United Space Alliance(USA), 600 Gemini Avenue, Houston, Texas 77058

18 -- SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER AVIONICS UPGRADES SYSTEM SOL USA-SSU-A01 POC Francis V. Carlos, (281) 282-3163 E-MAIL: Click here to contact USA via e-mail, francis.v.carlos@usahq.unitedspacealliance.com. United Space Alliance (USA), LLC, prime contractor to NASA for Space Shuttle operations, through its offices located in Houston, Texas, anticipates the issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) on or about April 19, 2000 for the acquisition of upgrades to the Space Shuttle Orbiter Cockpit Avionics System. This acquisition is in support of USA's prime contract NAS9-20000 -- Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC) with the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) located in Houston, Texas. The purpose of this RFI is to determine the interest of potential suppliers to participate in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Cockpit Avionics upgrades and to invite potential suppliers/subcontractors to attend a pre-solicitation conference scheduled for April 10-11, 2000 at the USA facility located at 1150 Gemini Avenue, Houston, Texas. At this conference USA intends to communicate the cockpit upgrade requirements and our contracting methodology, and to provide an environment which will foster development of supplier teams that can best satisfy these requirements. USA has identified certain expectations of individual suppliers or supplier teams desiring to do business on the cockpit avionics upgrades project which include: ISO certified; established and verifiable flight safety program; established and verifiable quality program; established manufacturing capability; testing, qualification, and certification capabilities for/of space hardware; documented performance history of space hardware and space related products/services; system engineering and integration capabilities; experience in integration of hardware and system software; established and verifiable system for configuration management and change control; past customer points of contact to verify performance; and an auditable financial system capable of tracking at the job cost level and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) compliant. After the conference, suppliers interested in receiving the RFP will be required to submit an intent to bid letter to USA no later thanApril 14, 2000. Suppliers not responding by this date will not be considered further and will not receive the RFP. USA anticipates a formal RFP will be released on or about April 19, 2000 with the proposal due May 10, 2000. It is the responsibility of potential suppliers to monitor the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) and the NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS) for all formal announcements and amendments. Suppliers are invited to visit USA's public website (http://www.unitedspacealliance.com) to gain an insight into USA's organization and responsibilities. This RFI is solely for invitation to attend the pre-solicitation conference and does not in any way constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bid, or Request for Quotation and is not to be construed as a commitment by USA to enter into a subcontract. The cockpit avionics upgrade acquisition is subject to review by NASA and USA and may be canceled at any time. Suppliers interested in participating in this project are subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, including the requirements of the U.S. Department of State International Traffic and Arms Regulation (ITAR) and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Program Description: The Space Shuttle Orbiter Cockpit Avionics Upgrades project is a limited scope effort to modify the orbiter cockpit avionics system to improve the flight crew situational awareness and to simplify the crew's workload. This particular element of the project is limited to the development of the flight hardware and the integration of the real time operating system with that hardware. It is anticipated that up to forty (40) flight hardware units and up to seventy-five (75) flight hardware equivalent units will be acquired for the space shuttle orbiter and ground support facilities, respectively. The current processes to monitor, command, and control the orbiter subsystems during normal operations and to determine projected abort scenarios for anomalous conditions (abort situational awareness) during ascent and de-orbit and landing are cumbersome. To increase the flight crews' insight and understanding of the orbiter health and status during all operations and to improve the content and quality of the control mechanisms available to the crew, USA anticipates that changes to both the cockpit avionics hardware and software will be required. Procurement Strategy: In order to meet a compressed procurement schedule, USA has adopted for this program a three (3) phased, prototyping approach to define the requirements and develop the design of the avionics upgrade in a disciplined and controlled manner. USA will solicit the participation of multiple suppliers in a requirements development phase and in two subsequent design development phases which will culminate in the selection of a single supplier for the manufacturing phase. Phase 1 of the prototyping activity will be performed jointly by USA and NASA at the NASA JSC/Houston, Texas, area using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment and software to provide functional representation of the eventual flight system. The purpose of this phase is for the NASA/USA team to gain an in-depth understanding of key hardware and software design requirements and document them in a system design requirements document. To ensure suppliers participating in the follow-on design development phases fully understand the operational requirements, USA will select qualified suppliers to observe the Phase 1 prototyping activities. Selection of the suppliers for Phase 1 will be based on a statement of capabilities and a description of how each supplier will support Phase 1 activities. This information will be submitted by the bidders as part of the response to the RFP. USA anticipates award of multiple subcontracts during this phase where each supplier/supplier team would be funded up to $200,000.00. The Phase 1 prototyping activities will begin on or about April 1, 2000. While candidate suppliers are expected be placed on subcontract on or about June 7, 2000, interested suppliers are invited to participate at their own expense until such time as subcontracts have been awarded. Phase 1 is planned to end approximately September 30, 2000, at which time USA will select certain suppliers for participation in the Phase 2 activity. Deliverables in Phase 1 (which will also be part of the down selection criteria) currently being considered include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) a prototyping plan for the subsequent phase(s); (b) a cost proposal for the Phase 2; (c) a rough order of magnitude/estimate at completion cost for the remainder of the program (Phase 3 and production); (d) preliminary system design; (e) preliminary system specifications; and (f) long lead item procurement plan. USA anticipates awarding up to three (3) Phase 2 subcontracts valued at approximately $2 million each. Prototyping activities during Phase 2 will be performed independently by each supplier at the supplier's facility with USA participation and oversight. There will be periodic Technical Interface Meetings (TIMs) throughout Phase 2 with data and hardware deliverables to be defined later. Principle activities during Phase 2 will be the development and testing of non-flight brassboard prototype units. Phase 2 activities will commence approximately on October 1, 2000 and continue through March 31, 2001, at which time there will be a further "down-selection" of suppliers for Phase 3. Phase 3 activities will commence approximately April 1, 2001 and continue through September 30, 2001. USA anticipates awarding up to two (2) Phase 3 subcontracts valued at approximately $10 million each. There will be periodic Technical Interface Meetings throughout Phase 3 with data and hardware deliverables to be defined later. Prototyping activities during Phase 3 will continue to be performed independently by each supplier at the supplier's facility with USA participation and oversight. Phase 3 activities are expected to develop and test flight equivalent units and to produce the final design for production. The down selection criteria for the single production contract will include the completeness of design, compliance of the design against the functional requirements, and with the proposed cost of production. Phases 2 and 3 prototyping are considered evolutionary in that USA expects multiple iterations of potential design solutions will be examined against the detailed requirements that were developed during Phase 1. Please note that suppliers that do not participate in Phase 1 can not participate in any of the subsequent phases. Intent to attend the pre-solicitation conference: USA requests that suppliers interested in attending the pre-solicitation conference notify USA in writing no later than April 4, 2000 to confirm attendance. Attendance will be limited to three (3) supplier representatives who are U.S. citizens and/or permanent resident aliens. Correspondence should be sent to: USA, 600 Gemini Avenue, Houston, Texas 77058, Attention: Francis V. Carlos, mail code USH-132L or via facsimile to (281) 282-4096. Posted 03/23/00 (W-SN437463). (0083)

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