NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 214.4, Greenbelt, MD 20771

A -- SERVICES UNDER THE SUN EARTH CONNECTION THEME POC Thomas Russell, Contracting Officer, Phone (301)286-2885, Fax (301)286-0341, Email Thomas.S.Russell.1@gsfc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://nais.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=51#RFP5-0000 0-013. E-MAIL: Thomas Russell, Thomas.S.Russell.1@gsfc.nasa.gov. This is a notice to award a contract on a sole source basis to the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for services for the Pre-Formulation, Formulation, and Implementation of selected missions under NASA's Office of Space Science (OSS) Sun Earth Connection (SEC) Theme, including the Living with a Star Initiative. The SEC theme is aimed at improving mankind's understanding of the origins of solar variability, how that variability transforms the interplanetary medium, how eruptive events of the sun impact geospace, and how they might affect climate and weather. The JHU/APL responsibility under the proposed contract will be for enabling activities (pre-formulation) for technology development, trade studies, and maturing requirements for measurements needed in support of SEC; the defining of requirements (formulation); and support in the development phase (implementation). More specifically, the proposed contract will require JHU/APL to provide system overview/technical integration of the assigned SEC mission set; spacecraft definition and/or development; instrument interface coordination and definition, including when required, the award of subcontracts for mission systems such as spacecraft and ground systems as well as directed subcontracts resulting from Announcements of Opportunity selections; and detailed plans for the development of spacecraft and ground systems, including cost estimates, implementation plans, and technical documentation. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3), to maintain an essential engineering, research and development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution. More specifically, NASA requires that NASA-related essential capabilities be maintained, as authorized in FAR 6.302-3(b)(2)(ii), for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies, and experiments in science and technology as it relates to measurement campaigns planned over a 12-year period to provide a variety of observations through the Solar System. In addition, NASA requires essential capabilities provided by JHU/APL in the engineering and development work associated with investigative findings and theories of a scientific nature for a set of coordinated campaign missions that will focus on studying the Sun, heliosphere, and geosphere as an interacting system; that will explore the extreme boundaries of the heliosphere; that will investigate the interaction of the Sun and other planets; and that will develop new technologies. JHU/APL, through extensive experience with NASA programs particularly related to the needs of the SEC program, has heritage and infrastructure capability that is crucial to planning, development, and understanding of the SEC initiative. JHU/APL's capability and understanding must be maintained to enable mission concepts to have an orderly progression of increasing levels of scope and scientific and technical challenges so that knowledge already gained is not lost, potentially interfering with critical mission timelines. Essential engineering, research and development capabilities that are related NASA needs consist of diverse technical and programmatic staff skills, extensive experience with NASA programs, extensive corporate memory, JHU/APL's access to JHU's pool of experts, broad industry interactions, substantial supporting facilities, and JHU/APL's ability to draw on research and development resources to solve complex technical and system level problems. The capabilities sought to be maintained include JHU/APL's ability to provide independent evaluation required by NASA while at the same time working closely with industry, including the transition of the technology to industry. Essential capabilities to be maintained through this procurement include expertise in overall spacecraft mission design, analysis; spacecraft instrument interfaces including electrical, mechanical, and thermal; instrument operability issues; spacecraft conceptual design; spacecraft and ground systems development; software for operations and data analysis; and mission integration and operations. Interested firms desiring consideration have 15 days from publication in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) to submit their qualifications/capabilities. Such qualifications/capabilities will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. Responses received after 15 days without the required information will be considered nonresponsive to the synopsis and will not be considered. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract on a full and open competition basis based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. An Ombudsman has been appointed, see Internet Note "B." See Note 22. Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html Posted 02/16/00 (D-SN426017). (0047)

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