SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- "COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT ON EXPLORER ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY" -NNH10ZDA004J
- Notice Date
- 12/15/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNH10ZDA004J
- Archive Date
- 12/15/2010
- Point of Contact
- Dr. Barbara L Giles, AST-Science Program Management, Phone 202-358-1762, Fax 202-358-3987, Email barbara.giles@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Dr. Barbara L Giles
(barbara.giles@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SUBJECT: Community Announcement on Explorer AONNH10ZDA004JCommunity Announcement on Explorer AODecember 10, 2009The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate(SMD) is releasing this Community Announcement concerning its intention to solicitinvestigations for the Explorer Program. The Explorer Program conducts PrincipalInvestigator (PI)-led space science investigations in SMD's astrophysics and heliophysicsprograms. Explorer investigations are intended to obtain an understanding of the Sun andits effects on Earth and the Solar System and/or to discover the origin, structure,evolution, and destiny of the Universe and search for Earth-like planets. Additionalinformation concerning these areas of investigation is provided through appropriate linksfound on the SMD homepage at http://nasascience.nasa.gov/. The current state of planning calls for NASA SMD to release an Announcement ofOpportunity (AO) in the late summer/early fall of 2010 that will solicit proposals forExplorer (EX) missions to accomplish Explorer Program science objectives. NASA also plansto release simultaneously a solicitation for Explorer Missions of Opportunity (MO)through the NASA Announcement of Opportunity NNH08ZDA009O, Stand Alone Missions ofOpportunity Notice (SALMON). A draft EX AO and draft SALMON amendment is expected to beready for release for comment in Spring 2010. The PI-managed mission cost cap for an EX mission is expected to be no greater than $200Min Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 dollars, not including the cost of the Expendable Launch Vehicle(ELV) or any contributions. Standard launch services on an ELV will be provided for EXmissions at no charge against the mission cost cap. Only the launch services described inthe Explorer Program Librarys launch services document will be provided (seehttp://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/EX ). There will be a charge against the mission cost capfor mission unique and special launch services beyond the standard launch servicesoffered. The PI-managed mission cost cap for an Explorer MO is expected to be no greater than $55Min Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 dollars. NASA expects to solicit MO science investigations thatare defined in the SALMON AO as either Partner MOs or Small Complete Mission MOs,including investigations requiring flight on long duration balloons and the InternationalSpace Station. The currently approved Explorer Program planning budget is sufficient to select andexecute at least one EX mission. It is also sufficient to select and execute a second EXmission or at least one MO. The decision between these two options will be based upon theproposals received in response to the EX AO and the SALMON amendment; the decision willincorporate the most recent planning budget information available at that time. The current planning is for the selection process to be done in two stages. In step 1, itis anticipated that up to four EX missions may be selected for one-year Phase A conceptstudies. Each concept study would be funded up to $1M in real year dollars. For step 2,NASA will conduct a detailed review of the Phase A concept study reports. As a result ofthis second evaluation, NASA expects to select one or two EX missions to proceed intoPhase B and subsequent mission phases. NASA desires to launch the first of the two EXmissions by mid 2016; the launch-by date for any additional mission, if selected, is late2018. Additionally, investigations proposing to achieve Explorer Program science objectivesthrough participation in Missions of Opportunity may be selected for Phase A study andreview if their perceived value to the Explorer Program is high and the proposed cost iswithin the funding limit for this Mission of Opportunity. NASA may select no Mission ofOpportunity proposals if these objectives are not met by any proposals. Proposals in response to this AO will be due 90 days after its formal release.Participation will be open to all categories of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations,including educational institutions, industry, not-for-profit organizations, FederallyFunded Research and Development Centers, NASA Centers and other Government agencies. The schedule for the solicitation is intended to be: Release of draft AO: (target) Spring 2010 (target); Explorer workshop: ~2 weeks after draft AO release; Release of final AO: (target) Late summer/early fall 2010 (target); Pre-proposal conference: ~3 weeks after final AO release; Proposals due: 90 days after AO release; Selection for competitive Phase A studies: Summer 2011 (target); Concept study reports due: Summer 2012 (target); Down-selection: Late 2012 (target); The Explorer Program EX AO and SALMON amendment may contain provisions that differsubstantially from this preliminary notice, in which case the provisions in the AO andSALMON amendment will take precedence. The Explorer AO will be based on the StandardPI-led Mission AO Template available at http://sso.larc.nasa.gov/aosimplification.html. Proposers should read the Draft EX AO carefully when it is released. NASA has not approved the issuance of the EX AO or SALMON amendment and this notificationdoes not obligate NASA to issue the announcements and solicit proposals. Any costsincurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to thisannouncement are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk. Further information will be posted on the Explorer Program Acquisition website athttp://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/EX as that information becomes available. Questions orcomments about this intention to release an EX AO may be addressed in writing or bye-mail to the Explorer Program Acquisition Scientist: Dr. Barbara L. Giles, Ref.:Explorer EX AO, Heliophysics Division, Mail Suite 3R15, Science Mission Directorate,National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546-0001, E-mail:barbara.giles@nasa.gov (subject line to read "Explorer EX AO"). Responses to allinquiries will be answered by e-mail and also posted weekly at the Frequently AskedQuestions (FAQ) location of the Explorer Program Acquisition website; anonymity ofpersons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/HQ/OPHQDC/NNH10ZDA004J/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02024668-W 20091217/091215235410-6066bd486071ba48bbfb4050f66e3ac2 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |