SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- ANNOUNCEMENT OF CUBESAT LAUNCH INITIATIVE
- Notice Date
- 2/25/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- 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
- NNH10SOMD001L
- Response Due
- 4/15/2010
- Archive Date
- 2/25/2011
- Point of Contact
- Ms. Anne E Sweet, Launch Services Program Executive, Phone 202-358-3784, Fax 202-358-2818, Email anne.sweet-1@nasa.gov - Mr. Jason C Crusan, Chief Technologist for Space Operations, Phone 202-358-0635, Fax 202-358-3530, Email jason.c.crusan@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Ms. Anne E Sweet
(anne.sweet-1@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1.0INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUNDThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Operations MissionDirectorate (SOMD) anticipates that launch opportunities for a limited number of CubeSatsmay be available on launches currently planned for 2011 and 2012. These launchopportunities would constitute a pilot project intended to demonstrate viable launchopportunities for CubeSat payloads as auxiliary payloads on planned missions. The pilotproject is intended to support, and will be limited to, CubeSat development effortsconducted under existing NASA-supported activities. The pilot project will be open tonot-for-profit and educational organizations (collaborators). In determining the strength of the CubeSat community, NASA requests additionalinformation with regard to CubeSat projects. If a project is unable to submit a proposaldue to the fact the CubeSat is unable to meet the initiatives launch opportunities. TheCubeSats should provide a notice of intent on when the CubeSat is in a configuration tobe considered for an opportunity. As this is a pilot program, if there is adequateresponse from the CubeSat projects, the initiative could be continued on future flightopportunities.A CubeSat is a type of space research nanosatellite, the base CubeSat dimension is10x10x11 centimeters (one Cube or 1U). CubeSats typically range from one to threeCubes (10x10x34 centimeters) in volume and typically weigh no more than one kilogram per1U Cube. NASA anticipates using its authority to enter into Cooperative Research and DevelopmentAgreements (CRADA) under 15 U.S.C. 3710a to support the pilot project and NASA willprovide integration and other services as necessary to complete the launch activity. Participation in the pilot program will be contingent upon selection by NASA andnegotiation of an appropriate Agreement between NASA and the collaborator. Collaborators will be required to provide partial reimbursement of the launch andintegration costs associated with their participation in the pilot project. This partialreimbursement will be due in advance upon execution of the Agreement. The requiredreimbursement will be $30,000.00 (thirty thousand dollars) per 1U Cube. The Agreementsimplementing the pilot project will not provide for the transfer of any NASA funding toselected collaborators to support any aspect of the collaborators participation in thepilot project, including CubeSat development.Investigations supported by CubeSat payloads proposed for the pilot project must addressan aspect of science, exploration, technology development, education, or operationsencompassed by NASAs strategic goals and outcomes as identified in the NASA StrategicPlan and/or Education Strategic Coordination Framework.The NASA Strategic Plan can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/about/budget.The Education Strategic Framework can be found athttp://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/performance/strategic_framework.html.NASA will not issue paper copies of this announcement.NASA reserves the right to selectfor negotiations all, some, or none of the proposals submitted in response to thisannouncement. NASA provides no funding for reimbursement of proposal development costs. Material submitted in response to this Announcement will not be returned. It is thepolicy of NASA to safeguard all proposals as confidential and privileged information, asprovided by law. NASA will not, without permission of the proposing collaborator, usethe proposal contents for other than evaluation purposes. It is not NASAs intent to publicly disclose proprietary information obtained during thissolicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom ofInformation Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent asProprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential. 2.0GENERAL INFORMATIONAgency Name: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)Opportunity Title: Announcement of CubeSat Launch InitiativeResponse Date:Electronic Proposals must be received by April 15, 2010 at 4:30 P.M. ESTvia email to jason.c.crusan@nasa.govPoints of Contact: If you have any questions concerning this opportunity please contact: Anne SweetTelephone: 202-358-3784 Email: anne.sweet-1@nasa.govJason CrusanTelephone: 202-358-0635Email: jason.c.crusan@nasa.govInstrument Type(s): It is anticipated that agreements negotiated under this Announcementwill be in the form of CRADAs under the authority 15 U.S.C. 3710a.Evaluation Panel: Government personnel from NASA will participate in the evaluation ofproposals. All contractor personnel participating in the evaluation will be bound byconflict of interest provisions and appropriate non-disclosure requirements to protectproprietary information.Selection Notification: Selection is anticipated by June 30, 2010. Submission Instructions: All Proposals under this Announcement must be emailed tojason.c.crusan@nasa.gov. Paper submissions will not be reviewed. Proposals may besubmitted at any time before the response date. Proposals received by the Governmentafter the response date and time will not be considered for acceptance. If a proposingcollaborator is concerned about information security during transmission NASA has theability to accept secure transmission.Contact the Point of Contact (Jason Crusan) forsecure transmission requirements. Files must be submitted in a single bookmarked andsearchable