Enclosure 5 (RTO 1).pdf

SOLICITATION NUMBER 80GSFC21R0037

NASA SOUNDING ROCKET OPERATIONS CONTRACT IV

(NSROC IV)

ENCLOSURE 5

REPRESENTATIVE TASK ORDER (RTO) #1

FEBRUARY 2022

Solicitation No. 80GSFC21R0037 NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract IV ENCLOSURE 5 – Representative Task Order #1

Representative Task Order (RTO) #1

Multiple Simultaneous Campaigns

BACKGROUND

The NSROC IV contractor is required to support the entire mission manifest which has historically had approximately 45-55 ongoing missions in development per year.

Approximately 15-20 of these missions will be in the launch phase from locations worldwide. When going to remote locations, missions are typically conducted in a

“campaign” type of operation where multiple launches are combined to meet the scientific requirements of an individual investigation, to enhance the overall scientific outcome of similar investigations, or for operational efficiency.

The schedule and launch location for these launch operations is often determined by geophysical constricts such as time of year, phase of the moon, and/or geographical location. Failure to launch within the prescribed launch window may lead to a year or more delay depending on the exact phenomena being studied. For example, Auroral studies can only be conducted in the Northern latitudes, during the winter months, and only when the moon is down. It is critical that such operations be completed in accordance with pre established schedules in order to take advantage of the cost efficiencies associated with a single deployment.

The missions that make up these campaigns typically represent a significant portion of the overall annual launch manifest. However, there are also a multitude of individual missions in development and other technical work that must continue at Wallops, WSMR, and occasionally, at other remote locations. This creates the need for creative staffing approaches and increases the necessity for effective and efficient overall program management.

Missions and other technical work conducted under this contract will typically be issued on an individual task order basis. However, even more critical than the requirement for the implementation of any specific mission or task, is the requirement for overall coordination and management of the entire manifest and associated activities which will be issued to the contractor as multiple individual tasks. This RTO is a representation of several such tasks that may be issued concurrently as Mission Task Orders or

Performance Task Orders.

TASK

The requirement for this RTO is for the offeror to provide a brief narrative describing their overall management approach to executing the campaign activities in this RTO and to provide Task Implementation Plans with Cost Estimates for each mission complexity level as requested below. The Offerors narrative shall demonstrate their knowledge of the complexities associated with staffing and coordinating multiple simultaneous campaigns, that their approach is effective and efficient, and they understand the critical issues and risks that must be taken into account during planning and execution.

The individual Task Implementation Plans (TIP) shall provide a narrative demonstrating the Offerors comprehensive understanding of technical requirements associated with mission execution, their identification and mitigation of critical issues and risks, and the overall approach to effective and efficient use of resources necessary to meet mission requirements. The TIP for individual missions shall provide a schedule, staffing plan by each phase of the mission life cycle, discuss logistics and travel, and provide a cost estimate for mission execution from the Requirements Definition Meeting (RDM) to mission closeout. The staffing plans shall clearly identify individual labor categories utilized on the mission, and if applicable to the offerors approach, where these individuals will be used on multiple teams. For example, Electronic Technician #1 (ET

#1) will be considered the same individual if used on multiple teams; ET #2 is a different individual meaning two ET’s were required for this RTO.

All six launches are scheduled to occur in April 2024. For the purpose of this RTO, it shall be assumed that these missions are a subset of approximately 55 total ongoing mission tasks in work and that no additional launch operations will be conducted in the

April 2024 timeframe other than the six identified in this RTO. The overall period of performance for this RTO is from October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2024 (six months after the final launch). For purposes of this RTO, assume the missions launch on the last day of the launch window unless otherwise specified. This time period is representative of typical mission lifecycle from concept definition through mission closeout for these types of missions. Offerors are reminded that the individual mission

MIC to RDM phase is captured under a separate DRPA for initial project formulation.

