1.1 general information orion development is managed by the CEV project office at the NASA johnson space center in houston, texas. The CEV thermal protection system (TPS) advanced development…

1.1 general information orion development is managed by the CEV project office at the NASA johnson space center in houston, texas. The CEV thermal protection system (TPS) advanced development project (ADP) directly supports the CEV project office and was established to address risks associated with the development of a TPS heat shield capable of protecting the vehicle during atmospheric entry from both low earth orbit (LEO) return and lunar direct return (LDR) missions. Orion/CEV is a critical component in the vision for space exploration (VSE), and will serve as the primary manned space vehicle to the international space station as well as to the moon and eventually to mars. The heat shield provides essential thermal protection during return to earth. This task order is targeted at enhancing the general structural robustness of the orion heat shield thermal protection system designs. This procurement is not intended for the current critical path of orion phase II heat shield development to PDR; instead, the current procurement is intended to study the feasibility of development of an architectural robustness option that may be necessary if difficulties are encountered with the primary or any alternate heat shield designs. The deliverables from this study effort may be used to support the CEV orion phase II or phase III effort and will be shared with the orion prime, and other support service contractors. The deliverables may also be used for other NASA and government applications requiring atmospheric entry thermal protection systems. 1.2 scope and objectives this statement of work (SOW) defines the requirements for evaluating the feasibility of the cured-TPS-block-bonded-in-a-honeycomb heat shield system design architecture, and all tasks required of the contractor during the performance of this contract. The cured-TPS-block-bonded-in-a-honeycomb heat shield system design architecture (disclosure of NASA invention submitted 3/14/2007) feasibility acquisition is being conducted to improve NASA s risk posture up to and beyond orion s TPS preliminary design review (PDR). The TPS ADP recognizes that the development challenges facing the different orion heat shield system architectures will be unique for each material system. This feasibility study is intended to determine if this architecture robustness improvement option can be employed to improve system performance. The requirements for this effort are within the scope of GSA s professional engineering services (PES) schedule 871, special item numbers 1) concept development and requirements analysis, 2) system design, engineering and integration and 3) test and evaluation. IT is anticipated that one task order will be awarded for this effort with fixed price milestones. The estimated price for the effort is $300-425K. Delivery of the final report is required by 12/15/08. 1.3 deliverables at the completion of the cured-TPS-block-bonded-in-a-honeycomb heat shield system design architecture feasibility study, the contractor shall have provided all deliverables required by this task order. 1.4 TPS test and analysis approach TPS architecture coupons delivered by the contractor will be tested and evaluated to assess and gather data on performance and suitability for use on a heat shield capable of withstanding orion vehicle environments. The contractor will define the proposed testing approach in support of this feasibility study. Material samples and test coupons submitted by the contractor may be tested at NASA facilities or they may be tested at an external facility. If an external facility is needed, NASA will arrange for payment separately. The contractor shall be responsible for scheduling, managing and conducting all required tests. All raw test data and post-test specimens shall be delivered to NASA. 2.0 applicable documents applicable documents which form a part of this contract are listed herein. The applic