PDF of less than 10 Mb.3.0ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION3.1Eligible ApplicantsU.S. organizations meeting the following requirements are eligible to submit proposals inresponse to this Announcement. The proposing collaborator must be a not-for-profit or educational organization.The proposed CubeSat payload is the result of development efforts conducted underexisting NASA-supported activities. The proposing collaborator is responsible for securing funding to support the developmentof the CubeSat payload and for all other costs incurred by the proposing collaborator tosupport its participation in the pilot project.The proposing collaborator must provide NASA partial reimbursement of $30,000 per 1U Cubeto offset the costs of the integration and launch activities.3.2Eligible PayloadsEach investigation supported by a proposed CubeSat must demonstrate a benefit to NASA byaddressing goals and objectives of the NASA Strategic Plan and/or the NASA EducationStrategic Coordination Framework.Prior to submission of the proposal, each investigation supported by a proposed CubeSatmust have passed an intrinsic merit review in which the goals and objectives of theproposed investigation were assessed to determine the scientific, educational ortechnical quality of the investigation and the overall alignment of the proposedinvestigation in addressing one or more of the science, exploration, technology,education, or operations goals or objectives identified in the NASA Strategic Plan and/orthe NASA Education Strategic Coordination Framework.Prior to submission of the proposal, each investigation supported by a proposed CubeSatmust have passed a feasibility review in which the technical implementation, includingfeasibility, resiliency, and the probability of success, was assessed.4.0PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION4.1Evaluation and Selection Process All proposals will be initially screened to determine their compliance to the eligibility(section 3.0) and proposal instructions (section 5.0) of this Announcement. Proposalsthat do not comply may be declared noncompliant and rejected without further review. Asubmission compliance checklist is provided in section 5.0. This checklist providesproposers a list of the items that NASA will check for compliance before releasing aproposal for evaluation. Proposals deemed in compliance with this Announcement will be assessed against theevaluation criteria outlined in Section 4.2 by the Selection Recommendation Committee, apanel of individuals drawn from the participating NASA Mission Directorates and Offices. Proposed collaborators should be aware that during the evaluation and selection process,NASA may request clarification of a specific point or points in a proposal. Such arequest and the proposed collaborators response shall be in writing. The Selection Recommendation Committee members will conduct independent assessments ofthe proposals according to evaluation criteria outlined in Section 4.2. After thisindependent review, a final prioritization will be developed by the SelectionRecommendation Committee based on their assessments of the proposals. 4.2Evaluation Criteria 4.2.1Overview The evaluation criteria below will be used to assess and prioritize the proposals asdescribed in Section 4.1. The evaluation criteria (which are defined more fully in thesections below) are as follows: Relevance to one or more NASA Strategic Goals or Objectives; Outcome of Scientific, Educational, or Technical Merit Review(s); andOutcome of Feasibility Review. Standard evaluation factors for each of these criteria are described below. The proposalprioritizations discussed in Section 4.1 will be based on these criteria, which arediscussed in more detail below. Relevance to one or more NASA strategic goals orobjectives is weighted 40%, Outcome of Scientific, Educational, or Technical review(s) isweighted 30%, and Outcome of Feasibility Review is weighted 30%.4.2.2Relevance to one or more NASA Strategic Goals or Objectives Each investigation supported by a proposed CubeSat must demonstrate a benefit to NASA byaddressing goals and objectives of the NASA Strategic Plan and/or the NASA EducationStrategic Coordination Framework.The following factors will be assessed for the benefit to NASA. Proposals must includesufficient information and supporting details to allow assessment of these factors. Does the proposal demonstrate the benefits that the investigation supported bythe proposed CubeSat provides in addressing one or more of the goals and objectives ofthe NASA Strategic Plan and/or the NASA Education Strategic Coordination Framework?Are these the benefits that were reviewed in the merit review?Why is an orbital flight opportunity necessary or advantageous for providingthese benefits to NASA?4.2.3Outcome of Scientific, Educational, or Technical Merit Review(s)Each investigation supported by a proposed CubeSat must have passed an intrinsic meritreview in which the goals and objectives of the proposed investigation were assessed todetermine the scientific, educational or technical quality of the investigation and theoverall alignment of the proposed investigation in addressing one or more of the science,exploration, technology, education, or operations goals or objectives identified in theNASA Strategic Plan and/or the NASA Education Strategic Coordination Framework.The following factors will be assessed. Proposals must include sufficient informationand supporting details to allow assessment of these factors.What was the merit review process?Was the merit review competitive or non-competitive?What were the qualifications of the merit review committee members?What factors did the merit review use to assess merit?What was the outcome of the merit review?How did the proposed collaborator respond to and/or address the findings of themerit review?NASA is not specifying how the merit review should have been conducted. NASA is, however,requiring that a determination of the merit of the investigation supported by theproposed CubeSat project must have occurred.Any supporting documentation from the merit review that is useful in supporting thisassessment may be included in the proposal as an Appendix. 