3. Final 80ARC024R0003 - J.1(a) Att. 1 - Performance Work Statement.pdf

J.1(a) Attachment 1 – Performance Work Statement

NASA Academic Mission Services - 2 (NAMS-2)

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

December 6, 2023

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Scope of Work

3. Core Requirements

3.1. Core Management

3.1.1. Contract Management and Administration

3.1.2. Contract Task Order Administration

3.1.3. Contract Reporting

3.1.4. Contract Compliance, Quality Assurance, and Workforce Qualifications

3.1.5. Training

3.1.6. Travel

3.1.7. Resource Scheduling

3.1.8. Resource Acquisition

3.1.9. Health Safety and Environmental Policies

3.1.10. Risk Management

3.1.11. Government Property Management

3.1.12 Handling and Protection of Government Controlled Contractor Generated Data……………………..10

3.2. Core Technology Area Requirements: Air Traffic Management Research (ATM)

3.2.1. ATM research on Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Airspace

3.2.2. ATM research for Autonomous Piloted Aircraft Operations

3.2.3. ATM research for a more collaborative traffic management

3.2.4. ATM research for the development of a digital transformation of the National Airspace System

(NAS)……………………………………………………………………………………………………...14

3.2.5. Core Technology Area: Technical Direction

3.2.6. Core Technology Area: ATM Deliverables

4. Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Requirements

4.1. Academic Methods

4.1.1. Academic Studies and Reviews

4.1.2. Future Workforce Training

4.1.3. Expert Instruction

4.2. ATM Research Safety and Mission Assurance

4.3. Advanced Technological Systems (ATS)

4.4. Nanoelectronics and Devices

4.5. Advanced Software for Digital Twin Systems

4.6. Quantum Computing Technology

4.7. Secure Airspace Architectures

4.8. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Mining

4.9. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign

5. Phase-In and Phase-Out

5.1. Phase-In

6. Appendix

6.1. Acronyms

6.2. Applicable Documents

1. Introduction

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has a primary focus on research and development

(R&D) including fundamental scientific research, concept development, prototype testing, and new technology creation. The research supports ARC’s mission and NASA’s overall goals in aeronautics, science, space technology, and human exploration.

ARC performs R&D in support of NASA missions in collaboration with other NASA centers, academia, other federal organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and industry partners. Many of ARC’s projects span multiple technological and scientific disciplines. The success of NASA and ARC missions demands leading edge technical and research expertise from both student and faculty researchers. ARC is a leader within the agency in forming and nurturing innovative partnerships to further these missions.

NASA Academic Mission Services-2 (NAMS-2) will provide ARC with capabilities to fulfill mission requirements from fundamental R&D through field-test deployments and operational missions.

2. Scope of Work

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) describes the requirements for research support to be provided to the Aeronautics Directorate and the Exploration Technology Directorate at NASA

ARC. The Contractor shall be responsible for the execution of the NAMS-2 performance requirements defined in this PWS. The work to be performed by the Contractor includes scientific research associated with air traffic management, advanced technology, nanoelectronics, and prototype software. The purpose of the contract is to meet NASA aeronautics and technology mission objectives, particularly the improvement of aircraft and airspace safety as well as the transition of advanced aeronautics technologies into future air vehicles. NAMS-2 includes a broad scope of research, including the development of new and emerging capabilities and technologies that will evolve over the life of the contract. The success of these activities at ARC depends on the successful completion of the work described in this PWS.

The services available under this contract can be provided to any NASA ARC customer as approved by the Contracting Officer (CO) if it is in the best interest of the Government. These services may also be provided to other NASA Centers and Government agencies to support project or mission objectives. The Contractor shall, except as otherwise specified, furnish all personnel, training, and management to perform the requirements in this PWS.

3. Core Requirements

The core requirements of this contract include Core Management and Core Technology Area:

Air Traffic Management Research (ATM). The Contractor shall meet the requirements specified in this PWS in conformance with industry standards, and all applicable federal, NASA, state, and local requirements, policies, and procedures.

3.1. Core Management

The Contractor shall comply with all the terms and conditions set forth in this contract and provide overall management and administrative functions to ensure that the proper resources are available and allocated to complete all contractual requirements; that required reports and documentation is prepared; and that the overall environment supports the research requirements for the entire performance period of the contract.

3.1.1. Contract Management and Administration

The purpose of Contract Management and Administration is to ensure that the following requirements are effectively managed and implemented to support all activities covered in this

PWS. These required services include, but are not limited to: Resource Scheduling, Property

Management, Procurement, Health, Safety, Environmental, Mission Assurance, Training, Contract Reporting, and Configuration Management.

The Contractor shall provide all management and administrative functions to ensure that proper resources are available and allocated, and that required reports and documentation are prepared.

The Contractor shall:

• Manage the contract in a fiscally responsible manner fulfilling all requirements.

• Provide a well-defined, stable organizational structure with clear lines of authority and clearly identified interfaces for the Government.

