NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

A -- NEXT GENERATION SPACE TELESCOPE SUBSCALE BERYLLIUM MIRROR DEMONSTRATOR SOL 8-1-8-TA-60009 POC Kathy G. Huskey, Contract Specialist, Phone (205) 961-0222, Fax (205) 544-9080, Email kathy.huskey@msfc.nasa.gov -- Richard W. McClearen, Contracting Officer, Phone (205) 544-0411, Fax (205) 544-4401, Email richard.mcclearen@msfc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/MSFC/date.html#8-1-8-TA-60009. E-MAIL: Kathy G. Huskey, kathy.huskey@msfc.nasa.gov. NASA/MSFC plans to issue a [Request for Offer (RFO)for the NEXT GENERATION SPACE TELESCOPE (NGST) SUBSCALE BERYLLIUM DEMONSTRATOR (SBMD). This procurement is focused on development of lightweight Beryllium mirror technology for a large aperture space telescope. The NGST requires a significant increase in primary size to fulfill its science requirements, however, the weight and volume of the NGST is to be less than that of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Parametric design studies have shown that the primary mirror tends to be one of the main weight components of any space telescope, and the other masses involved tend to be proportional to the primary mirror. Therefore, new techniques for reflective optics are required which meet the challenge of providing an optical surface: (1) with extremely low wavefront error, (2) capable of withstanding the rigors of launch and a harsh operating environment, (3) with a very low mass, and (4) which can be affordably produced on an aggressive development schedule. It is anticipated that one firm-fixed-price contract will be awarded directed at developing lightweight Beryllium mirror technology applicable to NGST. The contract will encompass designing and fabricating a lightweight Beryllium primary mirror demonstrator and testing the demonstrator at both ambient and cryogenic temperatures. It is anticipated that the award will be made not to exceed approximately $1.5M for the entire effort. The effort will also be constrained by the anticipated funding profile of approximately $750K for Government FY1998 and approximately $750K for Government FY1999. The RFO will contain a more detailed description and will be released in approximately 15 days after posting this synopsis on the NASA Aquisition Internet Service (NAIS)and the CBDnet. A draft Statement of Work (SOW) may be found at the NGST web site URL http://nqst.gsfc.nasa.gov/project/procure/Beryllium.html. Note: this is a draft version for information only. The official version of the SOW will be contained in the RFO. All qualified responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. The anticipated release date of the RFO is on or about 11/21/97 with an anticipated offer due date of on or about 01/05/98. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See Internet Note "B". The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office Suite (Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0) format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The WWW address, or URL of the NASA/MSFC Business Opportunities home page is http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/MSFC/class.html. Prospective offerors shall notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this site and/or the CBD for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments(if any). Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nnotes.htm. (0310)

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