4.2.4Outcome of Feasibility Review Each investigation supported by a proposed CubeSat must have passed a feasibility reviewin which the technical implementation, including feasibility, resiliency, and theprobability of success, was assessed. The following factors will be assessed. Proposals must include sufficient information andsupporting details to allow assessment of these factors.What was the feasibility review process?What were the qualifications of the feasibility review committee members?What factors did the feasibility review use to assess feasibility?How were the management team roles, experience, expertise, and the organizationalstructure of the team assessed?How was the technical development risk associated with the overall CubeSatmission assessed?If the CubeSat project requires critical technology development for flightreadiness, how were the areas assessed, and how were the plans for completing technologydevelopment assessed? Concerning the development of the CubeSat for flight, how was the probability ofsuccess assessed?What was the outcome of the feasibility review?How did the proposed collaborator respond to and/or address the findings of thefeasibility review?Is there sufficient financial support for the development of the CubeSat payloadand for all other costs incurred by the proposing collaborator to support itsparticipation in the pilot project?NASA is not specifying how the feasibility review should have been conducted. NASA is,however, requiring that a determination of the feasibility of the proposed CubeSatproject must have occurred.Any supporting documentation from the feasibility review that is useful in supporting theassessment may be included in the proposal as an Appendix. 4.3Selection Factors As described in Section 4.1, the results of the proposal evaluations based on thecriteria above and the subsequent Selection Recommendation Committee deliberations willbe considered in the selection process. The Selection Recommendation Committee may take into account a variety of programmaticfactors in deciding whether or not to select any proposals, including, but not limitedto, available launches and maintaining a programmatic and scientific balance across thesponsoring NASA organizations. The Selection Authority shall be the Associate Administrator for Space Operations. TheSelection Authority will make the final selection of those approved for this opportunityafter the completion of negotiations, depending on the outcome of the negotiations. 4.4Selection NotificationThe outcome of the Selection Recommendation Committee deliberations will be a prioritizedlist of Proposed CubeSats that then will be negotiated with for the available manifestopportunities.Selection does not guarantee an availability of a launch opportunity.NASA will notify all proposed collaborators of the results of the evaluation andselection process. After the completion of the evaluation and selection process, NASAwill begin negotiations with the selected collaborators in priority order from theSelection Recommendation Committee. The purpose of the negotiations is to define theterms and conditions of the Agreement supporting the participation of the collaboratorsin the pilot project and to align the selected proposals with the anticipated launchmanifest. 5.0PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONSProposals must comply with the following requirements.Page LimitationsProposal Section -Total PagesProposal Cover Page -1Proposal Title Page -1Points of Contact -1Proposal Abstract -750 words Proposal Detail -10Appendix Resumes -No Page LimitCompliance Documents -No Page LimitAdditional Documentation -No Page LimitPages in excess of the page limitations for each section will not be evaluated. A pageis defined as one (1) sheet 8 x 11 inches using a minimum of 12-point font size fortext and 8-point for graphs.There is no limit on appendix documentation. The intent is to allow proposals to includecurrent documentation in its current format without having to alter any documents.The proposal must include the following sections, in this order:Proposal Cover Page: Solicited Proposal Application Title of Announcement and ProposalContact Information. An optional graphic image may be included.Proposal Title Page, with Notice of Restriction on Use and Disclosure of ProposalInformation, if any.Points of Contact: List contact information for all Points of Contact including aTechnical Point of Contact. Provide:a.Nameb.Titlec.Addressd.Phone and Faxe.EmailProposal Abstract: Executive summary describing the prominent and distinguishing featuresof the proposal and identifying the existing NASA-supported activity.Proposal Detail: The proposal shall contain sufficient information to enable reviewers tomake informed judgments to assess the three criteria of the proposed effort. Proposal Appendix: ResumesoResumes may be included for key personnel. In general, resumes should be limitedto no more than 1-2 pages each.Compliance DocumentsoInclude any documents necessary to supplement the proposal text and satisfy therequirements of the compliance checklist (see below).Additional documentationoInclude any documentation in the appendix that validates or supports the proposalCompliance checklist and required documentsoThe proposer is a U.S. not-for-profit or U.S. educational organizationoProposal includes a payload from a CubeSat development effort conducted under anexisting NASA-supported activityoProposal includes documentation of the relevant NASA-supported activity oProposal includes demonstration of the benefits to NASAoProposal includes a description of the merit review process and outcomeoProposal includes a description of the feasibility review process and outcomeoProposal includes a schedule for remaining CubeSat development that supports alaunch in 2011 or 2012oProposal includes funding commitment letters demonstrating sufficient financialsupport for remaining CubeSat development
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