both pressures and temperatures on the protective heatshield during entry as was done on the original MEDLI. Additionally, with MEDLI2 on Mars-2020, emphasis will be placed on capturing pressure measurements in the supersonic regime and on the backshell in the wake region. These measurements will help improve EDL reconstruction and reduce the landing footprint dispersions. Entry vehicle pressure distribution and Mars atmospheric data measurements are also required to accurately determine the vehicle attitude (angles of attack and sideslip), and the dynamic pressure on the surface of the heatshield. NASA is anticipating that six (6) supersonic pressure sensors will be installed on the Mars 2020 heatshield. Results of recent analyses indicate pressure measurements in the 0 1 psia range are required for the supersonic pressure measurements. NASA is also anticipating that one pressure transducer will be installed on the backshell to measure base pressure. Results of recent analyses indicate pressure measurements in the range of 0 0.1 psia are required for this region. Both the heatshield and the backshell pressure measurements will be used to provide Mars environmental data and support computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code validation. Before flight, each pressure transducer will go through rigorous testing that consists of ambient and thermal calibrations, and environmental tests consisting of static acceleration, vibration, and thermal vacuum. These transducers need to be rugged and provide high rate, high accuracy output with low input power requirements. The transducers must also withstand high overpressure, accelerations and flight vibration, and a wide temperature range while providing low-level errors. Additional nominal specification requirements are contained in Attachment 1, Nominal Specifications for the MEDLI2 Space Qualified Low-Pressure Transducers. NASA encourages each respondent to thoroughly review Attachment 1 prior to responding to the RFI. RFI Submittals: Interested parties should respond with the following information: 1.General Description a.Describe the transducers capability to the requirements and guidelines in Attachment 1; specifically noting any areas of noncompliance and recommendations to mitigate or correct the noncompliance; including changes to the requirements themselves. 2.Flight or Technology Heritage/Qualification a.Describe the companys relevant experience with manufacturing pressure transducers; especially experience with space flight qualified hardware as described above. b.Describe the extent to which existing proven commercial technology can be leveraged to minimize technical and schedule risk. c.Describe any new technologies to be employed on this effort, and any modifications to existing technology, necessary to meet the requirements. Describe risks associated with incorporating the new or modified technology and how the risks can be minimized. 3.Test and Inspection Program a.What test program(s) or evidence could be offered to demonstrate that the pressure transducer will meet the requirements and specifications provided in Attachment 1. b.For any field testing, describe in some detail the conditions of the test, the test objectives, and any results. c.Submit a sample of existing manufacturing, inspection and test, and acceptance plans to control this type of work, and list any current International Standards Organization (ISO) certifications or equivalent. d.Describe whether the transducer is qualified for flight and if so, describe the qualification program including environments used (e.g., against a MIL spec. or other). e.Describe how the accuracy of the sensor is demonstrated, including any testing required to achieve the characterization and examples of how this was performed on past projects. f.It is anticipated that that static errors will need to be reduced. The reduction can be performed post processing. Describe how the vendor has performed such reduction on previous missions; explain how the reduction was performed and what needs additional integration, additional pressure testing, etc. g.It is anticipated that thermal effort effects will need to be reduced.This reduction can be performed post processing. Describe how the vendor has performed such reduction on previous missions, explain how the reduction was performed and what needs additional integration (i.e. internal RTD, other), and testing (additional thermal calibrations, others). 4.Transducer Mechanical Mount approach a.It is anticipated that the pressure transducers will have the capability of integrating with a 3-point mechanical mounting bracket similar to what is shown in Figure 1 of Attachment 1. Submit or provide a description of a transducer mounting scheme as described in Attachment 1, section 3.1.12. 5.Costs a.If the transducer (s) device has undergone a flight qualification for a similar application (or has the capability to undergo one as it is currently designed), please provide Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs to deliver flight devices. b.If the device is a commercially available, please provide an Off-the-Shelf procurement estimate for your device. c.If the responder must incorporate new technologies or modifications to existing technologies, provide a ROM for any development plans and associated costs. 6.Delivery a.Provide an estimated delivery timeframe. b.Address major risks to meeting the delivery and how can they be overcome. 7.Procurement Strategy a.NASA is researching whether to issue the requirements as commercial solicitations under the authority of FAR part 12 and FAR 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items.Indicate whether this solicitation type is appropriate. Offers are requested to provide information on the two different pressure transducers and could entail different measurement technologies for each of the measurements. Therefore, pressure transducers manufacturers may provide a response to both pressure ranges or chose to reply to only the backshell (0 0.1) psia or heatshield (0 1) psia request. Limit your responses to 8 pages or less not including diagrams, pictures, or figures. Existing documents that describe suitable existing products or proposed products are acceptable as Attachments to your response; please limit the total attachment volume to less than 25 pages. Please provide your contact information so we can contact you. Response requested by 4:30 p.m. EST on October 3rd, 2014 Interested firms should submit RFI responses and any routine communications concerning this notice to Mr. Nick Trombetta at Dominic.R.Trombetta@nasa.gov and Mr. Timothy P. Cannella at timothy.p.cannella@nasa.gov. Additional Background Information for MARS 2020: Building on the successful Curiosity Rover landing, Mars-2020 will launch a single rover on Mars as a part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Exploration Program. This is a continuation of a long-term plan for robotic explorations to conduct Mars habitability investigations, with habitability defined as the capacity of the environment to sustain life, i.e., the potential of a given environment to support life at some time, past or present. The mission will focus on a roving, long-duration science laboratory that will provide a quantitative improvement in surface measurements and pave the way for future Martian surface and sample return missions. Each vehicle that lands on Mars provides a unique opportunity to study the atmospheric entry environment. Taking measurements of this environment will enable a better understanding of vehicle performance and design margins. Future vehicles will be able to take advantage of this improved knowledge in the form of lower risk and potential reductions in thermal protection mass.
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