Industry Day Questions and Answers.pdf

AACES Industry Day Questions and Answers

NASA responses are in Red

1. Can the Total Compensation Plan requirement be removed from this procurement?

It has been determined that the TCP is not required for this procurement and the TCP requirement will be removed from the Final NRA.

2. Is NASA expecting Certified Cost and Pricing Data?

Due to the competitive nature of this procurement, Certified Cost and Pricing Data is not required to be submitted.

Each offeror needs an approved cost accounting system due to the cost reimbursement nature of this NRA.

3. Why do we need to use Box?

Offerors are required to use BOX to submit their proposals for this NRA in accordance with Section 10.1 of the NRA.

4. Due to the Final NRA not being release until October 14 and tentative proposal due date of November 5th, would consideration be made to extend the due date, three weeks is a short turnaround time to get cost data?

NASA will extend the due date to an appropriate time when the Final NRA is posted.

5. Is there a way for an OTA Other Transaction Agreement (Funded Space Act) to be awarded off this NRA?

An OTA will not be utilized for this procurement.

6. Does Past Performance have to be NASA?

No, per Section II – Past Experience of the NRA.

7. Can you explain what a broad wide geography for subcontracting would look like?

NASA expects a reasonable attempt to find appropriate subcontractors.

8. Since there is no competitive range, will there be a chance to negotiate?

There will be no competitive range determination or final proposal revisions. Once proposal(s) have been selected for award, there may be an opportunity to negotiate changes if the changes are not material, and the ideas or aspects of the proposal on which selection is based are contained in the proposal as originally submitted. Changes affecting a proposal’s selection may not be sought. Any negotiations will be conducted in accordance with FAR Subparts 15.3 and 15.4, as applicable.

9. Will Phase 2 require an award in Phase 1?

No, per Section 4 of the NRA: “Participation in Phase I will not be required for consideration for Phase II awards.”

10. Will weight be given to educational purposes?

“Educational purposes” is not an evaluation criterion under the NRA.

11. Does NASA require teaming arrangements of industry or multiple awards to organizations?

There is no requirement to have teaming arrangements for this procurement.

12. Will an attendee list be shared? Can we opt out?

There is no intent to post the industry day attendee list.

13. How is diversity evaluated and scored?

Diversity is not in our evaluation criteria and, therefore, it is not scored.

14. How does NASA view cost sharing?

This procurement is Cost Plus Fixed Fee, not cost sharing.

15. Do you anticipate one or multiple awards?

It is not clear at this time how many awards will be made. Per Section 9.5 of the NRA, “The actual number and value of the awards will depend on the quality and cost of the proposals received and the availability of Government funds.”

16. How will cost share be evaluated?

Cost Share won’t be evaluated. Costs will be evaluated using methods described in Section IV - Cost in the NRA.

17. We plan on inviting experts from organizations outside the core team to review and advise our project. Is it valuable to include letters of support from outside organization, even if they are not funded as part of the project?

This is not in our evaluation criteria, but letters of support can be provided to support the Offeror’s approach to the project.

18. Is it okay for an industry partner to lead with very strong university work scope?

Offerors may involve university work in their proposals.

19. Will NASA consider data rights assertions in project selection?

Data Rights assertions are taken into consideration on every NASA contract in order to fully evaluate whether the Government’s needs are met. NASA respects Industry’s technology that has been developed entirely at private expense and does not request unlimited rights for that technology. The expectation is that NASA will receive unlimited rights to any technology that was developed with government funding (ie. DoD, FAA, NASA). If the offeror seeks to assert limited rights in any data produced or delivered under the contract, such data should be included in the DRA table at the lowest segregable level along with a justification for such an assertion.

The Agency will make an award to the offer(s) that provide the best value to the Government.

NASA will evaluate the proposals to determine whether there is a clear statement of intellectual property rights, including whether any data to be delivered will be limited rights data or unlimited rights data. Serious consideration will be given concerning data rights. Proposals with unlimited rights to all contract deliverables will be given considerably higher consideration than those with Limited Rights or Restricted Computer Software. All Contractor or subcontract/vendor limited data rights or restricted computer software assertions shall be made in accordance with 80GRC024N0001. Provision K.6, 52.227-15 Representation of Limited Data Rights and Restricted Computer Software and Clause C.4, Identification and Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software, and all data rights assertions and intellectual property (IP) issues shall be clearly presented in the Business Volume of the proposal. Offers are advised that, although it is possible for them to make limited rights data or restricted computer software assertions in accordance with this RFP, in this acquisition, NASA seeks and will give considerably higher consideration to proposals that provide Unlimited Rights to designs, models, analysis results, etc. The purpose of this acquisition is to produce knowledge that can benefit the public and create reports that can be widely dispersed (within potential ITAR and EAR restrictions).

