SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER PROPULSION DEMONSTRATION MISSION
- Notice Date
- 8/27/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall SpaceFlight Center, AL 35812
- ZIP Code
- 35812
- Solicitation Number
- 08272010PS21
- Response Due
- 9/8/2010
- Archive Date
- 8/27/2011
- Point of Contact
- Lizette M Kummer, Contracting Officer, Phone 256-544-3457, Fax 256-544-5028, Email Lizette.M.Kummer@nasa.gov - Lizette M Kummer, Contracting Officer, Phone 256-544-3457, Fax 256-544-5028, Email Lizette.M.Kummer@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Lizette M Kummer
(Lizette.M.Kummer@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- I.IntroductionNASA MSFC is seeking a partner capable of providing a spacecraft bus as a part of atechnology development proposal team. Responses to this RFI will provide informationnecessary for the selection of spacecraft providing partners for the proposal team inlate Summer/early Fall 2010. This RFI seeks input from vendors with experience and facilities for designing,fabricating, and integrating Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites. Vendors must be able toprovide low risk, highly reliable design solutions and have a history of successfullydelivering spacecraft bus systems to support Flight projects. The following capabilities are deemed critical:Spacecraft bus management/development Subcontract management Quality management Safety managementSystems Engineering Spacecraft bus fabrication and test Interface and Interface Control Document (ICD) development Instrument package integration and test support Functional and environmental testing Coordination of shipment to the launch site Launch vehicle integration support Launch and early orbit checkout operations On-orbit operation Sustaining engineering Flight software maintenanceFlight experience with LEO missionsThe MSFC team is currently considering two mission hardware integration options:A.Spacecraft Bus OnlyDesign, development, and delivery of verified Spacecraft Bus and Ground Support Equipment(GSE) to integration site (TBD). Spacecraft Bus may be a Host plus End Mass or be twovery similar buses. Provide support during system integration, verification, launchoperations, and on-orbit performance verification activities.B.Spacecraft Bus plus System IntegrationAs in A above but includes the analytical and physical integration of tether specificsubsystems (tether and deployer, high voltage power subsystem, instrument packages, etc.)and integrated system functional and environmental testing (with potential support fromMSFC test facilities as required). II.Mission Description and Preliminary RequirementsResponses to this RFI shall be commensurate with the requirements for the ElectrodynamicTether Propulsion Demonstration mission described below and the Guide for RFI (Attachment1). These requirements are preliminary and are to be used as an example for the purposeof responding to this RFI.The Electrodynamic Tether Propulsion Demonstration missions primary objective is todemonstrate predictable and controlled orbital maneuvering (orbital altitude change andinclination change) using an electrodynamic tether propulsion system.The Electrodynamic Tether Propulsion Demonstration mission is currently envisioned toconsist of the Host Vehicle and End Mass Vehicle (which could be very similar), thetether and tether deployment mechanisms that connect the two vehicles, high voltage powersupplies and electronics subsystem, and instrument packages.Table 1 shows a rough breakdown of anticipated system masses.Host340 kgEnd Mass165 kgTether10 kgLaunch Vehicle Adaptor20 kgTable 1 System MassesNominal Operational life: 18 monthsNominal Orbit Altitude Range: 400 km to 800 kmOrbit: 28.5 - 45 degree inclinationSpacecraft bus must be capable of automated fault detection and protection(failure, detection, isolation, and recovery capabilities)Spacecraft bus must meet the NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting OrbitalDebris (NPR 8715.6A) and NASA Process for Limiting Orbital Debris (NASA-STD-8719.14)III.Required Spacecraft Bus Capabilities1.Accommodate Science Instruments Packagea.Selected instrumentation will be accommodated in both Host Vehicle and End Mass.2.Accommodate Tether and Tether Deployer3.Accommodate High Voltage Tether System Power Supplies and Electronics that mustbe integrated with spacecraft power system electrical ground and structure.4.Provide Attitude Control for both Host Vehicle and End Massa.Assumed to be reaction wheels with magnetic desaturation.b.Operational modes will include Host and End Mass vehicles attached, spacecraftseparated with tether deploying, separated and tether fully deployed, and possibleend-of-mission scenario with either spacecraft separated from the tether (TBD).5.Provide Electrical Power System for both Host Vehicle and End Massa.Assumed to be batteries and solar arrays.b.Body mounted solar array is preferable, but please describe capabilities fordeployable arrays.6.Provide Communications and Data Handling.a.Nominally X-band downlink in Host and S-band Cross Link Transceiver in HostVehicle and End Mass.7.Provide Flight Computer in both Host Vehicle and End Mass.8.Provide Global Positioning System (GPS) (minimum) in both Host Vehicle and EndMass capable of more precise relative-GPS position knowledge.9.Provide Thermal Control System.a.Assumed cold-biased thermal with MLI, heaters, and passive radiators.10.Launch Vehiclea.Please recommend a launch vehicle and approach capable of minimizing total systemcosts while maximizing mission success. The anticipation is that the launch vehicle willbe in the Falcon 1e, Minotaur IV or V class.b.Assume the launch vehicle shall be a US launch vehicle. c.In selecting a launch vehicle, the vendor shall maintain a minimum mass margin of30 % between the mission system mass and the launch vehicles lift capability to thespecified orbit.IV.SummaryThe information obtained will be used by NASA for planning and acquisition strategydevelopment. This RFI is being used to obtain information for planning purposes only. TheGovernment does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwisepay for the information solicited. As stipulated in FAR 52.215-3, (a) The Government doesnot intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay forthe information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as providedin subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.(b) Although 'proposal' and 'offeror' are used in this Request for Information, yourresponse will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. Inputsshall be compliant with all legal and regulatory requirements concerning limitations onexport controlled items. Attachment 1GUIDE FOR RFI RESPONSESVENDOR PROPOSAL CONTENT INSTRUCTIONSPlease provide information on the spacecraft bus that meets the above requirements andaccommodates the Tether specific subsystems. The response shall be organized into thefollowing sections. Section 1 Description of proposed spacecraft bus including spacecraft configuration,hardware capabilities, redundancies, instrument accommodation, accommodation in launchvehicle, deployments, attitude control methodology, command and data flow. Section 2 Description of the reliability of the proposed bus including: margins andredundancies methodology, fault detection and protection, potential risks andmitigations, any new designs and associated risks. Section 3 Description of the proposed spacecraft bus heritage and experience withprevious flight projects (special information that shows experience and/or understandingof space tether systems is especially desired). Section 4 Description of the assembly, integration, test and launch operations approachfor the spacecraft bus and integrated system levels. Any differences from the contractorsnormal test flow should be identified and described.Section 5 ROM cost estimates for heritage spacecraft system of similar size andperformance characteristics.All responses should be provided in PDF format via electronic media. Responses should not exceed 15 pages total.When responding please reference: RFI08272010PS21Please submit responses no later than September 8, 2010, to NASA/MSFC Office ofProcurement, PS21/Lizette Kummer, Contracting Officer, via e-mail atlizette.m.kummer@nasa.gov. Additional questions should also be provided to Lizette Kummervia e-mail.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/GMSFC/POVA/08272010PS21/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02257586-W 20100829/100827235011-6b3f9c00d7639df9b5b3a13e2fccdd38 (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 |