• Provide staff with required initial and routine medical exams as required by applicable Health and Safety standards.

• Provide staff with the required training in safety, engineering and information technologies.

• Comply with all applicable NASA policies and procedures.

• Manage the resources allocated by NASA for specific tasks in a manner to ensure objectives are reached in accordance with established milestones.

• Provide a monthly report of the state of all tasks; identifying accomplishments, publications, deliverables and major milestones reached, as well as problems and concerns over issues that may affect contract performance and recommended solutions.

• Provide property management to ensure accountability for annual inventory surveys and accountability verification forms.

• Provide risk management activities that will be used to ensure that

Government has adequate insight into the risks associated with the

Contractor’s ability to accomplish required work.

3.1.2. Contract Task Order Administration

The Contractor shall develop all task proposals, conduct negotiations with the Government, and manage all task orders under this contract. The Contractor shall respond to all Contract Task

Orders (CTO) (approximately 15-20 annually) as required in NFS 1852.216-80 Task Order

Procedure and shall report Task Order financial and technical performance, as required.

The Government will prepare a CTO request for each new requirement to be performed under the IDIQ component of the contract. The Contractor shall review the CTO requests and provide the task plans in accordance with NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1852.216-80 Task Ordering

Procedure. The Contractor shall plan, manage, control, and coordinate technical tasks, managing the resources allocated by NASA for specific elements in a manner to ensure requirements and deliverables are met on time and within budget. The contractor shall conduct negotiations with the Government, if the Government determines it to be necessary, on the scope, terms, and cost/fee of each CTO. It is anticipated that these CTOs will be modified to add or remove requirements and deliverables between 3 and 10 times annually. In response to these modifications, the contractor shall be prepared to adjust staffing levels to accommodate the accrual workload. The negotiated CTOs will be awarded on a CPFF completion basis. If

CTO responses include proposed subcontracting, include Subcontracting Consent Package in accordance with DRD No. 7.

3.1.3. Contract Reporting

The Contractor shall deliver all reports in accordance with Section J.1(a), Attachment 2, Contract Data Requirements Documents List (CDRL), of this contract and in each applicable task order. These reports shall be current, accurate, and complete. The Data Requirements

Descriptions (DRDs) contain the applicable PWS section and shall be priced and delivered accordingly

3.1.4. Contract Compliance, Quality Assurance, and Workforce Qualifications

The Contractor shall provide procedures and management supervision to ensure compliance with applicable Government policies, regulations, and contractual requirements, including all applicable

NASA Policy Directives (NPDs), NASA Procedural Requirements (NPRs), NASA Information

Technology (IT) Security Handbooks (ITS-HBKs), NASA Technical Standards, Ames Policy

Directives (APDs), and Ames Procedural Requirements (APRs), in their entirety. Those applicable documents are listed in the relevant sections that follow.

Successful contract performance requires a commitment to follow and comply with all written

NASA Quality Assurance requirements in Section 6.2, Applicable Documents for NASA ARC and the Agency by the Contractor.

If the Contractor elects to utilize support from foreign national employees and or visitors, the

Contractor shall meet applicable directives to ensure that all foreign national visitors and all employees have completed the required background checks, approvals, and clearance requirements for access to worksites (e.g., NASA Ames Research Center). Pertaining to foreign national employees performing work for NASA, the Contractor shall comply with

NPR 1600.4, Identity and Credential Management.

All software development for the sections in Core and IDIQ shall be conducted in accordance with NPR 7150.2, NASA Software Engineering Requirements and NASA-STD-8739.8

Software Assurance and Software Safety Standard. The rigor of development depends on the software classification as defined in NPR 7150.2. Each sub-project may have a different classification overall or among its software components. Generally, the software is assessed as

Class D, with a few cases of Class C. The Division provides plans for Software Development and Software Assurance that must be adapted for each sub-project.

In order to meet the above NASA standards, NASA has implemented processes around the

Atlassian suite of software development tools. The Atlassian tools hosted by NASA include

Confluence, JIRA, Agile, FishEye/Crucible, Stash, and Bamboo. A variety of software languages

(e.g., C, C++, Python, Python data science packages, Java, LISP, MATLAB, SQL, Plotly/Dash, FishEye/Crucible, Stash, Bamboo, Shell Scripting, MySQL, JIRA, Confluence and Simulink) on a variety of platforms (e.g., Linux, OS-X, Windows, and VxWorks) are anticipated. Application frameworks include Eclipse, Spring, Atlassian tools, Jenkins, GitHub, and HTMLx.

The Contractor shall comply with the revised standards Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 when developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology. Information and communications technologies (ICT) acquired incidental to this contract do not have to be modified to confirm to the revised 508 standards.

