IDIQ4 Briefing_Final_7Aug2023.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• The purpose of this solicitation is to acquire space on commercial flights for technology payloads.

• NASA’s objective is to fly these payloads aboard platforms that provide access to the relevant environments required to test the technologies and advance their readiness for use in future space missions or commercial applications.

• This includes use of suborbital and orbital vehicles that can test payloads at high altitudes, in reduced gravity, in vacuum conditions, and in other challenging aspects of the space environment.

• In addition to hosting payloads, contractors may propose to provide space for NASA personnel to fly as researchers aboard those suborbital platforms capable of supporting human flight.

• Flights and other services solicited will be available for NASA internal use across the agency as well as for use by other government agencies.

SCOPE

• Note: Section 907 of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–267) and subsequent Appropriations language direct the Flight Opportunities program to focus on the commercial spaceflight industry and reusable spacecraft.

• As such, platforms with a propulsion system that does not operate in a vacuum (e.g., drones, helicopters, airplanes) are not included in this RFP.

• A special exemption is made for high altitude balloons due to their ability to act as long duration surrogates for orbital satellites.

• A Qualified Vehicle Family shall be a group of closely related vehicles (closely similar in characteristics but with different performance or payload capacities) that fly similar flight profile(s).

• The Government will be the sole authority for determining if a Vehicle or Vehicle Family is Qualified.

• All QV / QVF and orbital launch vehicles must be owned and operated by a U.S. commercial provider.

• In addition, the QV / QVF or orbital launch vehicle shall be majority (51% or more by value) manufactured or assembled in the United States.

OVERVIEW OF QUALIFIED VEHICLES

• The category of suborbital rockets includes both crewed (i.e., vehicles with crew and/or Government Suborbital Research Specialist and) and uncrewed rocket-powered vehicles capable of achieving a minimum altitude of 80 km above Mean Sea Level [MSL].

• This may include suborbital stages of orbital launch vehicles that are capable of hosting payloads.

• Crewed suborbital rockets must be licensed in accordance with 14 CFR Chapter III to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S., or possess applicable FAA documentation to fly as part of the process of being licensed to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S.

• Uncrewed suborbital rockets must be licensed in accordance with 14 CFR Chapter III to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S., or the Contractor must possess applicable FAA documentation to fly from the FAA as part of the process of being licensed to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S. or otherwise hold the appropriate waiver or written authorization from the FAA in accordance with 14 CFR § 101 Subpart C.

QUALIFIED VEHICLES – SUBORBITAL ROCKETS

• Rocket-powered lander vehicles shall be capable of performing a controlled descent and controlled vertical landing of a free-flying vehicle using a propulsion system of a class that can operate in a vacuum.

• Rocket-powered lander vehicles are required to meet the same licensing, waiver, or written authorization requirements as suborbital rockets.

• Tethered rocket-powered lander vehicles are also eligible, so long as they meet the definitions of a “tethered launch vehicle” specified in 14 CFR § 400.2 (c) or hold the appropriate waiver or written authorization from the FAA. Tethered service is allowable only in addition to the requirement to be a free-flying rocket powered landing vehicle.

QUALIFIED VEHICLES – ROCKET‐POWERED LANDER VEHICLES

• High-altitude balloon vehicles must be capable of operating at a minimum altitude of 18.3km (60,000ft) and may include both crewed and uncrewed vehicles.

• Crewed high-altitude balloons must be licensed to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S.

or possess applicable FAA documentation to fly as part of the process of being licensed to operate commercial flights for compensation or hire in the U.S.

• Uncrewed high-altitude balloons must comply with 14 CFR § 101 Subpart D or must otherwise hold the appropriate waiver or written authorization from the FAA. In addition, it is recommended that all high-altitude balloons consider the inclusion of ADS-B systems to provide enhanced air traffic control situational awareness.

QUALIFIED VEHICLES – HIGH‐ALTITUDE BALLOONS

• Orbital platforms hosting payloads must be able to provide power and communications to the payload (e.g., payload telemetry, payload command and control), as well as perform at least one orbit around the Earth.

• Payloads may remain attached to the orbital stage(s) of a launch vehicle or be hosted on a satellite.

