Industry Day Questions_Set 2.pdf

NBL Operations Contract II (NOC II)

Industry Day Questions and Answers – Set 2

March 29-31, 2023

The questions in this document are reproduced as they were asked during Industry Day One on One sessions or included as submitted electronically.

# Question Answer

113. In the case that a commercial provider contracted for NBL use, would a 2nd shift be considered if demand required it?

The Government would need to be convinced that the particular activities requiring additional support aligned sufficiently with the Government’s interests to add resources (above and beyond any existing excess capacity).

It is currently the position of the Government that pressurized suited testing will need to be coordinated directly with the Government, not via a commercial External Customer agreement via the NOC II Contract.

114. Are you currently single side ops? Would you consider going back to dual side ops?

See question 113.

115. Will NASA consider using a commercially provided self-contained

PLSS?

NASA is currently pursuing the development of a Self Contained Portable Life Support System (SCPLSS) and thus realizes the potential value. Any implementation of an SCPLSS would be realized via normal procurement processes.

116. Is Randy McDaniel engaged in this?

Randall McDaniel is the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for the NOC contract.

117. What is the one system that is the biggest headache?

Different systems have different challenges. The biggest challenges have been items that are unique to the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and maintaining oxygen cleaned systems, as well as maintenance of complex audio/video systems.

118. Does the program manager need to have NBL experience?

No – but it is expected that NBL experience will be incorporated within the Program Management Office. Specific criteria will be released in the draft RFP.

119. Is it NASA policy that all security clearances be held at the prime level?

The security clearance must be held by the company responsible for those sections of the Statement of Work which require it. The prime is ultimately responsible for ensuring that those doing the work which require clearances have them.

Further details will be provided in the draft RFP.

120. When it comes to the extra work that comes with the contract such as the build out for north

This specific project is being managed and contracted by the External Customer planning to use the space. The work will happen under the oversight (ensuring the work does not disrupt or cause negative impacts to the facility) of both the NOC/NOC high bay west wall buildout? Who will be responsible for completing that contract? Will those be offered to the prime?

II contractor and Center Operations Directorate, but the building work is not the responsibility of the NOC prime contractor.

In general, any work driven by External Customers is situational in how it is awarded and managed.

121. Will NASA allow second tier subcontracts to allow for innovation projects? How can we speed up the process to assist the mission in innovation?

In some situations, yes. At a minimum, this would need to be coordinated in advance with NASA through the Indefinite- Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) process or Specialized Engineering, Aeronautics, and Manufacturing (SEAM) contract. All Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) procurement regulations and requirements would need to be followed. The potential benefits to technical performance/speed of utilizing these mechanisms must be balanced against the time and overhead of an additional contractual mechanism.

122. Would NASA be willing to go outside of the NOC contract for innovation projects?

Depending on the situation, yes. The NBL has used 3rd party support on projects previously.

123. External customers’ work? Can you talk more about the status and what it looks like going forward?

Hedging bets against any potential future changes in availability of excess NBL capability?

As indicated in the Industry Day slides, the NBL is currently highly utilized with little excess capacity. The Government anticipates this may remain the case for much or all of the NOC II contract but expects the NOC II contractor to be able to recruit external customers to utilize excess capacity as needed or if additional excess capacity becomes available in the future.

124. Is there a threshold that would trip the SSA from here to HQ?

Per NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1801.603-1 the threshold is > $500M for the Source Selection Authority to be at Headquarters.

125. How much of LMF mockups work is sustainment of existing

vs. making new equipment?

Mockup work is not specifically tracked by sustaining vs. new work. However, there is significant new and upgrade mockup work ongoing including an upgrade to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) mockup for International Space Station (ISS), the NASA Orion Multi-Axis Demonstrator (NOMAD)trainer for Orion, and various mockups in support of Lunar surface operations training.

126. Is it fair to say that many mockups are old and in sustainment?

It is true that many mockups for ISS are in a sustaining phase.