20. Will NASA accept limited rights?

Yes, see answer to question 19.

21. What are NASA’s thoughts on publishing?

Part of NASA’s mission is to explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity. One way to benefit humanity is to publish information from the AACES 2050 studies.

22. What are the requirements for data rights on geometry models?

The final NRA will list the deliverables NASA expects to be unlimited rights.

23. If a prime contractor is not subject to CAS will the subcontractor be subject to CAS, if they are a large business typically subject to CAS?

CAS applicability and the type of CAS coverage required will be determined in accordance with 48 CFR § 9903.201-1 and 48 CFR § 9903.201-2, and any other applicable laws and regulations.

24. What resources exist to assist in establishing the Box account and verifying its robustness in advance of the submittal?

There are resources available through BOX to support offerors. The below information can be found in Attachment C:

Offerors are responsible for familiarizing themselves with any additional technical requirements specific to using Box that may not be enumerated within this solicitation, including but not limited to any information available through Box Support (https://support.box.com/hc/en-us), Box’s Uploads and Downloads support page (https://support.box.com/hc/en-us/categories/360003187934-Uploads-anddownloads), and Box’s Troubleshooting Uploads page Troubleshooting Uploads to Box – Box Support.

Once individual accounts are created, and contracting office is notified, the contracting officer will create a folder for each offeror and send a link. Contractor can send a test document to determine if folder is working properly. Offeror is highly encouraged to test document several days prior to proposal due date. If offeror is having difficulty, they should contact the contracting officer as soon as possible and they will assist in resolving the issue.

25. The language reads "A clear statement is required of what IP is expected to be available to the Government, the US Aeronautics Community and Public at the conclusion of the work".

The proposed content concern enabling technologies for product EIS in the 2040-2050 timeframe, so much of these data are likely to be highly proprietary as they are designed to drive product differentiation and marketability. What constitutes “the conclusion of the work”?

The conclusion of work would be considered the end of the period of performance.

26. Will awardees be required to work together and share results during Phase I?

During negotiations, NASA may suggest collaboration between the offerors if it would improve the proposed research programs.” NASA FAR Supplement 1835.016-71(d)(5) allows NASA to suggest collaboration if it would approve the proposed research programs.

27. Can non-U.S. organizations participate in NASA AACES 2050 through collaboration with U.S.

organizations or partnership with U.S. OEMs?

It is each Offeror’s responsibility to determine their own eligibility for participation in the AACES 2050 NRA. Per Section 9.1 of the NRA, “Participation by non-U.S. organizations is not permitted, except that (a) research may be conducted with foreign entities on a cooperative, no-exchange-of funds basis; or (b) U.S. award recipients may directly purchase supplies and/or services, which do not constitute research, from non-U.S. sources.”

Please note that the identity and potentially sensitive information of the company submitting this question has been removed from this question and omitted from this answer.

28. Are the proposed solutions required to apply to one or multiple classes (i.e. a family of aircraft)?

The purpose of the four vehicle classes is to provide NASA with a consistent way to internally assess the concepts across all NRA awardees after the completion of the NRA. There is no prescribed level of effort relating to the different aircraft classes. The Offerors should select the class or classes that best fit the solution supported by their future scenario and make the biggest impact and contribute to the goals. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

29. Is this RFP focused solely on subsonic aircraft?

Yes. The Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) project within the Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) is interested in aircraft concept studies targeting subsonic commercial transport designs consistent with an EIS in the mid-century timeframe (Section 2, Introduction, in the final NRA)

30. Will emissions outside of those listed in the NRA be evaluated? If a concept has emissions of a type not mentioned in the NRA, what is the requirement for evaluating that?

