1.04 RSI SSJ_LOG.pdf

NAVSUPINST 4200.85D, Encl (1) 1 of 2

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE

The service or material listed on N6228521RC058AE is sole source and competition is precluded for reasons indicated below. There are no substitutes available for this service.

Restricted to the following source.

Name of sole source vendor: Research Support Instruments, Inc. (RSI) CAGE: 0X371

Address: 4325B Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4854

Point of contact (name, phone, email):Dr. James Caron (+1 301-306-0010)

Description of the item or service required, the estimated cost, and required delivery date.

The services are for US pre-install services, Australia quarantine services, Australia install services, and travel for

RSI to contribute to and support installation of the US Naval Observatory (USNO) TYPHON instrument on the Mt.

Stromlo 1.8m telescope. The total estimate price is $132,842.68 with a required performance completion 4 months from date of award.

These services are dedicated to assisting in the integration and installation work on the TYPHON instrument to be operated by the USNO Advanced Technologies Division (ATD). Currently RSI has an active contract

N0018920PZ110, in which the last objectives for maturing the camera and detector of TYPHON are being finalized.

This will culminate in delivery of the camera to the company Mauna Kea Infrared (MKIR) for integration into the rest of the instrument, which will occur under MKIR’s active contract. In the next phase of the project that this proposed requirement supports, MKIR will then ship to and install the instrument in Australia.

Specific unique characteristics of the services or service provider that limit the availability to a sole source.

Describe in detail why only this suggested source can fulfill the Navy’s requirements to the exclusion of other sources, and provide market research to support the determination.

This proposed requirement allows for RSI to be on contract and assisting in the next phase of the project: both the integration and installation (in-person) periods of TYPHON. Given that RSI is responsible for developing this particular camera and software system, they are also the only contractor that can solve complex integration and installation troubleshooting involving the camera. Leveraging RSI’s heritage instrumentation experience to increase the success of TYPHON installation expands the Celestial Reference Frame (CRF) manager and space domain awareness coverage while providing additional data nodes to the USNO systems. The integration of USNO’s

TYPHON instrumentation on the 1.8m telescope will allow for enhanced measurements of celestial objects furthering research capabilities.

RSI has previously assisted USNO with H1RG detectors giving RSI the unique experience with these detectors in general. No other contractor has the necessary experience for this requirement. RSI has assisted in the first stage of calibration, as well as getting the detector and camera system operational, and their unique expertise is required for the next phase of the installation. RSI also provides unique knowledge of the 1.8 meter telescope in Canberra, Australia since they have previously worked on that telescope.

RSI is the contractor currently performing this H1RG detector and camera work. This work under contract

N0018920PZ110 can only be continued to integration and installation by RSI, due to this being a continuation of work with this particular camera for this project. Contracting with another vendor will lead to unacceptable delays of deployment of the highly specialized TYPHON instrument.

RSI is currently operating and developing the USNO’s H1RG camera for TYPHON at their facilities in Maryland.

The operability of the integrated TYPHON instrument is completely dependent upon the functionality of the camera subsystem within the larger instrument. Without proper skilled labor and attention placed to ensuring the camera is in a state to perform as specified, USNO drastically increases the risk of mission failure during integration and

NAVSUPINST 4200.85D, Encl (1) 2 of 2 installation while raising the cost to the government exponentially. RSI is currently the only contractor capable of providing the required labor and expertise, due to their knowledge cultivated during their work on development of the H1RG camera. Furthermore, RSI’s extensive corporate history of instrumentation is also beneficial to complement MKIR and USNO personnel during installation in other non-camera aspects. Procuring the services from another vendor would require specialized training, causing further delay to the USNO mission and the project’s initial operating capability and causing duplication of effort.

Market research was conducted by the requiring agency through the following methods: Contacting knowledgeable individuals in the Government, reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet similar or identical requirements, obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources and reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line. Market research revealed that RSI is the only vendor capable of guaranteeing 100% success with meeting the mission requirements of this procurement.

The requiring agency has determined that the Research Support Instruments, Inc. required services above are available to the commercial marketplace.

The contracting agency has determined that Research Support Instruments, Inc. can fulfill this requirement.

I CERTIFY THAT THE REQUESTED SERVICES REPRESENT THE MINIMUM NEEDS OF THE

GOVERNMENT, AND THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ABOVE IS COMPLETE AND

CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE PROCESSING

OF THIS SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION PRECLUDES THE USE OF FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION.

Requirements Cognizance:

Signature _____________________________________________________________

Liam Gunter, Astronomer, United States Naval Observatory

Signature _____________________________________________________________

Tessa Wastun

Contracting Officer, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk, Contracting Dept., Philadelphia Office