NASA/Lewis Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135

A -- NEXT GENERATION ION PROPULSION: INNOVATIVE, SIMPLIFIED, LOW-POWER ELECTROSTATIC THRUSTER/PPU DESIGN SOL RFO3-116268 POC Gary A. Golinski, Contracting Officer, Phone (216) 433-2790, Fax (216) 433-2480, Email Gary.A.Golinski@lerc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://nais.nasa.gov/EPS/LeRC/date.html#RFO3-116268. E-MAIL: Gary A. Golinski, Gary.A.Golinski@lerc.nasa.gov. NASA/LeRC plans to issue a Request for Offer (RFO) for the development the advancement of the systems technology of electrostatic (ion) propulsion beyond the state-of-the-art NSTAR technology, for use as primary propulsion on small, power-limited (less than 500 W available to the propulsion system) spacecraft. Existing ion propulsion system technology is prohibitively complex, large and inefficient for such applications, and, is designed for operation at substantially higher power levels than appropriate for small spacecraft. Technology efforts in this program are intended to address these limitations and enable the design of high-performance, low power, simplified ion propulsion systems. This program, then, provides for the design and demonstration of low-power ion system technologies with high performance. The objective of the program is to significantly advance the technology of ion propulsion at lower levels. The desired result is an ion propulsion system design that can be expected to operate at high specific impulse (3000-4000 seconds), low power (100-500 W), and high efficiency (greater than 40% combined thruster/power processor efficency), while yielding a low system mass (less than 1.5 kg flight-packaged thruster and power processor, less cabling). Approaches which reduce the manufacturing costs via reduction in parts count and incorporation of simplified power processing schemes, while maintaining low mass and volume are expected. It is the intention of this program to obtain a very high level of performance and do so while providing a propulsion option which is competitive from a cost-of-manufacturing standpoint. The level of performance expected presumes significant technology advances in thruster components and power processing. The statement of work will be divided into two phases. The first phase or the design and development phase will last approximately 1 year and will use resources the equivalent of 1700 work hours. The second phase, which is optional, will last approximately three years and use resources the equivalent of 13,200 work hours. Multiple awards are anticipated with a down-selection for the optional portion. A pre-proposal conference will be held at the Lewis Research Center in the Development Engineering Building (DEB), Bldg. 500 in Room 1314 at 10:00 AM on February 23, 1999. Please notify Mr. Golinski at (216)433-2790, gary.a.golinski@lerc.nasa.gov if you plan on attending the pre-proposal conference. The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. The DPAS Rating for this procurement is DO-A2. All qualified responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. The anticipated release date of the RFO is February 23, 1999 with an anticipated offer due date of on or about March 23, 1999. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See Internet Note "B". The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office Suite (Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0) format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The WWW address, or URL of the NASA/LeRC Business Opportunities home page is http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/LeRC/class.html. Prospective offerors shall notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this site and/or the CBD for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html. Posted 01/26/99 (D-SN291487). (0026)

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