• Orbital platforms must be owned and operated by a U.S. commercial entity and must use FAA-licensed U.S.

commercial launch services.

• There shall be a plan for safe end-of-mission disposal at the end of the orbital platform’s operational lifetime, such as defined in NASA STD-8719.14 or equivalent documents.

• For orbital platforms with propulsive capability, a plan to protect the command uplink shall be submitted for

Government approval. Plan submittal deadline will be specified in the MRD.

• The orbital launch vehicle used to place the orbital platform in orbit is not considered to be a component of the

QV / QVF, unless it is the exclusive U.S. commercial option for launching the particular orbital QV / QVF.

QUALIFIED VEHICLES – ORBITAL PLATFORMS

• The PWS specifies the flight profile requirements a vehicle must be able to achieve to be considered a qualified vehicle for this RFP.

• While Task Order solicitations from the Government may not require the full capabilities of a profile, a Contractor’s vehicle must be able to meet the minimum requirements of a profile to be considered a qualified vehicle for that profile.

• A vehicle may be qualified for more than one profile.

OVERVIEW OF PROFILE REQUIREMENTS

• Payload is typically an experiment requiring a period of continuous microgravity and/or exposure to the space environment.

• Requirement is to ascend to a minimum of 80km above mean sea level (MSL), (≥ 100km MSL desired), and expose the payload to a reduced gravity environment for at least two (2) minutes with a total gravitational vector of less than +/- 0.05g (RMS) under stable gravitational conditions in all axes.

• The ability to achieve a total gravitational vector of less than +/- 0.005g (RMS) under stable gravitational conditions in all axes for at least a portion of this duration is desired.

• This profile is typically accomplished by use of a sounding rocket or spacecraft.

• Some payloads may also require the simultaneous exposure of the payload to near-vacuum and external environment.

• Vehicles that can achieve the required altitude and reduced gravity but cannot expose the payload to the outside environment may also be qualified for this profile.

PROFILE 1 (P1): REDUCED GRAVITY WITH SPACE ENVIRONMENT

• Under this profile, vehicles shall be capable of providing payloads with external views of the Earth below as well as access to the environment for sensing.

• Payload types will vary, including remote sensing packages or other systems being tested for use on satellites or other spacecraft.

• These can be tested by use of an untethered balloon with parachute descent that could allow, for example, testing experimental parachutes or similar atmospheric descent systems.

• Other vehicles could include untethered balloons or untethered airships with guided trajectory capabilities and controlled landings.

• The aforementioned vehicles may have additional capabilities such as altitude loitering or geolocation station keeping.

• In all cases, landing characteristics should be sufficient to recover the payload, for example by means of a soft landing or a parachute recovery.

• For consideration under this profile, a QV shall meet the requirements listed in either Section 6.2.1 or 6.2.2 below:

• Exposure to high altitude: Payload is typically an experiment requiring exposure to the near-space environment at a minimum of 30km MSL with a flight time of 1 hour or greater along a pre-planned guided flight trajectory, followed by a descent to 0m above ground level (AGL).

• Exposure to altitude and long-duration flight: Payload is typically an experiment requiring exposure to an altitude of at least 18.3 km MSL (60, 000 feet MSL) with a float time of 7 days or greater along a pre-planned flight trajectory, followed by a descent to 0 AGL.

PROFILE 2 (P2): EXPOSURE TO HIGH‐ALTITUDE AND LONG‐DURATION FLIGHT

• Payload typically involves testing of systems and components such as thermal protection or decelerators for objects reentering a planetary atmosphere.

• Requirement is to attain a minimum of 80km MSL, typically ≥ 100km MSL, followed by a free-fall descent of the payload to 0 km AGL.

• This profile is typically accomplished by use of a sounding rocket or spacecraft with the payload ejected after main engine cutoff.

PROFILE 3 (P3): SPACE ENVIRONMENT WITH FREE‐FALL DESCENT

• Payload is typically an experiment to test concepts for planetary landers. Requirement is to descend from a minimum of 250m AGL to 0m AGL, under controlled rocket-powered flight and conduct a controlled vertical landing.

• Some payloads may require controlled horizontal translation of at least 100m .

• Some applications may require allowing the payload to actively control portions of the flight profile.