3.1.5. Training

The Contractor shall provide a management structure to effectively manage a qualified professional and technical workforce engaged in a wide range of research and development

(R&D) support services. The Contractor shall have the organizational structure, internal procedures, and administrative support to effectively manage the work performed under this contract. The Contractor shall provide any necessary administrative and financial services for their employees, as well as all training required to perform work under this contract. The

Government will neither provide nor reimburse any such support services or training. All contractor personnel shall have required certification and skills to perform the tasks they are assigned to without further training provided by the Government.

3.1.6. Travel

Contractor personnel may be required to travel for short periods of time to attend planning meetings, participate in industry site visits, attend technical conferences, or support requesting organizations.

The Contractor shall:

• Comply with NFS 1852.242-71, Travel Outside of the United States. All international travel must be necessary to the efforts required under the contract and otherwise in the best interest of NASA and be approved in advance by the

CO.

• Comply with to NPR 1660.1, NASA Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism, NPR 9710.1, General Travel Requirements, and High Threat Security Overseas

Seminar (HTSOS) training requirements.

• The Contractor shall submit all foreign travel requests to the cognizant ARC Foreign

Travel Coordinator for review/approval at least 30 days before the planned departure date, so that an electronic country clearance (eCC) can be obtained. The applicable program, project, agreement, or contract should be referenced in the supporting documentation included with the request.

3.1.7. Resource Scheduling

The Contractor shall maintain an operation and maintenance schedule of resources (e.g. labor, equipment, facilities) that are allocated for activities performed under this contract.

3.1.8. Resource Acquisition

The Contractor shall acquire resources not otherwise provided by the requesting organization

(e.g., staff, equipment, supplies, software) as needed to support the successful completion of all requirements under this contract.

For NASA acquisitions, the Contractor shall coordinate with the COR to utilize the Agency’s

Enterprise License Management Team (ELMT) when acquiring software for NASA in accordance with the NFS 1807.70 (Enterprise License Management Team (ELMT) Program), when possible, to ensure the Agency is getting the best price value or utilizing existing contracts. Additionally, the Contractor shall consider utilizing the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide

Procurement (SEWP) or GSA government- wide contracts, when possible, before procuring any software or hardware in support of the NAMS-2 requirements. For non-NASA acquisitions, Contractor shall follow appropriate organizational policies and directives.

The Contractor shall procure services, consumables, equipment, tools, and parts, such that they meet stated specifications and are available when required for contract performance, in accordance with:

• Applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and applicable NASA FAR

Supplement (NFS) clauses

• Contract clause requirements (not covered in the FAR or NFS)

• Subcontracting Plan Goals

• NPR 7120.5, NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements

ARC clause 52.230-90 Contractor Purchasing in Section H of the contract

3.1.9. Health Safety and Environmental Policies

The Contractor shall comply with the health and safety requirements contained in APR 8715.1, Ames Health and Safety Manual, the system safety and mission assurance requirements in NPR

7120.8, NASA Research and Technology Program and Project Management Requirements, and the environmental policies and procedures contained in NPD 8500.1, NASA Environmental

Management. The Contractor shall provide a Safety and Health plan as required by DRD No. 8.

The Contractor shall ensure compliance with applicable safety and environmental regulations for all performance under this contract in accordance with APR 8715.1, Ames Health and

Safety Manual, NPR 8715.3, NASA General Safety Program Requirements and APR 8553.1, Ames Environmental Management System. The Contractor shall:

• Ensure all personnel receive job specific medical exams as required by current NASA, ARC, OSHA, EPA, and other applicable federal, state, and local regulatory agency standards.

• Ensure all personnel are trained in procedures, policies, and practices in accordance with current NASA, ARC, OSHA, EPA, and other applicable federal, state, and local regulatory agency standards.

• Ensure all operators of equipment that are required to be licensed or certified have current licenses/certifications.

• Participate in monthly NASA safety inspections and safety awareness training in accordance with Ames Safety Accountability Program (ASAP).

• Demonstrate commitment to continuous improvement in safety and health and communicates that commitment to workers.

• Ensure procedures are put in place to continually identify workplace hazards and evaluate risks.

• Ensure safety and health hazards from routine, non-routine, and emergency situations are identified and assessed.

• Perform an initial assessment of existing hazards, exposures, and control measures and follow on with periodic inspections and reassessments, to identify new hazards.

• Ensure that any incidents are investigated, and corrective action are implemented.

• Ensure managers, and supervisors receive training on safety concepts and their responsibility for protecting workers’ rights and responding to workers’ reports and concerns.

• Ensure all workers are trained to recognize workplace hazards and to understand the control measures that have been implemented.

Operational field environments are reviewed through the Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review

Board (AFSRB), which is described in APR 8715.1, Ames Health and Safety Manual and requires compliance with NPR 8715.5, Range Flight Safety Program. Human- in-the-loop experiments are reviewed by the Ames Human Research Institutional Review Board (HRIRB), which is described in APR 7170.1, Human Research Planning and Approval Guidelines.