For this RTO, it can be assumed the host range (with the exception of White Sands

Missile Range in New Mexico) will provide all of the Telemetry receiving equipment and personnel necessary to capture and record the Telemetry data from the flight. Assume launchers and other supporting range infrastructure are in place and ready to support the missions unless otherwise specified. All vehicles referenced are assumed to be flight qualified along with GFE provided designs for standard separation and/or deployment systems, recovery systems, Attitude Control Systems, etc. unless otherwise stated. This task requires the Offeror to utilize these standard systems to develop a mission concept that will meet the requirements of the mission.

To reduce the amount of redundant information, the Offerors shall only provide TIP’s and cost estimates for the following four (4) missions in this RTO: Mission 48.656

(MCL 4), Mission 35.777 (MCL 3), Mission 36.567 (MCL 2), and Mission 41.987

(MCL1). This provides a TIP and cost estimate for each of the four Mission Complexity

Levels flown in the NASA Sounding Rocket Program (NSRP).

In Enclosure F, the Offerors shall fill out the Variance Factor Table for each Mission

Complexity Level. The Variance Factors (VF) capture mission specific characteristics outside the baseline scope of the normal mission lifecycle and are described in Section

3.1.1 of the SOW. Historical information is provided in the E-Library for the Variance

Factors and the Offerors can use these or can propose their own variance factors based on their approach.

Andoya Space, Norway Geospace Missions

Mission 52.999

This is an MCL 4 Black Brant XII-A mission scheduled to be launched from Andoya

Space (ASP), in Andenes, Norway. The launch window opens on April 1, 2024, and ends April 18, 2024 when the moon becomes too bright to conduct the experiment as is typical with Aurora type investigations.

This is a completely new payload with 20 small ejectable vapor release sub-payloads and is a Mission Complexity Level 4 mission. It is assumed the length and weight fall within the experience envelope for Black Brant XII class launch vehicles. The mission requires an Attitude Control System (ACS) to hold the payload attitude in the zenith position while orienting in a fixed roll direction such that the groups of small ejectable payloads can be released in known directions in groups of 4. For simplicity, each group of 4 sub-payloads will be ejected near simultaneous in each principal direction, North-South-East-

West. There will be 5 nominal deployment events to allow all 20 sub-payloads to be ejected on the up-leg of the trajectory. The purpose of this experiment is to is to measure the naturally occurring winds in the upper atmosphere simultaneously at different altitudes. This will allow a 3-dimensional map of the winds in the area around the main experiment. There are no Telemetry systems on the vapor release sub-payloads and it can be assumed the design of the sub-payload ejection system has been previously qualified.

There are also a suite of science instruments on the main payload bus designed to measure the electric fields, charged particles, and magnetic fields during the Auroral substorm of interest to the Principal Investigator (PI). This portion of the payload requires three 10 megabit per second Telemetry links to allow all of the housekeeping and scientific data to be transmitted to the ground. The are two sets of deployable booms

(antennas) each with a tiny sensor mounted at the end (provided by the PI) to make the necessary measurements. These booms will be stowed during launch and require standard deployment mechanisms to function for the science measurement period of the flight. The science magnetometer will be placed on a fiberglass section away from other electronics or metallic components (to the extent practical). Once the vapor release payloads are all ejected, the payload attitude requires adjustment such that it will be parallel with the Earth’s magnetic field. The payload shall remain in this attitude throughout the rest of the flight during the science data taking period. No recovery is required for this mission. The Mission Initiation Conference is scheduled to be held at

Wallops 24 months prior to the launch with the RDM phase commencing 18 months prior to launch. For planning purposes, it should be noted that shipment to ASC normally takes 2 months.

Mission 35.777

This is a MCL 3 Black Brant X mission scheduled to be launched from the ASP in

Andenes, Norway. The launch window opens on April 1, 2024 and ends April 18, 2024 when the moon becomes too bright to conduct the experiment as is typical with Aurora type investigations. This is a Mission Complexity Level 3 mission being launched as part of an investigation which requires 35.777 to be launched within 3 minutes of 52.999.