• This profile is typically accomplished by use of a spacecraft or a vertical flight testbed.

PROFILE 4 (P4): CONTROLLED DESCENT WITH CONTROLLED VERTICAL LANDING

• Requirement is to ascend to a minimum of 30km MSL along a pre-planned trajectory, spend 1 or more minutes above 30km MSL, and then descend back to 0 AGL along a controlled trajectory.

• Payload is typically a remote sensing system for planetary entry, high-altitude atmospheric measurements, or similar applications.

• Payloads may require access to the external environment to make observations or obtain measurements.

• It would be desirable to have the capability of accepting pointing control and guidance commands from the payload.

• It would also be desirable to provide the payload a view of the Earth below.

• Landing should be sufficient to recover the payload intact, which may entail either a soft landing or a parachute recovery.

• In some cases, QVs may have different ascent and descent locations as part of a single flight.

• This profile is typically accomplished by use of a spacecraft or first (primary) stage of a multi-stage rocket-powered vehicle.

• Some payloads may require short durations of reduced gravity under this flight profile.

PROFILE 5 (P5): CONTROLLED HIGH‐ALTITUDE ASCENT AND DESCENT

• Payloads typically are intended to operate in an orbital environment, either in a non-pressurized (exposed to the space environment) or pressurized environment.

• Qualified orbital platforms must perform a minimum of one complete orbit around the Earth, with a perigee typically > 160 km.

• The orbital platforms shall be capable of providing power and communications services to the payload.

Some payloads may require pointing capabilities.

• Examples of orbital platforms include satellites or orbital stages of launch vehicles.

PROFILE 6 (P6): HOSTING ON ORBITAL PLATFORM

• Note that balloons that fly under a CFR Part 101 exemption would not be considered QVs.

• The government does not intend for orbital payloads flown under these contracts to be deployed as free-flying elements; all will be hosted on a spacecraft for the duration of their flight test.

• This solicitation is limited to the profiles outlined in Section 6 of the PWS. Other NASA contracts are currently in place for other commercial services (e.g., testing on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit, commercial facilities on the International Space Station.)

• Providers are required to use FAA-licensed U.S. commercial launch services (see PWS 5.1.4). However, they are not restricted to any specific orbital launch vehicle, nor are they required to only use orbital launch vehicles that have already been used to launch their qualified vehicle.

• For any proposed approach, the spacecraft must not be Government provided, owned, or operated, and any Government service used must be unique and fully reimbursed, per PWS Section 5.2.1 – Independent Operations.

• Deployment of a Qualified Vehicle from another spacecraft in orbit

• If free-flying Qualified Vehicle hosting a government payload is to be deployed from another spacecraft in orbit, that

Qualified Vehicle must meet the requirements of section 5.1.4 of the PWS.

• The spacecraft that is deploying the free-flying Qualified Vehicle would be considered the launch vehicle and would need to be part of an FAA-licensed U.S. commercial launch service. With few exceptions, the spacecraft that released the free-flying Qualified Vehicle is not considered part of the Qualified Vehicle.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

• The Government may periodically provide opportunities for additional contractors and/or Qualified Vehicles to be added to the Provider Pool (On-Ramp). The Government may also consider future Expansion of Performance Capabilities covered by this contract.

ON‐RAMP OPPORTUNITIES

• Contract Type

• Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)

• NAICS Code and Size Standard

• NAICS Code: 481212 Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation

• Size Standard: 1,500

• Acquisition is a full and open competition

• Electronic Submission of Proposals via NASA EFSS Box

• Anticipated period of performance: December 1, 2023 – November 30, 2028

SOLICITATION OVERVIEW

Read the solicitation carefully:

• There are numerous clauses and provisions that have been incorporated via full text, by reference or per an addendum throughout the document.

• Clauses incorporated by reference have the same force and effect as if they were included in full text.

• Any information provided during the preproposal conference does not amend the solicitation. All changes made to the solicitation will be made by a formal amendment.

SOLICITATION OVERVIEW

Proposals shall consist of three volumes:

• Volume I: Technical

• Limited to 15 pages unless the offeror is providing a technical proposal for multiple flight profiles, in which case, they may add five (5) pages for each additional flight profile.