3.1.10. Risk Management

The Contractor shall ensure that the CO and the COR have awareness and insight into all risks associated with the Contractor's ability to accomplish requirements. The Contractor shall include identification, assessment, prioritization, and mitigation of any risks within their Task Orders in accordance with NPR 8000.4 Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements.

3.1.11. Government Property Management

The Contractor shall follow NPR 4200.1, NASA Equipment Management Procedural

Requirements, and NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.245-71, Installation

Accountable Government Property regarding assignment and movement of Government-owned equipment, and 1852.245-70 Contractor Requests For Government-Furnished Property.

The Contractor shall follow NPR 4300.1, NASA Personal Property Disposal Procedural

Requirements regarding property disposal. The Contractor shall provide information upon request for the following topics: Property Assignments, Property Location, Unused

Equipment, and any required data needed for the NASA Property database (currently at https://equipment.nasa.gov).

The Government shall provide all on-site Contractors with computers and maintenance services for equipment requiring access to the NASA internet protocol (IP) space through the

Agency’s enterprise provider or other CIO-approved IT equipment necessary to meet the requirements. Any on-site Contractor-provided equipment connected to the NASA IP space shall comply with NFS 1852.204-76, Security Requirements for Unclassified Information

Technology Resources, NASA IT Security Handbook ITS-HBK 2810.02-05 (Security

Assessment and Authorization External Systems-pending update), and as required by DRD

No.11.

The Government may provide, or the Contractor may acquire property Government Furnished

Property (GFP) or Contractor Acquired Property (CAP) that is not currently in the NASA

Property database. The Contractor shall manage this property, as well as Installation-

Accountable Government Property (IAGP), in accordance with NPR 4200.1, NASA

Equipment Management Procedural Requirements, and APD 4200.2, Equipment

Management, or applicable requesting organization policy, to ensure accountability. The

Contractor shall generate a NASA Form 1018, “NASA Property in the Custody of

Contractors”. The Contractor shall submit annually a NASA Form NF 1018 (NASA Property in the custody of Contractors) to the Industrial Property Officer (IPO).

3.1.12. Handling and Protection of Government Controlled Contractor Generated Data

(a) In the performance of this contract it is anticipated that the Contractor may generate data which the Government intends to control the release, publication, distribution and use thereof.

(b) For data generated by the Contractor in support of an identified Space Act Agreement, Commercial Space Launch Act Agreement, Commercial Space Competitiveness Act Agreement, or

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement; or for data otherwise identified by the

Contracting Officer, the Contractor agrees to: (1) use and disclose such data only to the extent necessary to perform the work required under this contract in support of such agreement, with particular emphasis on restricting disclosure of the data to those persons who have a definite need for the data in order to perform under this contract in support of such agreement; (2) not reproduce the data unless reproduction of the data is specifically permitted by the Contracting Officer; (3) refrain from disclosing the data to third parties without the written consent of the Contracting

Officer; and (4) return or deliver the data including all copies thereof to the Contracting Officer or his designated recipient when requested by the Contracting Officer.

3.2. Core Technology Area Requirements: Air Traffic Management Research (ATM)

The Contractor shall support NASA R&D in Air Traffic Management (ATM), which consists of research and software development, and support the objectives and missions of the ARMD project technology area, primarily supporting NASA researchers and engineers performing R&D.

Areas of expertise relevant to this work include aeronautical engineering, modeling and simulation, artificial intelligence, operations research, software engineering, system engineering, electrical engineering, machine learning, and discrete and continuous control. For the duration of this contract, some technical areas are anticipated to phase out and others will be initiated. The

Contractor shall incorporate the expert guidance and relevant findings of academic and industry best practices and the latest research results.

The Contractor shall support research, development, integration, testing, demonstration, and deployment through activities spanning initial concept development (technology readiness level

(TRL) - 1) and evaluation through limited simulations and testing through in-situ field tests at operational ATM facilities (TRL-7) or in operational field environments, often in collaboration with Government and industry partners. The Contractor shall participate in field testing/demonstrations (as specified in the above deliverable tables), as defined by the R&D plans defined by NASA project offices. The work environment may include field sites such as air transportation-related facilities, or other NASA or non-NASA Government facilities.

Background:

The ATM research projects are focused on enabling the safe and equitable use of airspace that can accommodate today’s commercial air transportation vehicles and small and large unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or drones), as well as novel vehicles and airspace uses, such as (but not limited to) space traffic management, electric vertical takeoff and landing

(eVTOL) air taxis, and autonomous cargo vehicles. The research is also focused on further researching, building and demonstrating NASA’s urban air mobility (UAM) concept, enabling software and system architectures modeled after NASA’s UAS traffic management

(UTM) paradigm, and enabling the introduction of services responsible for (but not limited

to) airspace resource scheduling, separation, conflict detection and resolution, integration of weather and noise predictions, and digital transformation of the National Airspace System

(NAS).