This is a completely new payload design with 2 pair of deployable booms (antennas) used to measure electric fields and charged particles in a volume of atmosphere that is in the same vicinity as 52.999 but nearly the same time. This investigation requires the 35.777 mission to be launched 3 minutes after the launch of 52.999. Requirements dictate the folding boom sets to be attached to opposite ends of the payload. This payload consists of two 10-megabit per second Telemetry links to allow all of the housekeeping and scientific data to be transmitted to the ground. The mission will require an Attitude

Control System (ASC) to the keep the payload orientation perpendicular to the Earth’s magnetic field with a roll rate of approximately 0.5 Hz.

The payload is on the heavy side for Black Brant X class missions; however, it is within the experience envelope. Apogee is a concern on this mission due to the heavy experiment, however, the initial analysis has determined it is acceptable.

No recovery is required for this mission. The Mission Initiation Conference is scheduled to be held at Wallops 24 months prior to the launch with the RDM phase commencing 18 months prior to launch. For planning purposes, it should be noted that shipment to ASC normally takes 2 months.

Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) Alaska Geospace Campaign

Mission 41.987

This mission is an MCL 1 Terrier Improved Orion mission launching from the Poker Flat

Research Range (PFRR), Alaska, in late April 2024. The actual window will run from

April 20, 2024, through April 30, 2024. The SRPO, through the University of Alaska

Fairbanks (UAF), maintains a research range which has been supporting NASA suborbital research missions for many years and primarily supports Aurora type research.

This mission consists of a 5 MB TM system for housekeeping, and a standard

“experiment” section which will release a water vapor trail used to measure the neutral winds. This is a previously designed payload requires no design modifications for this mission which will release the water vapor by simple timer command. This mission must be launched within 5 minutes of the 48.656 mission to meet the scientific objectives of the investigation. It can be assumed all basic facilities and ground instrumentation are provided by the launch range. There are no special science requirements other than standard timing events to initiate the water vapor experiment and recovery is not required. The Mission Initiation Conference is scheduled to be held at Wallops 24 months prior to the launch date with the RDM being held 18 months prior to launch.

This vehicle/payload are well within the existing experience envelope. For planning purposes, it should be noted that shipment to PFRR normally takes 4 weeks.

Mission 48.656

This mission is a MCL 4 Talos Terrier Oriole mission launching in late April 2024 from the Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) outside Fairbanks Alaska. This is a complex

Geospace mission with a mother/daughter payload each requiring an Attitude Control

System (ACS) to meet scientific objectives. It has been determined the payload mass and length are within the experience envelope of the vehicle and the launch window begins on April 20, 2024, and ends April 30, 2024.

To meet mission science objectives, the daughter payload must be ejected as soon as possible after final stage burnout and aligned perpendicular to the Earth’s magnetic field.

A standard ACS will be utilized to align the payload. The Daughter payload has one pair of telescoping antennas that deploy and the roll rate needs to be 0.5 Hz after all deployments and alignments are complete. There is one 10 Mbps Telemetry link needed to transmit the Science data to the ground.

The mother payload requires the payload to be aligned parallel to the Earth’s magnetic field also with a roll rate of 0.5 Hz after all deployments are complete. A standard ACS will be utilized to align the mother payload which has one pair of deployable antennas on each end. The amount of science data collected will require one 20Mbps TM link and one 10 Mbps TM link to transmit all data to the ground. Recovery is not required to meet mission success on this mission. The MIC is scheduled to be held at Wallops 24 months prior to the launch date with the RDM being held 18 months prior to the launch date. For planning purposes, it should be noted that shipment to PFRR normally takes 4 weeks.

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico Missions

During this period of remote campaign activity, the NSRP also has two missions at White

Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico which must be launched. One mission is a standard Solar research mission which utilizes the standard Solar Attitude Control

System (ACS) to point at regions on the Sun’s surface of interest to the Principal

Investigators. The other mission is an Astrophysics research mission which is observing a celestial object using the standard Celestial ACS. Offerors are reminded at WSMR, the contractor is responsible for operating and maintain facilities used to execute missions;

refer to SOW section 2.1.3.2 Government Property.

Solar Physics Mission 36.567

This Black Brant IX mission is a telescope payload designed to study features on the surface of the sun and will be flown from WSMR on April 7, 2024. This is a Mission

Complexity Level 2 mission which is a re-fly of an existing telescope previously launched and recovered from the WSMR. It can be assumed this mission launches on the first day of the window.

The MIC for this mission is early November 2022 which is approximately 17 months from the launch day on April 7, 2024. The RDM will be held February 28, 2023, which is approximately 13 months before launch.

The standard Solar ACS will be used to point the telescope at the Sun’s surface and the standard command uplink system will be used to center the detector on the feature on the

Sun’s surface under study by the PI. Housekeeping data will be sent down via one 4-megabit telemetry system that was previously flown that can be refurbished and re-flown without the need for any design modifications. Similarly, there is a single 8-megabit

Science link for video and science data that was previously flown that can also be flown without the need for any design modifications. The standard forward ogive release and recovery system will be used for recovery. All systems used on this mission are standard designs utilized on all WSMR solar missions, including the standard S-19 boost guidance and flight termination systems used on the Black Brant IX launch vehicle. For planning purposes, it normally takes 5 business days to ship all hardware from Wallops to WSMR.

Astrophysics Mission 36.569

This Black Brant IX mission is completely new telescope payload designed to study the features of a well-known supernova remnant using a new state-of-the-art detector. The mission will be flown from the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) on April 21, 2024.

This is a Mission Complexity Level 3 mission which will utilize standard systems to meet mission objectives. It can be assumed this mission launches on the first day of the window and the length/weight of this vehicle will fall within the experience flight envelope.

The MIC for this mission is early May 2022 which is approximately 23 months from the launch day on April 21, 2024. The RDM will be held November 1, 2023, which is approximately 18 months before launch.

The standard Celestial ACS will be used to point the telescope at the Supernova remnant and the standard command uplink system will be used to center the detector on the target star under study by the PI. Housekeeping data will be sent down via one 4 Mbps telemetry system for which a standard design exists. There is a single 10 Mbps Science link for video and science data that is a new design just for this mission. The standard forward ogive release and recovery system will be used for recovery. All other systems used on this mission are standard designs utilized on all WSMR solar missions, including the standard S-19 boost guidance and flight termination systems used on the Black Brant

IX launch vehicle. For planning purposes, it normally takes 5 business days to ship all hardware from Wallops to WSMR.

RTO 1 NONPROPOSED COSTS

(a) The total estimated cost of RTO 1 includes the following estimated costs.

These total non-proposed costs for RTO 1 requirements are the Government’s best estimate.

Elements of Cost

MCL 1 -

41.987

MCL 2 -

36.567

MCL 3 -

35.777

MCL 4 -

48.656

GRAND

TOTAL

Other Direct Costs (ODC):

Materials $2,000.00 $4,000.00 $5,000.00 $6,000.00 $28,000.00

Boost Guidance Systems $0.00 $7,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $15,000.00

Direct Other Charges $1,000.00 $20,000.00 $3,000.00 $3,000.00 $50,000.00

(b) The following cost element definitions are provided below:

Materials: Mission specific costs for raw materials, components, or flight hardware utilized within the payload that are not already stock items procured through DRPA 1 or DRPA 2.

Boost Guidance Systems: Pre-flight mission analysis for the boost guidance system using mission specific payload and trajectory parameters for the Black Brant IX vehicle.

Other Direct Charges: Includes costs for mission specific items not captured above or procured through DRPAs: freight/shipping costs for shipment of the mission hardware to the launch site, procurement of mission specific compressed gases and cryogen fluids, etc..

CONTRACT DELIVERABLES

A tabulation of contract deliverables for each mission as required in the Statement of

Work for Mission Task Orders is provided in Appendix 1 of the SOW. Offerors are not required to actually provide these contract deliverables as part of this RTO; however, the

Cost Estimates for each mission shall include all projected costs associated with their production and delivery to the Government just as would be required under an actual

Mission Task Order.