• Volume II: Past Performance

• Limited to 5 pages

• Volume III: Pricing

• Unlimited pages

• This section is to be strictly limited to cost and price information. Information that can be construed as belonging in one of the other sections of the proposal will be so construed and counted against that section's page limitation.

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

The technical volume shall consist of four separate parts: description of proposed vehicle(s), an operational plan, description of payload integration process, and small business and subcontracting plan (if applicable).

• Part I - Description of proposed vehicle(s)

• Part II – An operational plan

• Part III – Description of payload integration

• Part IV – Small business subcontracting plan (excluded from page count)

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – VOLUME I: TECHNICAL

Part I – Description of proposed vehicle(s)

• The offeror shall provide a comprehensive technical description of the performance characteristics of their proposed Qualified Vehicle (QV) or QV family. This description shall include proof that conclusively demonstrates -by successful flight(s) - that the QV or QV family is capable of providing one or more of the Flight Profiles as defined in the PWS.

• The offeror shall describe the full capabilities of the vehicle, including but not limited to, maximum altitude, as well as maximum payload mass and volume.

• The offeror shall describe in detail the routine capabilities and operating limits (for commercial use) of each vehicle in terms of payloads.

• Where applicable, the offeror shall describe in detail the routine capabilities and operating limits (for commercial use) of each vehicle in terms of seats for Government Suborbital Research Specialists.

• Where applicable, the offeror shall describe the capabilities of each proposed QV for periods at reduced or micro gravity, including measured quality of reduced gravity (including methodology for this measurement) and maximum available time at reduced gravity.

Part II – An operational plan

• The offeror shall provide an operational plan clearly demonstrating that it can perform flights (1) independent of

Government assistance; (2) with full responsibility for flight safety, mission assurance, and environmental compliance in accordance with local, state, and Federal regulations; (3) with full responsibility for QV systems engineering, payload integration, and other required services; and (4) with provision for access to launch/flight facilities by Government observers on a non-interference, ad hoc basis. The operational plan shall also include a brief description on how the offeror will respond to task order solicitations.

• The offeror shall provide sufficient evidence within the operational plan that they possess applicable licenses, permits, waivers, or other documentation from the FAA, or provide sufficient explanation of why such items are not applicable to their proposed QV(s). The offeror shall be capable of providing commercial flight services in accordance with one or more of the flight profiles on the date the proposal is submitted to the Government.

Part III – Description of payload integration

• The offeror shall provide a detailed description of their payload integration process via a narrative, outline, etc.

The payload integration process shall include a Payload Readiness Review, an onsite payload operational readiness and safety check, as well as describe what the offeror will provide to the payload providers within the Payload Users Guide (PUG).

• The offeror shall provide a detailed description of how the offeror manifests and de-manifests payloads, including how it will coordinate and communicate the manifesting of Government payloads.

• The offeror shall describe how the offeror will assure the physical security of payloads before and after flights; the offeror’s approach for vehicle and payload recovery; and how the offeror will provide access to payloads by payload providers.

Part IV – Small business subcontracting plan (excluded from page count)

• The solicitation contains FAR Clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan, with Alternate II

• The government recommended subcontracting goals for each small business category, expressed as a percent of total contract value, is as follows:

• Offerors are advised that a proposal will not be rated unacceptable solely because the submitted Subcontracting Plan does not meet the NASA recommended goals expressed above. NASA will consider the amount of work being retained for performance by the Offeror in-house when determining whether a subcontracting plan is acceptable.

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – VOLUME I: TECHNICAL

Recommended Subcontracting Goals Small Businesses (SB) 10% Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Concerns 5% Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Concerns 5% Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns 3% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns 2% HUBZone (HBZ) Small Business Concerns 3% Historically-Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSI)

1%

• The Government is seeking to determine whether the offeror has relevant experience that will ensure its successful performance of the Suborbital/Hosted Orbital Flight and Payload Integration Services PWS and solicitation requirements. The offeror’s proposal shall include an itemized listing and summary of three (3) current or past contracts performing the same or similar tasks to the Suborbital/Hosted Orbital Flight and Payload Integration Services PWS and solicitation requirements within the last three (3) years.