The following paragraphs provide a brief description of the ATM research areas.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM)/Advanced Air Mobility (AAM): The UAM effort contributes to the

AAM concept with the goal to mature UAM operations in the NAS. The work on UAM operations research is focused on manned operations, developing a Concept of Operations

(ConOps), and supporting the relevant flight tests and airspace infrastructure that demonstrate the potential benefit of AAM. The UAM research area will extend its scope to enabling medium complexity unmanned operations in urban environments flying at low altitudes (<5,000 ft), deliver airspace management software tools in support of flight tests, develop a roadmap describing the R&D required to deliver UAM airspace management for UAM Maturity Level 4

(UML-4) operations, and complete major areas of research. Research will be performed on airspace and flight operations around vertiports for the landing and takeoff of UAM vehicles.

UAM efforts will also develop and deliver the UML-2 Airspace Architecture requirements and guidance for standards development to stakeholders.

Autonomous Piloted Aircraft Operations: NASA seeks to enable normalized operations of large, remotely-piloted vehicles to increasingly-autonomous-piloted aircraft operations in the NAS.

This work involves collaborating with industry and the FAA to develop a research roadmap and

Concept of Operations (ConOps), and to identify future needs and technologies to enable the integration of increasingly autonomous operations in the NAS. Such operations involve vehicles with greater range than typical UAM/AAM operations, utilizing pilots outside the vehicle and missions outside of urban areas. NASA recently completed significant research in the Unmanned

Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the NAS Project to reduce technical barriers associated with integrating UAS into the airspace system. Leveraging that research, this research on large, remotely piloted vehicles will address significant barriers that remain toward enabling the routine access of UAS into the airspace system.

Collaborative UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and Upper-Class E Traffic Management

(ETM): An extension of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) R&D, NASA seeks to work with the FAA and industry to enable collaborative traffic management with the completion of UTM research including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and transfer UTM technology and industry standards development. NASA is also developing a new traffic management system for Upper Class E airspace (operations that take place over 60,000 ft.), known as ETM, and Space Traffic Management (STM) to enable better coordination of US launches with current commercial aviation operations. In preparation for future operations in this airspace, the research will identify additional use cases supporting the integration of these novel operations with traditional air traffic control (ATC) operations.

ATM research for the development of a digital transformation of the National Airspace System

(NAS): NASA seeks partnerships with committed airline service suppliers to develop a reference implementation of a digital information platform (DIP), built mostly by industry, with

NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) providing operational experience and expertise. This platform serves as the infrastructure that takes data from multiple sources and turns it into easy-to-use and accessible digital information for airspace services. Partnerships with potential service suppliers seek to test the reference DIP, collaborating with NASA, the

FAA, and the airlines. Several evaluations are scheduled throughout the DIP lifecycle to demonstrate quantifiable benefits to the airlines and to new entrants, including technologies related to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML).

3.2.1. ATM research on Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Airspace

The Contractor Shall support NASA in foundational UAM airspace research to define system requirements and developing the UAM airspace system and running National Campaign (NC) simulations with partners. The specific activities to support concept development, proof-of-concept implementations, simulations, and flight test activities under this work are:

• Provide software development, V&V testing and data analysis support to expand UAM capabilities for research. Includes analysis support for two to three UAM simulations on the conflict severity evaluation, flight performance models and separation service software and simulation tools.

• Explore, through directed research, autonomous applications in air traffic management in an appropriate simulation platform; includes simulation and analysis of performance and uncertainty models.

• Accelerate a UAM airspace system and services development by conducting two to three simulations in support of-related activities in the ATM UAM research area. Specifically, provide:

o Support for development of experiment tests, including experiment plans and test execution procedures o Software support for system development, services development, and integration with partners for simulations; includes integration of UAM core, airspace services, and safety density metric software o Support for software release and related documentation o Support simulation analysis and related documentation o Deliver final simulation NPSU, ANSP, DSS software to relevant research areas and projects

• Perform data analysis of simulations by developing scripts and algorithms to derive data from UDC and data pipeline or raw data. Deliver final analysis report.

• Support research activities designed to determine requirements for the development of candidate set of airspace services

• Software development of candidate set of airspace services, including conflict management and scheduling services

• Coordinate and engage other relevant organizations at ARC as needed for feedback on the software management plan

• Collaborate with the project management team to define criteria for software that requires an NPR 7150.2 compliance matrix

• Maintain the NPR 7150.2 compliance matrix and expand to other software efforts as needed and complete NPR 7150.2 Compliance Matrix Final Assessment for X4

• Oversee NASA-STD-8739.8 Software Assurance and Software Safety Standard requirements and conduct preparatory work needed for an internal software assurance Audit No.1 and Audit No.2

3.2.2. ATM research for Autonomous Piloted Aircraft Operations

The Contractor shall develop a technical Concept of Operations (ConOps) that incorporates the wide set of business interests and corresponding use cases. The ConOps will have the following characteristics:

o Inform common standards and requirements for industry o Address the main barriers of integrating operations into the National Airspace System

(NAS).

o Include identification of shortfalls, potential solutions, trade studies, and gap analyses for several key barriers and their interactions into the NAS.

o Support a gradual introduction of autonomous operations into the NAS with increasing levels of autonomy over time.

