JOFOC_SCC_ESCU.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

PURSUANT TO 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) and

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) 6.302-1

1. This document is a Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) prepared by the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas.

NASA is currently working on an advanced space suit system called the Exploration Mobility Unit (xEMU). The xEMU will provide environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for astronauts performing extravehicular activities (EVAs) in space. The Display and Control Unit (DCU) is a major component of the xEMU, and provides the ability to control various system functions. One part of the DCU, the Service and Cooling Connector (SCC) and its associated Exploration Service and Cooling Umbilical (ESC) provides the ability to refill the xEMU’s water bags and oxygen tanks. The SCC/ESCU is highly specialized and significantly constrained in packaging size. In order to meet the packaging, environmental, and performance requirements, the SCC/ESCU has been highly customized

This procurement is for the second iteration of the SCC/ESCU. This updated iteration will be made out of monel for oxygen compatibility. It will build off of the design and lessons learned from SCC/ESCU 1.0, and provide NASA with improved performance. Once procured, this unit will be used for design verification testing (DVT) of the xEMU life support system.

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 for the acquisition of a high pressure Service and Cooling Connector (SCC) and Exploration Service and Cooling Umbilical (ESCU) version 2.0 from Carleton Technologies, Inc (dba Cobham). Version 2.0 of the SCC/ESCU is based directly on the design of SCC/ESCU 1.0, but will incorporate many changes learned from testing, and increase in flight like fidelity.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, include an estimated value:

This contract is for the development, manufacture, testing, analysis, and delivery of an SCC/ESCU version

2.0 for an advanced space suit life support system. A previous version of the SCC/ESCU, version 1.0, was developed by Cobham, the original manufacturer, under the contract number NNJ13HC37P. This new effort will cost $667,000 and will take an estimated 12 months to complete from the time awarded.

The majority of the cost of the contract is for the design and manufacturing of the SCC/ESCU 2.0 unit.

This cost is driven by the complexity of the design required to meet the advanced portable life support system (PLSS) requirements. This new SCC/ESCU unit will include several modifications based on testing and analysis of the SCC 1.0 unit. This new SCC unit will also be rated for use with oxygen, unlike the previous SCC unit.

Other costs in this contract are for paper products (analyses, test reports, drawings, material usage list, etc) and materials/tooling needed to build the hardware. These products are required to vet the design and support a Preliminary Design Review (PDR).

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this action is FAR 6.302- 1(a)(2)(ii)(A) which states that for NASA, “supplies may be deemed to be available from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.”

The SCC/ESCU is a highly specialized connector and umbilical combination that gives the ability to mate 3 high pressure oxygen lines, 2 pressurized water lines, and an electrical connector in a single motion. The connector is comprised of specific materials to ensure oxygen compatibility and to prevent corrosion of the suits water lines. The connector is also designed to meet very specific performance requirements regarding mating force and pressure drop. Overall, the SCC/ESCU integrates into the DCU, which is a major assembly of the overall xEMU space suit. The DCU is small in size, so the SCC/ESCU is designed to minimize volume and specifically integrate into the DCU.

If another vendor were selected for this procurement, it would necessarily result in duplicative efforts and cost to the government. It would result in duplicative costs in excess of $700,000 based on historical costs of similar procurements. Award to a different vendor would also cause a significant delay in the project that does not meet the required schedule of this procurement.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

Cobham is a highly capable aerospace company that has extensive experience in making space flight and military hardware. They are specifically experienced in the design of fluid systems, which is required for developing hardware as complex as the SCC. They have also historically developed several flown space suit items such as the space suit oxygen regulators. In addition to their broad experience, they specifically developed the previous SCC/ESCU unit and are the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). This unit was designed, tested, and refurbished by Cobham. They inherently understand the design, and have the in-house resources necessary to deliver a quality SCC/ESCU unit. The new SCC/ESCU unit will be heavily based on the previous units design, and as such must be made by Cobham.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable:

A synopsis for this effort will be issued on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service.

7. Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons why market research was not conducted.

Because the development of the SCC/ESCU 2.0 is inherently based on a design previously developed by Cobham, no market research was performed. It would not make sense to seek another vendor for development of the new SCC/ESCU given the fact it is based on a previous design by Cobham. Cobham alone has the details of this design. Based on our current understanding of the aerospace markets, no other vendor currently has experience developing an SCC/ESCU with the ability to mate oxygen at pressures of 3750 pounds per square inch--gauge (PSIG).

8. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

This contract is in support of the Advanced EMU project. The development of the SCC/ESCU unit by Cobham ties directly into the project schedule. Seeking out another vendor to perform this work is not viable, and would require starting over with an entirely new SCC/ESCU design. This would render the previous 2 years’ worth of work useless and would result in a cost to the government much greater than this effort. It would also result in a significant delay of the Advanced EMU project.

The SCC/ESCU also impacts the development of the Display and Control Unit (DCU). As an integral component of the DCU, the SCC must fit a very specific form factor. This form factor and packaging has already been developed based on the SCC developed by Cobham. If another vendor were to be selected, it puts the DCU at risk of failing to integrate, and could drive an entirely new DCU design which would cost millions of dollars and years of time.

9. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest in the acquisition:

Solicitation 80JSC018R0020 was posted on February 14, 2018 and closes on March 2, 2018.

10. The 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 ordering office will continually assess any new requirements in addition to monitoring the market environment in an attempt to overcome any barriers that preclude the agency from meeting the requirements of FAR 8.405-2, before any subsequent acquisition for the aforementioned support services are made.