A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT -- DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION OF A MULTI-MISSION RADIOISOTOPE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR

Notice Date

June 6, 2001

Contracting Office

U.S. Department of Energy, Oakland Operations Office, 1301 Clay Street, Room 700N, Oakland, CA 94612-5208

ZIP Code

94612-5208

Solicitation Number

DE-RP03-01SF22307

Point of Contact

Salma El-safwany (510) 637-1548

E-Mail Address

Executive Secretary (salma.elsafwany@oak.doe.gov)

Description

The Department of Energy's Oakland Operations Office intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) No. DE-RP03-01SF22307 entitled "Design, Development, Production, and System Integration of a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" (MMRTG). The North American Industry Classification (NAIC) is 336415 (Standard Industrial Classification [SIC] 3764) representing Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles Propulsion Units and Propulsion Unit Parts. The small business size standard is 1000 employees. The DOE intends to develop and demonstrate a new, safe, reliable, long-lived, modular MMRTG suitable for use in various potential space exploration missions, including missions to the surface of Mars (and other planetary bodies) as well as in the vacuum of deep space. The intent is to develop the MMRTG as an option for use on potential future missions including Mars 2007, Europa 2008 or later, and Mars 2011. The intent is to allow DOE to provide flight units with a minimum of three-years-lead-time from mission approval to launch. The MMRTG is intended to open the competition to the use of any thermoelectric materials that have demonstrated extended lifetime and performance in space use. The generator should be sized for 8 General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules, which will be provided as government furnished equipment. Each GPHS will consist of approximately 250 Watts (thermal) and will be fueled with Plutoninum-238 dioxide. The GPHS modules will be shipped to Mound to be integrated with the converter, resulting in the fueled MMRTG, followed by final acceptance testing. The contemplated contractual effort will be Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) and will consist of separate phases. The initial contract will award Phase I, while the following Phases II through VI will be options. Phase I will consist of the design, development, and fabrication of an engineering MMRTG. This phase will include (1) engineering, analysis, and trade off studies of the MMRTG design that will use 8 General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules, (2) fabrication and test of an engineering MMRTG, (3) Preliminary Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), (4) support of safety and environmental assessments and analyses, (5) management of the project, quality assurance, reliability analysis, and delivery of status and topical reports to DOE and appropriate project team members, (6) liaison and coordination with Mound to assure that the design is compatible with the fueling and testing activities to be conducted in subsequent optional phases, and with the lead spacecraft agency to assure the MMRTG design and performance parameters are compatible with generic mission requirements for use in planetary surface and deep space applications. Phase II Option will consist of (1) final design review of the MMRTG, (2) fabrication of a Qualification MMRTG, (3) testing and performance analysis, (4) Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), (5) support of preliminary safety assessment studies (6) management of the project, quality assurance, reliability analysis, and delivery of status and topical reports to DOE and appropriate project team members, and (7) liaison and coordination with Mound for the fueling and testing activities and with the lead spacecraft agency to assure the MMRTG design and performance parameters are compatible with generic mission requirements for use in planetary surface and deep space applications. Phase III through VI are options for the production of mission specific flight MMRTGs. All mission specific options, excluding Phase VI, would include: (a) preparing the necessary Launch Safety Analysis Report and support of the launch approval process; (b) liaison and coordination with the lead spacecraft agency to assure integration of the MMRTG design and performance parameters with the spacecraft requirements; (c) minor modifications resulting from mission specific requirements, as needed; (d) electrically heated acceptance testing; (e) technical support, as required, for the Mound activities, including the GPHS fuel module installation, final assembly, and acceptance testing of the fully assembled flight MMRTG(s); (f) design and/or modification of mounting hardware to mate the MMRTG to the DOE certified shipping package and any ground support equipment or hardware needed for launch site support activities; (g) shipment and launch site support for the MMRTG, as required; (h) management of the project, quality assurance, reliability analysis, and delivery of status and topical reports to DOE and appropriate project team members. For proposal planning purposes, Phase III Option would consist of fabrication of 2 flight MMRTGs for a potential September 2007 Mars Smart Lander Mission. Phase IV Option would consist of fabrication of 3 flight MMRTGs for a potential March 2008 (or later) Europa Orbiter Mission. Phase V Option would consist of fabrication of 2 flight MMRTGs for a potential November 2011 Mars Sample Return Mission. Phase VI Option would consist of a spare flight MMRTG that may be used as a backup spare for any of the potential missions discussed herein. DOE may select any of these options and/or combinations of options based on programmatic needs. The RFP will be available on the Internet at http://www.oak.doe.gov in late July or early August 2001. DOE will allow sixty (60) days for receipt of proposals. Potential offerors may obtain a copy of the solicitation by accessing the Internet using any Web browser, at http://www.oak.doe.gov. No paper copies of the solicitation (RFP) will be made available. Amendments to the RFP will also be posted on the Internet.

Web Link

Design, Development, Production, and System Integration (http://www.oak.doe.gov)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010608/ASOL008.HTM (W-157 SN50O1K2)