80ARC026C0001 HS Mission Redacted JOFOC.pdf

Rev: 10/2025

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

AMES RESEARCH CENTER

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For NNH19ZDA013O/HelioSwarm Medium-Class Explorers Mission/80ARC026C0001

1. Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) 6.104-1(a)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC). The procuring agency is NASA, and the contracting activity is ARC. This JOFOC is recorded in the ARC JOFOC/Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO)/Limited Sources Justifications (LSJ) Log as JA-FY26-J03.

2. RFO 6.104-1(a)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole source contract with contract number 80ARC026C0001 to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for the execution of Phases C to F for the HelioSwarm (HS) Medium-Class Explorers (MIDEX) mission.

HS is a transformative mission designed to explore the three-dimensional, dynamic mechanisms controlling the physics of plasma turbulence, a ubiquitous process occurring throughout the heliosphere and indeed the plasma universe at large. The HS mission is managed by NASA ARC, with the Principal Investigator (PI) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). HS consists of heliophysics science instruments, provided by UNH, a Hub Spacecraft and a multiple Node Spacecraft provided by Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (NGSC). The HS mission includes the design, production, test, integration, launch, commissioning and science operations of the mission.

The current HS MIDEX contract is with UNH, is currently nearing the end of Phase B (Preliminary Design and Technology Completion), and includes scope for Phases C to F. Each phase is dependent upon successfully meeting criteria through key decision points. The contract was awarded via a selection made under the 2019 Heliophysics Explorers Program Medium-Class Explorer Announcement of Opportunity. The selection approved all phases and proposed team members without requiring further competition. Due to a number of factors including the importance of meeting critical mission schedules, it was determined that Phases C to F should be executed on a new contract with SwRI as only SwRI could meet all requirements as the prime contractor.

As a result of the above, NASA is transitioning the management of the Phases C to F efforts from UNH to the SwRI via a new contract. SwRI is named in the HS Concept Study Report (CSR) which forms the basis for the original selection letter and is a major subcontractor on the current HS contract. The core technical responsibilities of all partners, including UNH, as described in the CSR, remain unchanged. This proposed change thereby ensures no disruption to HS’s scientific and technical objectives.

3. RFO 6.104-1(a)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

During Phase C, the HS team will complete and document the detailed design, fabricate or produce hardware, and code software in preparation for Critical Design Review (CDR). Trade studies will continue, and results will be used to validate the design against project goals, objectives, and concept of operations.

During Phase D, the HS team will assemble, integrate, verify, validate, and support the launch and commissioning of the spacecraft. The team will support the project preparing for the Operational Readiness Review (ORR), Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and Mission Readiness Review (MRR).

During Phase E, the HS team will conduct active mission operations and data collection. Phase F involves safe disposal and final reporting.

Rev: 10/2025

The CO’s signature on this document indicates that the CO has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed to ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable. The CO’s determination will be based on the results of cost analysis, price analysis, and application of RFO 15.404 techniques.

The new contract with SwRI will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract. An analysis of the proposal will be performed in accordance with (IAW) RFO 15.404 by the COR and CO prior to the execution of the new contract. The proposal analysis in support of the SwRI contract will include cost evaluation techniques including the comparison of proposed costs to the IGCE and historical costs, as well as a comparison of labor rates and utilization of Forward Pricing Rate Agreements (FPRAs) and Forward Pricing Rate Recommendations (FPRRs) issued by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), as applicable.

8. RFO 6.104-1(a)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

Market research for the HS MIDEX mission was conducted at the Agency level through the Announcement of Opportunity (AO), Solicitation No. NNH19ZDA013O, in accordance with the FAR and NFS. The AO process served as NASA’s market research by soliciting competitive proposals for mission-specific scientific investigations requiring the design, development, integration, testing, launch, and operation of a custom space flight system. The results of the AO confirmed that the required supplies and services are not of a type customarily available in the commercial marketplace and cannot be satisfied by commercial or modified commercial items, as the work involves mission-unique spacecraft, instruments, software, and systems integration developed exclusively to meet NASA requirements.

The scope of the current contract action remains consistent with the AO-selected effort and continues to require noncommercial terms and cost-based pricing.

Since the market research at the AO level was conducted seven years ago, the procurement team did an independent search using the NASA Contract Management System ProcureSight Enterprise tool and the NASA Heliophysics Digital Resource Library to review the current market. The procurement team also consulted with the NASA technical team and subject matter experts about the market on this type of procurement and they confirmed that specialized heliophysics services largely remain unavailable as true off-the-shelf commercial products as the sector still relies heavily on bespoke government funded missions, specialized academic software, and public-private partnerships rather than turnkey commercial solutions. While commercialization is rapidly expanding in related sectors such as low Earth orbit data, deep space and high-level customized heliophysics related data analysis remain primarily within the domain of agencies like NASA. Therefore, the HS MIDEX mission is appropriately classified as a noncommercial item.

9. RFO 6.104-1(a)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

10. RFO 6.104-1(a)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per RFO part 5 on February 3, 2026 (See Section 6 above) and closed on February 18, 2026. No companies expressed interest or responded.

11. RFO 6.104-1(a)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to evaluate the market and consider potential qualification efforts in the future to identify viable alternative sources. Prior to any subsequent acquisitions for these or similar items, NASA will assess industry capabilities and explore opportunities to promote full and open competition wherever feasible.