The Contractor shall

• Define three to four in-depth research activities to alleviate key technical and procedural barriers to the integration of these operations into the NAS.

• Conduct two to three trade studies for alternative ConOps solutions based on data analysis and fast time simulation.

• Document results from trade studies and present at a technical meeting.

• Conduct a fast-time simulation study to investigate functional allocation methodology and airspace impacts of conducting remotely supervised operations with different ratios of operators to vehicles and separation delegation schemes. Evaluate functional allocation for the different ratios of operators.

• Conduct a fast-time simulation study to investigate functional allocation and airspace impacts of merging and spacing remotely supervised operations in the arrival stream, with different ratios of operators to vehicles.

3.2.3. ATM research for a more collaborative traffic management

To achieve the collaborative traffic management goals, expanding upon the UTM system and architecture (described above), the Contractor shall provide management to the software development team and employ Agile software development principles in software development. The Contractor shall also conduct research and provide engineering support for architecture and concept alternatives that support UTM-inspired principles and mature the

UTM concept. The Contractor shall:

• Develop and manage the software requirements for the UTM software to meet the needs of researchers and project goals, including reporting progress and risks and creating a risk mitigation plan.

• Delegate responsibilities among the software team to build capabilities based on the UTM architecture, such as Flight Information Management System (FIMS), Discovery and

Synchronization Service (DSS), UAS Service Supplier (USS), and Application

Programming Interfaces (APIs) used for data exchange among them and the operators.

• Contribute to research efforts on different ATM architecture and at least two concept alternatives that may be applicable to Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM).

• Contribute to development of ETM services, including software interfaces, management and monitoring functions, and other relevant services.

• Conduct at least three simulations and experiments to evaluate candidate concepts, addressing vehicles and mission types as specified by the established project plans.

• Analyze results from simulations and experiments and report results.

3.2.4. ATM research for the development of a digital transformation of the

National Airspace System (NAS)

The Contractor shall provide software management and systems engineering support for the development of a digital information platform (DIP, described above) that will enable the widespread use of available air transportation data and the development of airspace services in collaboration with the FAA and industry. The Contractor shall support the evaluation of machine learning (ML) applications within the DIP system. The Contractor shall manage and develop software adhering to NASA processes. The Contractor shall:

• Collaborate with project management and software team to ensure adherence to the

Software Development plan, implement the NASA software standard requirements (NPR

7150.2 and NASA-STD-8739.8). Develop the Software Interface Control Document.

• Determine software requirements for Services, Data and Security; produce software and architecture design that meet requirements.

• Develop test strategy, unit tests, regression tests, test scenarios, design data collection strategy and deployment strategy according to the requirements for at least two demonstrations (to be defined).

• Develop plan for build, release and deployment for software for at least two collaboration demos.

• Utilize agile software development principles to adapt to user requirements and improve the software based on user feedback.

• Develop software architecture, services interfaces, data models, and data base schema

• Provide software development and data analysis support for Machine Learning (ML) reference implementations of DIP services (as defined by the project plans).

• Develop and refine ML models, to be tested in at least two DIP demonstrations and tests.

• Analyze ML model performance in relevant environments (to be defined by the project), collect data, develop analysis tools and scripts to collect research and operational metrics data; report on results.

• Develop software and other capabilities to develop the DIP platform and its APIs.

• Support demonstration activities with partners, support partner engagement, stakeholder feedback, training, field support, and technology transfer activities.

3.2.5. Core Technology Area: Technical Direction

(a) Performance of the requirements under the CPFF Technical Core CLINs and CPFF IDIQ Task

Orders of this Contract are subject to the technical direction of the Contracting Officer (CO) or the designated Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

(b) "Technical Direction" means a directive to the Contractor that provides clarification of the

Contract’s higher level contract requirements stated in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), to include approaches, solutions, designs, deliverables, refinements or shifts within tasks, or inquiries related to the general tasks and requirements in the PWS or specifications.

(c) Technical Direction does not include any instruction that--

(1) Constitutes an assignment of additional work outside the scope of the PWS (i.e. “new work”);

(2) Constitutes a change as defined in the Changes clause;

(3) Constitutes a basis for any increase or decrease in the total price, any milestone price, or the time required for performance or delivery;

briefings, papers, or face-to-face/virtual conversations.

The Contractor may be required to:

• Provide literature review and analysis of relevant NASA technical discipline areasand summarize the latest findings from academia and industry.

• Conduct quantitative studies, such as trade studies, or limited or extensive experimental investigations, literature reviews, or surveys of the technical community, as appropriate, to evaluate relative merits of possible methods.

4.1.2. Future Workforce Training

NASA seeks to develop a future workforce that is well-versed in the technical areas that support its missions. The Contractor may be required to:

• Upskill and develop a custom NASA curriculum relevant to aeronautics and exploration technology, for future and current workforce training programs.

4.1.3. Expert Instruction

Academic experts possess expertise in cutting edge fields that NASA may have not yet adopted in solving mission challenges. The goal of Expert Instruction is to provide knowledge and insight about novel technical areas and promising applications in NASA missions, and specifically to expose NASA staff to technology areas that may benefit future R&D in integrated airspace operations and field demonstrations. The Contractor may be required to:

• Design and implement advanced technical seminars, workshops, and/or technical interchange meetings, to discuss and explore how to integrate NASA capabilities with new technology trends typically outside NASA’s traditional R&D expertise.

• Provide resource materials (publications, white papers, etc.) from academic institutions to expose NASA staff on the novel or interdisciplinary R&D and technologies that show promise to grow NASA R&D in aeronautics and exploration technology.

• Provide individual technical experts for NASA staff, to explain cutting-edge methods, theories, approaches, or systems, that are needed to advance NASA R&D in aeronautics and exploration technology.

4.2. ATM Research Safety and Mission Assurance

NASA develops complex software as part of our important work for ATM. There are several

NASA processes and requirements in place to ensure that our software is of the highest standards and supports the mission of our projects and programs.

The Contractor may be required to provide technical leadership and expertise to support Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) work for ATM research. The Contractor may be required to:

4.2.1. Create the Software Development Management Plan for each research effort and sub- project.

4.2.2. Create the NPR 7150.2 Software Assurance Compliance Matrix for each ATM sub- project.

4.2.3. Maintain, and update as necessary, the ATM Software Development

Management Plan.

4.2.4. Ensure project compliance with relevant NASA requirements such as NPR 7150.2

4.2.5. Support ATM subprojects subject to Ames audits such as the Quality

Audit, Assessment, and Review (QAAR)

4.2.6. Support ATM projects requiring internal audits such as the Functional

Configuration Audit (FCA) and/or Physical Configuration Audit (PCA)

4.2.7. Collaborate with Project Software Manager to define and establish technical processes for the ATM projects This includes managing the process for Software

Assurance, Software Classification(s), and safety critical assessments.

4.2.8. Update, review, and monitor adherence to the ATM-X Project Software

Assurance Plan

4.2.9. Ensure compliance with NASA Software Assurance and Software Safety

Standard 8739.8

4.2.10. Coordinate software assurance plans with Code AF Software Assurance manager and Code QS and ensure its alignment to NASA software assurance standards.

4.2.11. Assist ATM sub-Projects with Software Assurance Planning and Implementation.

4.2.12. Conduct Software Assurance Audits for the ATM project and Sub-Project

Software Manager(s) and report on its results.

4.2.13. Track and report Software Assurance Metrics.

4.3. Advanced Technological Systems (ATS)

NASA has critical work in Advanced Technological Systems to support an airspace that is aligned with service providers through an area called Data & Reasoning Fabric (DRF). This DRF work has the goal of enabling the data exchange and management of the volumes of data that will be required for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations.

In development of a data service architecture necessary for the DRF work the Contractor may be required to:

4.3.1. Verify integration between data and reasoning services with simulated vehicles accessing the data and reasoning services.

4.3.2. Integrate external data service and external reasoning service.

4.3.3. Analyze data-related system integration challenges and propose appropriate solutions.

4.3.4. Maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models along with corresponding metadata.

4.4. Nanoelectronics and Devices

The Contractor may be required to support the objectives and missions of the Nanoelectronics and Devices projects. The core focus of this project is on the development of flexible hybrid electronics for in-space manufacturing of electronics.

The Contractor may be required to:

4.4.1. Deliver the design, modelling, fabrication and testing of several printed flexible hybrid electronic devices suitable for manufacturing on ISS or

Gateway.

4.4.2. The following devices may be expected of the Contractor: 1) A continuous-monitoring, skin-wearable stress sensor to measure the hormone cortisol excreted in sweat from crew members; and 2) A printed super capacitor to provide power to sensors.

4.4.3. Ensure proper integration with supporting flexible hybrid electronic hardware from collaborating NASA Centers. Further integration of the technologies above will extend beyond the deliverable of each technology.

4.5. Advanced Software for Digital Twin Systems

The purpose of the requirements under this technology area requirement is to meet future aviation demands and opportunities of airspace operations. The focus of this research centers on digital twin operations, machine learning (ML), predictive analytics, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve NextGen capabilities.

The Contractor may be required to:

4.5.1. Provide technical expertise and support the development of concepts, including feedback to use cases and concept documents.

4.5.2. Develop initial algorithms and models to capture essential ATM functions digitally, such as Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) or Letters of

Agreement (LOAs) for the Digital Twin system, utilizing ML/AI or natural language processing (NLP) methods where applicable.

