Questions and Answers for Sam.gov Posting 07302026.pdf

Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Solicitation 80GRC026R0011

Special Test Equipment (STE) Vacuum Chamber 3

30 July 2026

1. Question: Page limit: Does the 25-page limit on Volume I (Technical) apply to the combined total of the (5) separate attachments, or to each attachment individually? Please also confirm that the Past Performance section (Volume I-A), cover pages, and tables of contents are excluded from that 25-page count, as stated in the Addendum.

Answer: As stated in the solicitation in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, “Cover pages, tables of contents, and the Past Performance section do not count toward the page limit”

NASA has increased the page limit in Amendment 1 of the solicitation to 40 pages, to ensure all information can be provided.

2. Question: Submission size: Because proposals are due by email to two addresses, what is the maximum total message/attachment size NASA can receive? If the complete proposal exceeds that limit, will NASA accept a secure file-transfer link or delivery split across multiple emails, and how should timeliness be established in that case?

Answer: A file transfer link or multiple emails are acceptable. The CO has set up a NASA Box Account for offerors who would like to utilize Box as an alternative proposal submission option, instructions for setting up a new Box account are included as Attachment 5 in Amendment 1 of the solicitation.

3. Question: Is a pre-proposal conference or a site visit to the B339 APSL high-bay area being offered prior to the proposal due date?

Answer: B339 facility does not exist yet and will be constructed by Design-Build at same timeline as vacuum chamber design and construction. No site visit will occur.

4. Question: Is the rectangular chamber configuration a firm requirement, or if alternative geometries, such as a cylindrical design, are still under consideration given the potential cost implications?

Answer: The rectangular design is required.

5. Question: Appendix A requires "previous experience developing rectangular shaped chambers of this size or larger." For the Past Performance pass/fail gate, will vacuum chambers of comparable size, vacuum level, and thermal performance but of cylindrical (non-rectangular) geometry be considered recent and relevant, or is rectangular geometry a mandatory relevance criterion to pass?

Answer: Similar size rectangular chamber experience is required.

6. Question: May past performance examples and relevant design/fabrication experience be drawn from proposed subcontractors, teaming partners, and named key personnel, or must all examples be the prime offeror's own contracts?

Answer: If a major subcontractor or teaming partner has the required level of experience, that experience could be counted towards the team’s total experience.

7. Question: The SOW sets a 1380-calendar-day period of performance from award (Section 3.2), while onsite installation is contingent on APSL facility readiness (envisioned ~January 2, 2030) with direction not to ship until NASA confirms. If facility readiness drives installation beyond the point at which fabrication and shop acceptance testing are complete, (a) how will the 1380-day period of performance be administered or adjusted, and (b) will the Government grant an equitable adjustment for the resulting standby?

Answer: Attachment 4 is amended to include a line item for vendors to provide a monthly contingency cost for standby/storage costs if the onsite installation is delayed past the January 2, 2030 (in the event building construction is delayed).

8. Question: If the equipment is completed before the facility is ready to receive it, will NASA provide onsite or near-site storage, or are long-term storage, preservation, and any re-verification the Contractor's responsibility to price? Should such standby/storage costs be reflected as separate line items in the Attachment 4 milestone payment schedule?

Answer: NASA would work with the vendor to arrange for the best solution for temporary storage if needed. See response above about providing contingency monthly standby/storage cost.

9. Question: The solicitation incorporates both FAR 52.232-32 (Performance-Based Payments) and Attachment 4 (Milestone Payment Schedule). Please confirm the intended financing mechanism, whether offerors are to propose their own milestone events and values in Attachment 4, and whether any cap (e.g., a percentage of total price) applies to cumulative financing payments prior to delivery and acceptance.

Answer: FAR 52.232-32 Performance Based Payments, was inadvertently included in the solicitation and is removed in Amendment 1.

Please refer to Amendment 1 Attachment 4 - Schedule of Values to assign costs to each milestone item. A note has been added in the amended attachment to state that “Onsite installation, acceptance testing, and final deliverables must amount to a minimum of 35% of total contract value.”

10. Question: NFS 1852.232-77 (Limitation of Funds) is incorporated. Will the resulting firm-fixed-price contract be fully funded at award, or incrementally funded across the multi-year period of performance?

Answer: The intent is to fully fund the firm-fixed-price contract at award to cover all milestones. Payments will be issued based on milestone completion and will not be dependent on incremental funding allotments. NASA reserves the right to incrementally fund the contract should full funding not be available at the time of the initial contract award. Therefore, the NFS 1852.232-77 (Limitation of Funds) clause will remain in the solicitation and if full funding is available at award as anticipated, it will be removed from the contract.

11. Question: The SOW Schedule of Values (3.4.2) directs that "bond" be added to the compiled costs. Are payment and/or performance bonds required for this effort? If so, please specify the bond type(s) and amount(s).

Answer: 52.228-16 is included in Amendment 1 of the solicitation.

12. Question: For the onsite installation labor, do any labor standards or wage determinations (e.g., Davis-Bacon Act construction wages or Service Contract Act) apply? None are listed among the incorporated clauses, and the SOW blends supply and construction-style requirements.

Answer: No construction wage determination or Service Contract Act clauses will be incorporated in this solicitation, as this is considered a supply type contract, and those clauses are typically reserved for construction contracts.

13. Question: Appendix A states turnkey solutions "including controls, software, pumps, etc.

are not desired," yet the Onsite Acceptance Testing section requires the Contractor to furnish roughing and high-vacuum pumps and a calibrated helium leak checker. Please confirm these pumps and the leak checker are required only temporarily to perform acceptance testing (Contractor-owned and removed afterward) and are not part of the delivered/installed system.

Answer: Correct. Furnishing the roughing and high-vacuum pumps and a calibrated helium leak checker is only required temporarily for acceptance testing.

14. Question: Because the APSL construction drawings (GFI item (h), COF33116) will not be available at bid or award, yet Subfactor 1 evaluates the plan for integrating with facility utility interfaces and construction- timeline constraints, can NASA provide the key interface parameters now — confirmed high-bay overhead crane capacity (the SOW references a 10-ton crane), loading dock and door clear openings, high-bay floor flatness and allowable floor loading, and the available utility types/capacities (electrical, LN2, gaseous N2, cooling water) with their termination points?

Answer: NASA understands the challenges of this condition. APSL facility will be a design-build project that occurs simultaneously with the vacuum chamber design and construction. Coordination by the vacuum chamber Contractor with NASA and the Design-Builder will be required to ensure successful integration.

Planned capabilities: 10-ton crane, overhead door size not yet finalized but will be sized to allow chamber cross-sectional areas to fit, floor flatness and levelness per ACI 117 and ACI 302 (FF35 and FL25), floor loading is intended to be coordinated by vacuum chamber contractor and NASA for facility construction (high bay floor loading is currently specified as minimum 250 PSF). LN2 planned to be piped to TCU at 125 GPH, GN2 at 100 PSIG and sized as needed, cooling water at 40 GPM. Approximate electrical loads have been forecast for facility construction; coordination between vacuum chamber contractor and NASA for facility construction will be required to verify this information.

15. Question: Please define the battery limits of Contractor supply at the equipment interfaces — in particular the LN2 supply (which NASA furnishes for testing/operation), the gaseous N2 supply for the TCU working fluid, and electrical power — identifying where Contractor scope of supply begins and ends for each.

Answer: The Design Builder will be responsible for providing LN2 and gaseous N2 supply piping to the TCU. This will require coordination by the vacuum chamber Contractor with NASA and the Design-Builder. The vacuum chamber Contractor will be required to supply LN2 and N2 piping from TCU to vacuum chamber thermal shroud / shell. Electrical feed will be provided to a disconnect near to TCU and other equipment that requires power; final termination will be required to be performed by vacuum chamber Contractor. Temporary power for equipment required for acceptance testing (high vacuum pumps, etc.) will require coordination with NASA.

16. Question: Appendix A contains an unresolved NASA question — "Do we need ability to isolate between TCU and thermal shroud?" Please confirm whether isolation valving between the TCU and the thermal shroud is required.

Answer: Yes, ability to isolate between TCU and thermal shroud is required.

17. Question: The chamber is to be "set flat on concrete floor" with internal anchor points and rear-end-cap lift points. Given concurrent facility construction, please confirm whether the concrete foundation and anchor-embed design and installation are within the Contractor's scope or within the base-building/Government scope.

Answer: The concrete slab/foundation will be installed by the NASA Design-Builder responsible for facility construction. If embedded anchoring is required, this information will need to be provided by vacuum chamber Contractor to NASA Design-Builder for incorporation into the slab/foundation. Anchoring after slab construction is complete would be the responsibility of the vacuum chamber Contractor.

18. Question: Appendix A requires a "Commercial off-the-shelf TCU," yet the TCU must reach 90 K with N2 as the working fluid and provide at least 15 kW of refrigeration. If no catalog COTS unit meets the 90 K lower setpoint at that capacity, will an engineered-to-order or modified-commercial unit satisfy the COTS requirement?

Answer: NASA requires Commercial off-the-shelf TCU. NASA increased the 90 Kelvin requirement to 100 Kelvin in Amendment 1 of the solicitation.