• Subcontractor Consent: Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Provide with the proposal a letter from all subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of their past performance information to the prime offeror.

• Past Performance information may be obtained from the Governmentwide Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) and any other reasonable basis.

• NASA has provided a Past Performance Questionnaire that the offeror will submit to their customer(s) for each of the three (3) current or past contracts provided in the summary.

• The completed questionnaire must be submitted via email directly to: Melissa Newell at melissa.newell@nasa.gov, and Renz Urlanda at renzmarion.v.urlanda@nasa.gov.

• The completed questionnaire must come directly from the customer and shall be submitted no later than September 15, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The offeror is responsible for ensuring timely submission.

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – VOLUME II: PAST PERFORMANCE

• Offerors shall propose pricing based only on the Suborbital/Hosted Orbital Flight and Payload Integration Services

PWS.

• The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the yearly prices or the fully burden hourly rates are significantly unbalanced. Proposed rates will be analyzed for reasonableness.

• FAR Clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services” is applicable to the contract requirement and may be exercised within the limits and at the rates specified in the awarded contract. The option pricing will be based on the last contract year’s pricing.

• The proposal shall contain the following information to be considered responsive:

• Pricing details and all applicable tables in Section B filled-in for each year of the five (5) contract years.

• Other quantity discounts or other innovative approaches for the Government to realize price savings in the performance of this contract. This portion includes any potential non-standard services that could be anticipated for the performance of this contract.

• Fully burdened hourly rates by year with build-up information for each applicable labor category for the five (5) contract years. These hourly rates are for non-standard services and/or special projects that are not defined at this time and could be required during the performance of this contract.

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – VOLUME III: PRICING

• The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions.

• The offeror must agree with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation.

• The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its proposal firm for 180 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of proposals, unless another time period is specified in an amendment to the solicitation.

CONTRACT AWARD

• This is a competitive Price Performance Trade-off best value source selection where all evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The evaluation factors are:

• Technical

• Past Performance

• Price

• An initial review of proposals will be conducted to determine acceptability of the proposals in accordance with NFS 1815.305-70, Identification of Unacceptable Proposals. All unacceptable proposals will be eliminated from further evaluation.

EVALUATION

• The Technical Acceptability rating will consist of an overall evaluation of the technical approach. The Government technical evaluation team shall evaluate the technical proposals on a pass/fail basis, assigning a rating of Acceptable or Unacceptable using the descriptions in the below table “Technical Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings”.

• The technical volume will be evaluated against the following factors:

• Part I - Description of proposed vehicle(s)

• Part II – An operational plan

• Part III – Description of payload integration

• Part IV – Small business subcontracting plan

EVALUATION – TECHNICAL

Technical Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings Rating Description

Acceptable Proposal meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

• The past performance evaluation is an assessment of the Government’s confidence in the offeror’s ability to perform the solicitation requirements.

• There are two aspects to the past performance evaluation: Relevancy and Quality.

• The evaluation team will review the offeror’s Past Performance and make an overall determination of the relevancy of the current or past contracts performance to the requirements of the PWS and solicitation and then assign a Past Performance Relevancy Rating based on the following ratings and definitions:

EVALUATION – PAST PERFORMANCE

Past Performance Relevancy Ratings Rating Definition

Very Relevant Present/past performance effort involved essentially the same size, content, and complexities this solicitation requires.

Relevant Present/past performance effort involved similar size, content, and complexities this solicitation requires.

Somewhat Relevant Present/past performance effort involved some of the size, content, and complexities this solicitation requires.

Not Relevant Present/past performance effort involved little or none of the size, content, and complexities this solicitation requires.

• The evaluation team will review the offeror’s quality of past performance and assign a Quality Assessment Rating based on the following ratings and definitions:

EVALUATION – PAST PERFORMANCE

Quality Assessment Ratings for Evaluating Past Performance Rating Definition

Exceptional Contractor’s performance meets contractual requirements and consistently exceed (or exceeded) many of them. The contractual performance of requirements being assessed was accomplished with no more than a few minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the contractor were highly effective.

Very Good Contractor’s performance meets contractual requirements and consistently exceed (or exceeded) some of them. The contractual performance of requirements being assessed was accomplished with no more than some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the contractor were effective.