4.5.3. Provide software development, testing and models for prototype digital software application.

4.5.4. Provide technical training as needed by on tools and software for research participants.

4.5.5. Design the prototype based on feedback from NASA researchers, project liaison and subject matter experts.

4.6. Quantum Computing Technology

NASA ARC explores the potential of quantum computing for computational challenges arising in future agency missions. Ames partners with domain experts across NASA, performs evaluations of emerging quantum hardware through partnerships with quantum hardware developers, and investigates quantum mechanisms that may be used to provide a quantum advantage. A key goal is to advance the understanding of quantum computing’s potential to impact challenging computational problems for NASA missions in aeronautics, space and the earth sciences. The work involves designing and evaluating novel quantum and hybrid quantum-classical algorithms, innovative approaches to error mitigation, compilation, and noise characterization, algorithm-hardware co-design with partners, resource estimation, and advanced performance benchmarking and techniques for device characterization.

• Develop novel quantum and quantum-classical hybrid algorithms, including distributed algorithms, for combinatorial optimization, machine learning, data analysis, and simulation challenges in aeronautics, space, and Earth sciences.

• Develop novel quantum and quantum-classical hybrid algorithms for partner applications in areas such as high-energy physics (HEP) and condensed matter physics

(CMP).

• Design advanced performance metrics, and metrics of quantumness, suitable for benchmarking quantum algorithms and quantum hardware.

• Develop theoretical models and innovative approaches to numerical simulation of realistic noise on hardware and approaches to mitigating the resulting errors within quantum algorithms.

• Generate application-related instances, including parametrized ensembles of instances, to benchmark algorithms and hardware, and combinations thereof.

• Compile quantum algorithms to efficient circuits that match the architecture of existing and proposed quantum processing units (QPUs) and to larger architectures composed of multiple networks quantum and classical processors.

• Develop novel quantum algorithms or innovative variants of existing quantum algorithms that leverage physical device properties, take advantage of strengths such as advanced gates, and fit within device limitations.

• Evaluate algorithms, hardware, and error mitigation approaches through run results on partner digital QPUs, on analog quantum hardware including but not limited to quantum annealers, and in simulation, evaluating against performance metrics.

• Estimate resources (number of physical and logical qubits and gates, circuit depth, precision, runtime, classical processing, etc.) needed to run quantum algorithms for application-scale problems on future architectures.

• Advance hardware-algorithm codesign approaches, providing insight in the design of physical devices through co-design with algorithmic advances.

• Develop theoretical models and innovative procedures for benchmarking physical gates, logical gates, and common subroutines on quantum processors.

• Extend theoretical models of noise statistics for quantum device characterization and benchmarking experiments.

• Develop new methods for physical or algorithm approximations that expand the reach of quantum approaches for computational challenges of interest to NASA and partners.

• Provide comparison with state-of-the-art classical approaches, and advance the state-of-the-art classical approaches, including classical approaches making use of novel classical hardware.

• Support NASA, partners, and the U.S. in developing the quantum computing workforce through seminars, journal clubs, and research talks,

• Develop automate processes and encourage tool adoption to make reporting, external visibility (e.g. webpages), and team coordination more effective and efficient.

• Support NASA in evaluations of proposed technical approaches and results, including evaluating technical reports and published papers.

• Support NASA in technical evaluation of potential partner capabilities in the Quantum

Information Science (QIS) field.

• Support NASA in technical proposal development for internal and external opportunities.

• Support NASA to conduct outreach to the academic community, promoting the work of NASA Quantum computing.

• Provide technical support for NASA sponsored quantum conferences.

4.7. Secure Airspace Architectures

Ames is working to develop cybersecurity architectures and conceptual research solutions for securing future national airspace environments. One key effort is the development and demonstration of technologies that provide resiliency, data integrity and information privacy to the systems operating in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) environments. As a result, Ames is looking for architecture and conceptual research solutions that:

4.7.1. Provide security solutions for the UAM airspace architecture

4.7.2. Provide modelling and simulation support for UAM secure data exchange.

4.7.3. Provide methods for the detection of anomalous incidents in UAM environments The Contractor may be required to:

• Identify data products that can be leveraged for machine learning for cyber threat detection.

• Develop and test machine learning models that can be used to detect cyber threats in UAM environments.

• Evaluate and identify hardware single board computers (SBC) that can be leveraged for machine learning in UAM environments.

4.8. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Mining

The goal of this work is to develop a large language model, organize, extract, and present relevant information contained in a variety of real-world data sets. To accomplish this, the work requires familiarity with efficient data manipulation techniques as well as various data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligent methods applied to ‘big data,’ i.e., data with large volume, high velocity, high variability, and changing definitions.

4.8.1. Assess the suitability of existing methods for the application problem being targeted, with articulation of potential inadequacies in these methods.

4.8.2. Formulate and develop new methods or modifications of existing methods aimed primarily at the target problem, but also suitable for more general use.

4.8.3. Develop software and visualization modes of presentation and interaction for…