CCFU JOFOC_Redacted 80JSC022PA005 80JSC022Q0011.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Johnson Space Center (JSC) WSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For 80JSC022Q00J 1

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(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 foll and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is Johnson Space Center (JSC).

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) -The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than foll and open competition to award a sole-source contract 80JSC022P A005 to Summit Products Corporation for the development of Constant CmTent Firing Units (CCFUs ). The total estimated cost of this effort is- and the estimated period of performance will be from

- to-.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b )(3) -A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency's needs (including the estimated value):

This procurement will result in the replacement of the cunent NASA firin units with newer Constant CmTent Fi1i.n� (CCFUs). The effort consists of .

- is estimated at- with a lead time of- and consISts o t e eve opment of �rototype level CCFU s stems for evaluation and testing at JSC. - is estimated at- with a lead time of and consists of the development of two CCFUs for qualification testing at JSC. is estimated at- with a lead time of- and will cover a pre-production review, development of the CCFUs (QTY 6) and subsequent acceptance testing at JSC.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)( 4) -An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statut01y authority pennitting other than foll and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2{b)(5)-A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

Rev.:01/2021

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) is appropriate only when “the property or services needed by the agency are available from only one responsible source…and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the agency, as described below.

Special engineering, design and fabrication are necessary. Summit Products was the original manufacturer of similar specialized equipment, the Initiator Resistance Measurement Unit (IRMU), and is currently upgrading the IRMU hardware and support software. Both the IRMU and CCFU are used to test flight NASA Standard Initiators (NSIs). NSIs are pyrotechnic devices used on multiple NASA vehicles (Apollo, Shuttle, Orion, CCP, ISS, SLS). The IRMU and CCFU are integral to the proper qualification of NSIs; the IRMU measures resistance and CCFU provides the necessary conditions to fire the device. To reduce risk to hardware and personnel, it is desirable to manufacture these units with similar parts and software to limit any operator error and reduce maintenance complications.

Summit Products has the required specialized knowledge and a unique understanding of the design and construction of these types of systems. Award of the purchase order to another vendor would result in considerable negative impacts to both cost and schedule as any other source would need to reverse engineer obsolete NASA firing units and would not be able to maintain commonality between the IRMU and CCFU. The CCFU hardware and software would then require a lengthy review process resulting in additional cost and schedule impacts.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on May 23, 2022, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole source to Summit Products Corporation. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer 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. Elements of cost will be compared to both historical costs and engineering estimates to determine the reasonableness of proposed cost. An extensive comparison will also be performed from government and commercial database to obtain a fair and reasonable price.

The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

Market research is continuously being performed to assess the availability of any similar equipment. The CCFU is a very specialized system that has stringent qualification requirements that apply to manufacturing the NASA Standard Initiator (NSI). NSIs are government furnished pyrotechnics and are built as class I critical flight hardware. The CCFU provides the unique constant current conditions to fire the NSI. Currently, there are no firing units commercially available with the precision, accuracy or features that is required of the CCFU. Over the years, pyrotechnics team has purchased off-the-shelf units and tested their ability to meet our requirements. While the hardware met the gross requirements, those requiring precise current pulse could not meet the requirement for the flightworthy NSIs.

Pyrotechnic manufacturers of initiators have continuously inquired about alternatives to the CCFU but to date, there are no comparable firing systems.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above).

The synopsis was posted to beta.sam.gov on May 23, 2022 and concluded on May 31, 2022.

No potential sources have expressed an interest in this acquisition.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 primary motivation for the new firing units is to replace the current firing units from the 1980s. NASA only has a few remaining firing units to provide to NSI manufacturers and users and replacement parts are difficult to find. NASA directives and policies have mandated and encouraged the replacement and disposition of all outdated and obsolete software and systems, necessitating the procurement of new firing units. A follow-on procurement is not expected as NASA plans to maintain the CCFUs going forward.

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.