A -- ELECTRIC FIELD BOOMS

Notice Date

September 10, 2001

Contracting Office

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 216, Greenbelt, MD 20771

ZIP Code

20771

Response Due

September 28, 2001

Point of Contact

Dawn M. Fountain, Contracting Officer, Phone (301) 286-3815, Fax (301) 286-1773, Email dfountai@pop200.gsfc.nasa.gov

E-Mail Address

Dawn M. Fountain (dfountai@pop200.gsfc.nasa.gov)

Description

The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a sole source contract with the Orbital Sciences Corporation of Maryland based upon 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(1) Only One Responsible Source. The procurement provides for the Orbital Sciences Corp. to modify six electric field booms in order for them to be flown as part of Goddard's electric field experiment on the Air Force Communications/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite. The booms were originally built by Orbital Sciences Corp. (formerly Fairchild Space, Inc.) in the 1980's to be flown as part of the Interactive Measurements Payload for Shuttle (IMPS) program that was subsequently cancelled. The booms must now undergo modifications in order to be flown on the C/NOFS satellite, which is scheduled to launch on or about October 2003. The electric field booms measure the electric field potentials in space using ~ 10 m tubes that are exceedingly straight (deviate by less than 0.1 degree) and which possess engineering characteristics (e.g., thermal properties, stiffness) that enable them to perform in the space environment. When stowed, the boom units fit inside a compact volume for inclusion in the spacecraft body and are deployed upon command. The modification of six existing electric field boom units will enable them to perform optimally on the C/NOFS satellite. The C/NOFS scientific measurement objectives for which the electric field booms will contribute include measuring the Earth's DC vector electric field with an accuracy of 0.1 mV/m and to gather vector AC electric field measurements up to 2 MHz. The booms were originally built by Orbital Sciences Corp. using a design developed after 30 years of original engineering for similar booms for numerous space flight missions. Only OSC possess the necessary high level of engineering expertise and detailed engineering knowledge of the boom elements and the motors housed in the boom units to carry out the advanced modification engineering design. OSC has both the expertise and equipment such as thermal vacuum chambers and water tables of sufficient length (> 10 m) to test the booms and qualify them for space flight. Moreover, the C/NOFS satellite is being developed on an extremely short timeline. Essentially, the C/NOFS-specific requirements must be translated into a completed design, the modification hardware built and installed, and all six units tested and qualified in a time period of one year. Therefore, due to schedule constraints, it would not be cost efficient to bring another contractor up to speed in this timeframe. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. See Note 26. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local time on September 28, 2001. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort 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 NASA Specific Note "B". Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010912/ASOL007.HTM (D-253 SN50X2D8)