At a minimum, Offerors will evaluate their aircraft concepts and technologies against the metrics in Section 4.1 and Appendix C to show their benefit to future sustainable aviation. These metrics provide NASA with a consistent way to internally assess the concepts across all NRA awardees after the completion of the NRA. Offerors may propose additional emissions metrics beyond those listed in the NRA. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, and Appendix C in the final NRA)

31. Are ground/airport infrastructure changes considered as part of the scenarios?

Yes. Ground and airport infrastructure requirements are part of the scenarios for any proposed alternative fuels or energy sources. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, in the final NRA)

32. What analysis order levels are expected for the Phase I work?

Analysis order levels are not prescribed for this work. Analysis order levels should be chosen to be consistent with the overall level of effort for Phase I and the level required to appropriately assess the concepts and technologies. (Section 5, Description of Solicited Topics, in the final

NRA)

33. Is NASA open to a lower cruise Mach number than specified in the example missions?

The Offeror will select reference missions from Table 4 that are most relevant to the Offeror’s experience, capabilities, and advanced vehicle concept(s). Each advanced vehicle concept will have at least two reference missions, which include a design and an economic mission consistent with the current technology reference aircraft selected by the Offeror.

Since the Offeror might prefer a mission that is not optimized for the mission consistent with the current technology reference aircraft selected, the Offeror may include two additional reference missions, a design and an economic mission based on the Offeror’s future scenario with sufficient justification for additional reference missions. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

34. Is there any requirement that the MBSA&E tools and methods are used by the Offeror in their analyses?

No.

35. Will this study support or leverage the "Sky for All" vision?

Sky For All is a separate activity from this effort and there are no requirements to adhere to the Sky For All Vision.

36. Is this NRA strictly limited to civil transport applications?

Phase I of the AACES 2050 study is focused on the design and selection process and identifying aircraft concepts and technologies that will be critical to sustainable commercial aviation (both passenger and cargo transport). If there are other applications for the concept or the expected development path includes non-civilian uses, that information should be noted in the scenario descriptions. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, in the final NRA)

37. Will NASA provide a preferred weighting of the metrics listed in the RFP?

No. The scenarios provided by the Offerors inform which metrics are more or less important for their solutions. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, in the final NRA)

38. Will NASA provide baseline aircraft models during Phase I for comparisons with any advanced concepts resulting from the design exploration activities?

No. The Offerors should develop their own baseline aircraft models using tools and methods consistent with their advanced aircraft concepts. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

39. Can vehicles and missions applicable to the business and general aviation market be proposed?

The Offerors should select the class or classes that best fit the solution supported by their future scenario and make the biggest impact and contribute to the goals. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

40. How does NASA’s proposal evaluation criteria compare vehicles and missions applicable to different markets?

NASA intends to select proposals from the responsible Offeror(s) proposing the most advantageous advanced technology, subsystem, and/or vehicle concept(s) and/or technology that can be developed. The focus for advanced concept(s) is on concepts best suited to achieve revolutionary improvements in economics and environmental performance and the U.S.

Aviation Climate Action Plan goal of net-zero GHG emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050 at an affordable life cycle cost. (Section 11, Proposal Review Information, in the final NRA)

41. Does NASA envision development of modeling capability that may not exist today to assess path forward on an area within the intended scope of the effort?

Tools and methods needed for the trade study, analysis, and development are identified during the design process. Tools and methods development may be proposed which is consistent with the overall level of effort for Phase I and the work required to appropriately assess the concepts and technologies. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

42. Are the AACES 2050 studies asking what comes next after the N+3 studies?

The Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 studies are focused on identifying the concepts and technology development needs for 2045-2050.

(Section 2, Introduction, in the final NRA)

43. What is the baseline for the AACES 2050 metrics?

The baselines for the metrics will be in the final NRA in Appendix C.

44. Shouldn’t the baseline be the N+3 concepts and propulsion technologies?

No. The Offerors should develop their own baseline aircraft models using tools and methods consistent with their advanced aircraft concepts. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

45. Contrails: How might they be assessed? How about O2 effects? What places or locations should the data be taken?

Contrail formation, prediction, and mitigation is an especially complex problem for aviation, requiring consideration of atmospheric science, local flight conditions, vehicle technologies, engine emissions, and more. Offerors must identify the most relevant metrics to assess the impact on contrails of their proposed vehicle technologies or concepts. Include identification of the metrics, explanation of the metric calculation methodologies, and estimates of these metrics for the references and proposed vehicle technologies and/or concepts. Identify all data and assumptions required for the estimation of these metric values. The intent is to understand the potential for contrail formation for the advanced aircraft concept(s) compared to a reference aircraft. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

46. Is info that would enable faster decisions like fuel burn at certain speeds be useful?

Offerors identify sensitivity studies that will provide insight into the performance of their concepts during the design process. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

47. Can NASA provide more information on the NASA cost analysis of the proposed solution concepts?

NASA will be using the Probabilistic Technology Investment Ranking System (PTIRS) to evaluate direct operating cost plus interest (DOC+I) for advanced aircraft concepts. PTIRS is a complete life cycle cost model for commercial aircraft development, production, and operations. The PTIRS development and production cost estimating relations (CERs) are calibrated to reproduce published prices for commercial transport aircraft, given reasonable assumptions regarding amortization of development costs, return on investment capital, and manufacturer’s pricing mark-ups. (Section 4.1 in the final NRA)

48. Does NASA plan to use existing climate impact models like Cascade?

NASA does not plan to use Cascade for proposal evaluations.

49. How should the deliverables for emissions, performance, and noise in Deliverable D be handled for the two different technical areas, vehicles and advance technologies?

Revisions in the final NRA will clarify this activity. (Section 6 in the final NRA)

50. NASA mission profiles aren’t specific enough in terms of aircraft class, the same aircraft can have varying seat counts depending on the airline configuration?

The purpose of the four vehicle classes is to provide NASA with a consistent way to internally assess the concepts across all NRA awardees after the completion of the NRA. The Offerors should select the class or classes that best fit the solution supported by their future scenario and make the biggest impact and contribute to the goals. Specific aircraft parameters such as the number of seats must be based on the Offeror’s future scenario. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

51. What is the AACES 2050 NRA’s carbon fuel emissions goal?

The AACES 2050 goals are not specific to the type of fuel used. (Section 4 of final NRA)

52. Can the same proposal cover both topics 5.1 and 5.2, or can 5.2 be a separate proposal?

Revisions in the final NRA will clarify this activity. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

53. Is there flexibility in the deliverables in Appendix B?

The deliverables in Appendix B enable a consistent way for NASA to internally assess the concepts across all NRA awardees at the conclusion of Phase I. Revisions in the final NRA will clarify these deliverable requirements. (Appendix B in the final NRA)

54. How do the AACES 2050 studies compare to heritage NASA study programs like N+2, N+3 and

ERA?

AACES 2050 is a similar future technology investment targeting the 2040s. N+2 and ERA studies targeted future technologies for the 2020s and N+3 targeted future technologies for the 2030s.

(Section 2, Introduction, in the final NRA)

55. What is the strategic vision for AACES 2050 in relation to EPFD, SFNP, and other major NASA future-focused programs?

AACES 2050 studies are focused on identifying the concepts and technology development needs for 2045-2050. Sustainable Flight National Partnership (SFNP) and Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) Project are targeting vehicles and technologies with entry-into-service (EIS) in the 2030s. (Section 2, Introduction, in the final NRA)

56. How constrained are the range parameters for the reference missions in Appendix C of the

DNRA?

The purpose of the four vehicle classes is to provide NASA with a consistent way to internally assess the concepts across all NRA awardees after the completion of the NRA. Each advanced vehicle concept will have at least two reference missions, which include a design and an economic mission consistent with the current technology reference aircraft selected by the Offeror. The Offeror may include two additional reference missions, a design and an economic mission based on the Offeror’s future scenario with sufficient justification for the additional reference missions. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

57. In the draft NRA, the well-to-wake emissions considered include C02, N20, CH4,. Would it be appropriate to propose a model where NOX, SOX, and contrail ERF are included in environmental impact calculations, or should the emissions prescribed in the NRA be followed instead?

Yes. At a minimum, Offerors will evaluate their aircraft concepts and technologies against the metrics defined in the NRA to show their benefit to future sustainable aviation. Offerors may propose additional emissions metrics beyond those listed in the NRA. (Section 4.1 in the final

NRA)

58. Does NASA consider the system-level metrics as a fleet wide measurement or is the contribution of a single aircraft sufficient?

The concept metrics in Appendix C should be calculated by the Offeror for each reference aircraft and advanced concept where applicable at a basic level that is appropriate, the aircraft level, and the fleet level.

59. Is the estimation of cradle-to-grave product life cycle emissions required for both the reference vehicle and the advanced technology vehicle?

Yes. (Sections 3, Background, in the final NRA)

60. Is the estimation of product life cycle emissions required for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of the manufacturing infrastructure and supplier base, including the materiel transportation?

No. Cradle-to-grave emissions include the fuel-cycle emissions and the vehicle-cycle emissions.

The vehicle-cycle emissions include the emissions from the material and vehicle production and end-of-life (recycling or scrapping). (Appendix C in the final NRA)

61. The proposed activity could include subsystem development with limited aircraft conceptual design and mission analysis. Will the final NRA permit the inclusion of work from Section 5.1 in Section 5.2?

Revisions in the final NRA will clarify this activity. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

62. The section 6 and Appendix B are both referred to as deliverables. Line items listed in Appendix B appear very mature for initial trade studies and do not tie into expected deliverables listed in section 6. Is the intent for the deliverables in section 6 to align with appendix B?

Yes. The final NRA will be consistent. (Sections 6 and Appendix B in the final NRA)

63. There are no specifics in the NRA for contrails (e.g, suggested models, etc.) Clarify if idea is to understand if technologies would affect contrails versus operational procedures (i.e., this is not about changing the operational procedure)?

The intent of the contrail formation metric is to understand the potential for contrail formation for the advanced aircraft concept(s) compared to a reference aircraft. (Appendix C in the final

NRA)

The future operational environment must be established to make a case for the advanced vehicle concept(s). (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, and Section 5 in the final NRA)

64. Would sensitivities or off design curves be informative to NASA?

Yes. Offerors identify sensitivity studies that will provide insight into the performance of their concepts during the design process. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

65. How does the offeror delineate emissions reductions from the airframe versus the engine (deliverable D in the Advanced Technology section) How should emissions be measured at the subsystem level?

This will be clarified in the final NRA. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

66. The NASA mission profiles in Appendix C are overly prescriptive and may not be applicable to the advanced concept (e.g., reserve segment may not be the same for all technologies)?

To enable a consistent basis for evaluation of each vehicle concept in Phase I, each aircraft will use two reference missions, a design mission and an economic mission defined by NASA in Appendix C. The Offeror may include two additional reference missions, a design and an economic mission based on the Offeror’s future scenario with sufficient justification for the additional reference missions. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, and Appendix C in the final NRA)

67. Should each subtask be self-contained?

Yes. Each topic being proposed from Section 5 must have a separate Statement of Work (SOW), schedule, and cost document for evaluation purposes. (Section 9.3, 9.3 Number of Proposals and Teaming Arrangements, in the final NRA)

68. How much is NASA focused on material systems in addition to architecture?

This solicitation seeks proposals to identify and develop aircraft concepts and technologies that achieve revolutionary improvements in economics and environmental performance and the U.S.

Aviation Climate Action Plan goal of net-zero GHG emissions while remaining commercially viable. (Section 5 in the final NRA)

69. Emissions include complex chemical interactions, particulate emissions. How much detail should proposal go into?

The level of detail for emissions is not prescribed for this work. The level of detail for emissions should be chosen to be consistent with the overall level of effort for Phase I and the level required to appropriately assess the concepts and technologies. (Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, in the final NRA)

70. Does the NRA ask for zero emissions or net zero emissions? How is net zero defined? What is included and what is excluded? Is the NRA asking for CO2, CO2e, or general greenhouse gas emissions reductions?

The U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan issued in November 2021 establishes the aggressive goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050, including life cycle carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions. (Section 3, Background, in the final NRA) Emissions metrics are defined as follows for evaluation purposes:

energy consumed during the mission, U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan GHG emissions, well-to-wake GHG emissions (CO2, N2O, and CH4) for the energy consumed during the mission, amount of energy required (megajoules) per available seat kilometer, cradle-to-grave aircraft life cycle GHG emissions, impact on contrails, landing and takeoff NOx, and landing and takeoff noise.

(Section 4.1, Phase I – Advanced Concept Development, in the final NRA) Appendix C further defines the individual emissions metrics above.

71. A clearer statement is needed on how the contrail formation metric will be done.

NASA will make revisions in the final NRA to clarify this activity. (Appendix C in the final NRA)

72. When will the Final NRA be posted?

NASA expects the Final NRA to be posted near the end of November. Please continue to monitor sam.gov for updates.