SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- TEAMING OPPORTUNTIY FOR NASA KSC TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE
- Notice Date
- 2/2/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- NASA/John F. Kennedy Space Center, Procurement, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899
- ZIP Code
- 32899
- Solicitation Number
- SS-IPPCALL
- Response Due
- 2/16/2006
- Archive Date
- 2/2/2007
- Description
- NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is seeking partners to develop proposals for the Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP). Background: The Technology Transfer Office is responsible for implementation of the Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) at KSC. One of the primary missions of the IPP is to ?provide leveraged technology alternatives for Mission Directorates, Programs, and Projects through joint partnerships with industry, academia, non-profit organizations, government agencies and national laboratories. The NASA KSC Technology Transfer Office released a Call for Proposals on January 25th, 2006, soliciting proposals from NASA KSC Scientists for dual-use projects relevant to NASA?s mission-related challenges, consisting of a minimum of 25% cost-sharing (in-kind and cash contributions) from both NASA KSC and the Non-NASA Partner. The ultimate goal of the Call for Proposals is to develop products that meet the needs of both NASA KSC and the Partner. Some expected benefits for both NASA KSC and the Partner include an: (1) increased range of technology solutions (e.g., a broadened portfolio); (2) reduction in costs; (3) accelerated maturation of technologies; and a (4) larger pool of qualified commercial providers. NASA KSC is seeking Partners to participate with NASA KSC Scientists to develop and execute proposals in the specific areas defined below. Subject to the availability of funds, it is anticipated that selected proposal(s) would result in cost-sharing contracts, cooperative agreements, and/or space act agreements. This partnering opportunity does not guarantee selection for award of any contracts, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by NASA to pay for the information solicited. It is expected that the partner(s) selected would provide (at no cost to NASA) conceptual designs, technical data, proposal input, project schedules and cost estimates. Potential partners must demonstrate the capabilities and experience consistent with the requirements for each KSC technology area outlined below. Partners must work collaboratively with NASA. Partner selection(s) will be made by KSC based on the following criteria in the following order of importance: (1) Relevant experience, past performance, technical capability, and availability of key personnel. This criterion evaluates the proposers? relevant recent experience, past performance in similar development activities, technical capability to perform the development and key personnel available to support the development. Substantive evidence (points of contact and telephone numbers) of successful participation in similar developments should be included. (2) Cost and schedule control. This criterion evaluates the proposer?s ability to control both cost and schedule. The proposer should provide evidence of successfully controlling cost and schedule for similar development programs and provide evidence of management processes in this area. (3) Cost sharing ? This criterion evaluates the proposer?s cost-sharing level and quality. (4) Facilities. This criterion evaluates the proposer?s facilities (development, testing, and analyses) to conduct the development or demonstration of the proposed task. The proposer should discuss facility availability, access, and the ability to meet the proposed objectives. Responses should be limited to two (2) pages (12 point font) and address each of the criteria. All responses shall be submitted to: John F. Kennedy Space Center, Attn: Rosemary Baize, Mail Code KT-F, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899; or via email to: Rosemary.R.Baize@nasa.gov. The due date for submission is February 16, 2006. Procurement questions shall be directed to Krista Jensen, NASA KSC Procurement Office, Krista.Y.Jensen@nasa.gov. Technical questions shall be directed to Rosemary Baize at the email address noted above. The specific technology areas follow: 1) Global Environmental Micro Sensors NASA KSC is currently seeking partner(s) to collaborate in the development and field testing of a miniaturized atmospheric sensor system. Specifically, the Global Environmental Micro Sensors (GEMS) Test Operations in the Natural Environment (GEMSTONE) project has a requirement for a prototype miniaturized sensor system capable of making in-situ measurements of the following atmospheric variables as a function of position and time: (1) temperature, (2) relative humidity, (3) pressure and (4) vector wind velocity. The individual sensors must be sufficiently small and lightweight to remain aloft for several days in the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere upon deployment from a balloon or aircraft. This may be accomplished by buoyancy or aerodynamic means or both. The individual sensors must be self-contained including all required power and communications to transmit the sensor data to the ground either directly or via satellite link. Production units must be sufficiently inexpensive to deploy in large quantities (thousands per mission) as disposables. In addition, the production units must meet FAA requirements for use in controlled airspace in the same manner as current commercially available radiosondes. Accuracy of measurements must be comparable to these radiosondes. Sensor measurements must be taken in one-minute (or less) intervals with data available on the ground within five minutes in the operational version of the system. Qualifying partners must have experience in meteorological instrumentation, data acquisition, and data assimilation including automated quality control. 2) Statistical Forecasting of Lightning Cessation NASA KSC is currently seeking partner(s) to develop statistical techniques to forecast the last lighting strike. KSC is seeking techniques to more accurately assess when the last lightning strike has occurred in a thunderstorm to improve the capability of forecasters to terminate lightning warnings earlier. Accurate lightning warnings are a crucial operational requirement, critical to both personnel safety and resource protection. However, the tools available to forecasters to provide accurate lightning cessation predictions within a 20 mile radius of the launch pad are deficient. Consequently, forecasters are conservative in terminating lightning warnings, thus shutting down operations at KSC far longer than necessary and adversely impacting both ground operations costs and schedule. The partner will be required to develop statistical techniques based upon data from an extensive local weather infrastructure; archived data from the 45th Space Wing lightning detection systems; KSC?s extensive field mill network, which measures the electric field near the surface and; KSC?s unique Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) system. The LDAR system provides observations of cloud-to-ground discharges, intra and inter-cloud discharges, and is used to identify, with spatial resolution typically better than 200 meters, the development and evolution of thunderstorm electrical discharge patterns in relation to thunderstorm structure. Additional information on LDAR data is available at : http://microwave.nsstc.nasa.gov:5721/dataset_documents/ldar_dataset.html . Based on earlier, exploratory studies, this combination of data should help yield a greatly improved lightning cessation forecast tool. Upon development of the statistical techniques, the partner will be required to test and verify the technique against real-world data sets. Qualifying partners must have a demonstrated track record in lightning analysis and forecasting, including a methodology for specifying how accurate the proposed technique is relative to actual test data. In addition, partners must be able to integrate data from multiple sources and have familiarity with the latest weather prediction tools including numerical weather prediction models, satellite and radar data. Knowledge of KSC?s LDAR system is considered a plus. 3) Development of Paint Product for Aerospace Applications NASA KSC is currently seeking partner(s) to collaborate in the development of a paint product based on a novel smart coating system for aerospace applications. This smart coating is based on the controlled release of microcapsules for early corrosion detection and inhibition without human intervention. The coating has the capacity of incorporating and releasing on demand newly developed corrosion inhibitors. The overall objective of this collaborative project is not to provide just one coating system with a given function, but to provide a systematic methodology which can then be effectively be used for testing newly developed inhibitors in paint systems. The selected partner will be required to work with NASA personnel to address the optimal substrate to coat; the coat system (single or multi-coat); the desired properties of the coating (e.g., hardness, UV resistance, etc.); the projected lifetime of the coating; and the expected cost-per-gallon for raw materials. NASA personnel will provide the typical substrates and exposure conditions experience at the KSC launch site. Qualifying partners must have demonstrated experience in developing industrial and marine coatings. In addition, potential partners must be knowledgeable in applicable ASTM and federal environmental compliance standards. Familiarity with corrosion coatings is considered a plus.
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