Satisfactory Contractor’s performance meets (or met) contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the requirements contains some minor problems for which corrective actions taken by the contractor were satisfactory.

Marginal Contractor’s performance is not meeting (or did not meet) some contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the requirements being assessed reflects a serious problem for which the contractor has not yet identified corrective actions or the contractor’s proposed actions appear only marginally effective or were not fully implemented. Customer involvement was required.

Unsatisfactory Contractor’s performance is failing (or failed) to meet most contractual requirements. The contractual performance of the requirements contains a serious problem(s) for which the contractor’s corrective actions appear or were ineffective. Extensive customer oversight and involvement was required.

Neutral Contractor performance was not observed or not applicable to the current effort being reported against.

• The assessment process of the two aspects of past performance will result in an overall performance confidence assessment as defined in NFS 1815.305(a)(2).

EVALUATION – PAST PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE CONFIDENCE ASSESSMENTS

Rating Description

Very High Level of Confidence

The offeror’s relevant past performance is of exceptional merit and is very highly pertinent to this acquisition, indicates exemplary performance in a timely, efficient, and economical manner and very minor (if any) problems with no adverse effect on overall performance. Based on the offeror’s performance record, there is a very high level of confidence that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

High Level of Confidence

The offeror’s relevant past performance is highly pertinent to this acquisition; demonstrating very effective performance that would be fully responsive to contract requirements. Offeror’s past performance indicates that contract requirements were accomplished in a timely, efficient, and economical manner for the most part, with only minor problems that had little identifiable effect on overall performance. Based on the offeror’s performance record, there is a high level of confidence that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Moderate Level of Confidence

The offeror’s relevant past performance is pertinent to this acquisition, and it demonstrates effective performance. Performance was fully responsive to contract requirements; there may have been reportable problems, but with little identifiable effect on overall performance. Based on the offeror’s performance record, there is a moderate level of confidence that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort

Low Level of Confidence

The offeror’s relevant past performance is at least somewhat pertinent to this acquisition, and it meets or slightly exceeds minimum acceptable standards. Offeror achieved adequate results; there may have been reportable problems with identifiable, but not substantial, effects on overall performance. Based on the offeror’s performance record, there is a low level of confidence that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Changes to the offeror’s existing processes may be necessary in order to achieve contract requirements.

Very Low Level of Confidence

The offeror’s relevant past performance does not meet minimum acceptable standards in one or more areas; remedial action was required in one or more areas. Performance problems occurred in one or more areas which, adversely affected overall performance. Based on the offeror’s performance record, there is a very low level of confidence that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Neutral In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance (see FAR 15.305(a)(2)(ii) and (iv)).

• Offerors that do not propose pricing in accordance with the solicitation guidance may be considered unacceptable and thus precluded from receiving an award. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the pricings for standard services rates for all five contract years plus six (6) month extension, and fully burdened T&M labor rates, are significantly unbalanced.

• The contracting officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this requirement. However, if at any time during this solicitation the contracting officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists, offerors may be required to submit other than cost or pricing data to support a determination of price reasonableness.

• The Government will apply price analysis techniques to the proposed pricing, to determine whether proposed prices are "fair and reasonable" compared to known standards for same or similar services.

• The Government will use the proposed prices set forth in Section B for a standard payload slot (Section B.1) and a standard seat (Section B.2, as applicable), for the price analysis. The proposed pricing should be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The price analysis will include the total price for the five contract years plus the six (6) month extension, assuming one flight per year in the most basic configuration with no non-standard services. The offeror’s total price will be evaluated for reasonableness by comparing the sum of the proposed standard payload slot/seat for five contract years plus the six (6) month extension received in response to the solicitation. The total evaluated price will be for evaluation purpose only.

• The T&M fully burdened hourly rates and the prices for non-standard services will be evaluated in terms of reasonableness for selection purposes and will not be included in the total price.

EVALUATION - PRICE

• The resulting award will be a multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract to multiple contractors.

The Government will award contracts resulting from this solicitation using the best value continuum Price Performance Trade-Off where all evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. By submission of its offer, the offeror accedes to all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors.

BASIS OF AWARD