NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

A -- SOUNDING ROCKET ACCESS TO MICROGRAVITY POC James D. Young, Contract Specialist, Phone (256) 544-0362, Fax (256) 544-9354, Email james.young@msfc.nasa.gov -- Valerie N. Holmes, Contracting Officer, Phone (256)544-0314, Fax (256)544-9354, Email valerie.holmes@msfc.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=62#RFI-05-08-2000. E-MAIL: James D. Young, james.young@msfc.nasa.gov. THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE. NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is hereby soliciting information for access to a microgravity environment via a Sounding Rocket launch vehicle. The Request for Information (RFI) is being issued by NASA, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center for comments and statement of interest for the access to microgravity environment via Sounding Rocket launch vehicles. The Microgravity Research Program Office nominally procures multiple Sounding Rocket launch services on an annual basis for its Microgravity Research Program payloads. NASA desires information that would offer a lower cost Sounding Rocket launch service. This notice is seeking industry comments and statements of interest about NASA's possible acquisition of an alternative Sounding Rocket launch vehicle service for its Microgravity Research Program payloads. The Sounding Rocket launch services that NASA requires the launch vehicle vendor to perform must: 1) safely integrate, launch, operate and recover the payload 2) provide a flight trajectory which is parabolic/free fall 3) provide a microgravity duration of 3-7 minutes 4) provide a microgravity environment level which is 1 time 10 to the minus 5 g's with a frequency of less than 10 Hz 5) provide the facility and engineering to design, development, integrate and test the mission unique hardware which interfaces directly to the payload 6) provide a launch site facility, launch vehicle to payload integration engineering services, mission operations control facility/personnel, to successfully perform launch countdown, mission operations and payload recovery 7) meet payload requirements such as vehicle spin up/down, real time data acquisition, command capabilities, communications with the payload/launch vehicle and payload recovery via a soft landing. NASA is considering the possibility of soliciting proposals from industry in Calendar Year 2000 for a study to access the availability of a low cost, dependable access to microgravity for its Sounding Rocket payloads. The current schedule indicates that NASA will utilize the results of the RFI to develop an approach for NASA to contract an alternative Sounding Rocket vendor for its Microgravity Research Program payloads. NASA is interested in determining the number of potential participants and any of their technical or performance issues. Comments regarding the services described above are also welcome. Please forward all comments and statements of interest to this notice by June 15, 2000 to James D. Young @ the following address: NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office/PS32-Y, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 This RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay of the information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the review. Any questions regarding this announcement should be made to the identified point of contact. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in the CBD and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor these cites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Vendors having the capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to submit appropriate documentation, literature, brochures, and references. Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business or 8(a) set-aside based on responses hereto. All responses shall be submitted to James D. Young,Procurement Office/PS32Y, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812, no later than June 15, 2000. In responding reference RFI-05-08-2000. Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html Posted 05/09/00 (D-SN453091). (0130)

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