D -- SPACEFLIGHT LAPTOP COMPUTERS

Notice Date

March 26, 2001

Contracting Office

NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, 77058-3696, Mail Code: BJ

ZIP Code

00000

Solicitation Number

9-BJ2-57-0-14SN

Point of Contact

Ann E. Bronson, Contract Specialist, Phone (281) 483-9889, Fax (281) 483-2138, Email ann.e.bronson1@jsc.nasa.gov -- Jessica C. Miller, Contracting Officer, Phone (281) 483-6792, Fax (281) 483-2138, Email jessica.c.miller1@jsc.nasa.gov

E-Mail Address

Ann E. Bronson (ann.e.bronson1@jsc.nasa.gov)

Description

This is modification 5 to the synopsis entitled Spaceflight Laptop Computers, 9-BJ2-57-0-14SN, which was posted on October 12, 2000. The following questions were received regarding specification requirements of the laptops. 1. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.1S, the requirement that the laptop memory should support Error Check and Correction (ECC) is reasonable from the operational aspect. However, the current technology used in the commercial laptop business does not provide this feature. Therefore, rather the application SE (e.g. animated displays should provide feedback to the operator about the current state data acquired, data not available, etc). It is recommended that this requirement be deleted and implement requirements on the laptop application level. ANSWER: NASA realizes that it is rare for laptops to have this feature. This requirement is stated as a 'should' item and therefore it is not mandatory. All items with the word 'shall' are considered mandatory. NASA would like vendors to consider providing the 'should' options. 2. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.1.1e, the requirements state that "the laptop shall support the use of CDR and CDRW drives, DVD (RAM), ZIP drives, LS-120 drives, and similar types of removable media." The ZIP drives are outdated and instead of the LS-120 drives, LS-240 drives are state of the art. Please reconsider the requirement. ANSWER: NASA will change the requirement from "and similar types" to "or equivalent types." NASA still requires support for some older devices (for example ZIP drives) and also wants to allow for the newer models. 3. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.2.3.2A, the requirements state that "the laptop should support a spaceflight certifiable power interface, such as the one suggested for the Shuttle 28 VDC power system as specified in ICD 3-0014-0 and SSP 50094." The laptop power inlet varies from 19 to 20 V throughout the various vendors. The requirement is unclear with respect to the provision of a power supply by the bidder to fulfill a power interface from 28VDC of the shuttle to the 19 or 20 V power inlet of the laptop. Our current information was, that NASA provides the power supply. If this is the case, it is recommended to require only a certified power interface. The interface from shuttle to laptop is then consequently the task of NASA. ANSWER: NASA is looking into rewriting this statement along with some of the other power supply requirments. NASA has in the past built their own flight power supplies, however, if vendors proposed a flight power supply NASA would take that into consideration during evaluation. 4. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.2.3.2.d,"A laptop and power supply combined shall not exceed 50W nominally." If the statement in 3.2.2.3.2.a holds true, then the bidder does not know the consumption of the power supply. The required 700 MHz processors (or higher) do have a peak consumption of about 70W and together with the commercial power supply of approximately 75W. Therefore it is requested that NASA specify the term "nominally" in your requirement. ANSWER: NASA is reviewing what the maximum limit our program requirements will allow us to use. We are considereing rewriting this requirement to take into account the statement about the 700MHz processors. 5. QUESTION: The requirements stated that "laptop batteries shall be in accordance with NSTS 20793" (3.3.5.3.3). Due to the unavailability of the server location at " http://wwwsrqa.jsc.nasa.gov/PCE " to access MSVBS_handbook.pdf, we could not check whether any updates of the document has been provided. Therefore, we like to repeat our comment from the RFI response in Feb. 2000: "Four different types of batteries are used in the selected laptop. It can be demonstrated that these batteries comply with the requirments as in NSTS 20793. It must be noted, however, that this document is pretty old (issue from 1985) and some battery like e.g. state of the art NiMH types are not covered. ANSWER: NASA will have the latest documents available for prospective offerors when the Request for Offer is released. 6. QUESTION: Is this considered a COTS opportunity? ANSWER: Yes, this is a COTS opportunity. 7. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.1.I, can this be accomplished by use of a PCMCIA device? ANSWER: Yes. 8. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.1m, what is the definition/requirement of a docking system? When specifying that the expansion chassis must be COTS, does this mean that it must be a standard commercial offering from any manufacturer? Most expansion chassis, or docking stations, are proprietary to a specific model laptop. We can offer and provide our own expansion chassis, but we could not say if our laptop unit would be supported by any COTS expansion chassis. ANSWER: All NASA needs is an expansion chassis/docking station that works with the proposed laptop. If the expansion chassis is the same model as the laptop or a different manufacturer, it does not really matter. As long as the expansion chassis meets the requirements. 9. QUESTION: If ISA support is requested but not required (as stated in paragraph 3.1.1n), what is the intended use of ISA support? How much support is requested (i.e., 1 slot, 2 slots, etc)? ANSWER: NASA currently has systems that use ISA cards in the existing expansion chassis. The requirement will be rewritten to say one slot is desirable. 10. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.1q, is Intel ProShare the intended or desired product? There are many different teleconferencing software packages avaiable. The phrase "similar to Intel ProShare" is not clear. Does NASA require ProShare software or is ther another which may be requested? ANSWER: NASA currently uses Intel ProShare for video teleconferencing. Since very few COTS laptops have the ability to support this hardware, NASA added the "similar to" statement in the requirement. NASA has decided to revise the requirment to read as follows: "The laptop should support teleconferencing capabilities." 11. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.1r, could we have further information on "cable strain relief mechanisms?" What types of mechanism" are there that amy be applied here? Can you be more specific on this requirement? ANSWER: These laptops will be in permanent orbit on the International Space Station and are subject to abnormal situations. Astronauts are very busy on orbit and can sometimes forget how delicate the interfaces of the laptops can be. So any data cables that interface with the laptops such as USB connectors or PCMCIA connectors (friction type connections) may be inadvertently removed by a yank of the laptop in the wrong direction. This could create a potential problem if the laptop was in use for a critical operation. NASA needs to add items such as thumb screws, locking connectors, or velcro to prevent any disconnect of cables. 12. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.1.2a, b, does this require all the options for meeting section 3.1.1 to be fully compatible with both Unix and Linus? ANSWER: Everything in section 3.1.1 does not have to be supported by Unix or Linux. NASA does expect all of section 3.1.1 to be fully compatible with Windows 98/2000/Me, Windows NT. NASA will add to the Software section a couple of sentences describing which requirements should be supported by either Windows or Unix. 13. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.1.1c, can this requirement be met using an external cable? ANSWER: An external cable may be used for this requirement. 14. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.2.21, the unit we would like to offer would be approximately 12 lbs. Could this requirement be relaxed or adjusted? Our expansion chassis/docking station is approximately 5 lbs., making the entire unit approximately 17 lbs., well within the total requirements of both sections of this paragraph. ANSWER: NASA will rewrite this requirement to indicate that the total weight of the laptop and docking station shall not exceed 20 lbs. 15. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.2.3.1h, what is the intended purpose of the joystick port? ANSWER: The joystick port requirement will be revised to indicate should instead shall since this port is not a high use item. 16. QUESTION: Per paragraph 3.2.2.3.1j, what type, and how many, additional data interfaces and PCMCIA ports are required to be supported by the expansion chassis? ANSWER: The expansion chassis should allow for the use of all the interface ports on the laptop. Some examples would be the RS 232 port, parallel port and SVGA port. Offerors are responsible for monitoring this site for the release of the solicitation and any amendments. Potential offerors are responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any).

Web Link

Click here for the latest information about this notice (http://nais.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=73#9-BJ2-57-0-14SN)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010328/DSOL002.HTM (D-085 SN50H3E1)