However, there are new mockups in construction to support

ISS (e.g., AMS) and new mockups to support Artemis Campaign Programs.

127. What is the avenue to NASA if a prime isn't treating a sub fairly?

The Ombudsman (NFS 1852.215-84) clause in contracts indicates the avenue for any concerns from Offerors, potential Offerors, and Contractors during both the pre-award and post-award phases of a given acquisition. This is clause I.13 in the existing NOC contract and the government anticipates including a similar clause in NOC II. The first avenue is via contacting the Contracting Officer. If the Contracting Officer is unable to make a resolution, the installation’s ombudsman may be contacted. Contact information may be found at:

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement- Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf.

128. Is the VPP certification for JSC or the contractor?

Both Johnson Space Center (JSC) and individual contractor companies are eligible to pursue Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) certification.

The VPP STAR status for JSC is based on civil service employees.

129. What are the recordable incident rates by year for the current contract?

OSHA recordable incident rates were:

2017: 0 2018: 2 2019: 1 2020: 5 2021: 0 2022: 0

130. Who is the current incumbent, please explain?

Raytheon Intelligence & Space is the current contractor. Please refer to this publicly available website https://gov2x.com/about-us/#history for more information.

131. Who is actually the current vendor, because it is not Raytheon at this point?

See question 130.

132. Is the current contractor Raytheon, Vertex, or V2X?

See question 130.

133. Is the procurement strategy being approved at JSC or HQ?

This is source selection sensitive information that is not able to be disclosed at this time.

134. What is the rationale behind the 2-year base period?

The 2-year option limitation is in accordance with NFS 1837.106-70, which states the base period of performance, and any options shall "not extend beyond the period of availability of funds.” The funds available for NOC II are 2-year funds.

135. How and when does a potential proposer

The Government will accept proprietary information from interested parties submitted to the Contracting Officer (CO).

communicate proprietary information to NASA?

However, the submission of such information does not obligate the Government to provide a response related to the submission. Any proprietary or confidential information contained within a document submitted to the Government must be clearly marked on each page where such information is displayed. Failure to properly mark this information may result in unauthorized disclosure and is the sole responsibility of the potential proposer. Information related to the proposal submission will be provided in the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Prior to the release of the limited communications notice, all offerors may communicate with the CO, Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) Business Office or the JSC Procurement Office.

136. You have awarded all of your options for this current contract, correct?

Yes, all options have been awarded at this time.

137. What are the rules of engagement between now and the release of the RFP?

Per Industry Day Chart 17 “Prospective offerors are reminded not to contact incumbent personnel (either directly or through electronic means) during duty hours or at their place of employment, as such contacts are disruptive to the performance of the current contract”.

Prior to the release of the limited communications notice all offerors may communicate with the CO, FOD Business Office or the JSC Procurement Office. The release of the limited communications notice will occur prior to the release of the final RFP.

138. Past performance – when will that need to be submitted?

Per the Industry Day charts, the Government is contemplating having past performance information submitted 30 days after release of the RFP or sooner. However, official instructions will be provided in the final RFP.

139. Will the prime contractors fee flow down to the subcontractors? Will that be dictated by the government?

The Government will not dictate the flow down of prime contractor fee to subcontractors. These are business decisions made by offerors and their proposed subcontractors.

140. NOC contractor small business goals? Are they being met or are they light in any particular area?

The Government cannot comment about current contractor performance.

141. The size standard is 1000 employees how does that fit in with small business set aside/goals.

The size standard is determined by the NAICS code selected for the requirement. The size standard is not determined in relation to the small business set aside/goals (if any).

142. Would you be open to us sending you a white paper on recommendations on managing sect. L & M?

Yes, Industry may provide the Government with any information that may inform the acquisition strategy until the release of the limited communication notice. However, the submission of such information does not obligate the Government to provide a response related to the submission nor does it obligate the government to adopt any of the ideas suggested into the acquisition strategy that is ultimately used for this procurement.

143. Is there the opportunity to have more engagements (another time, a 2nd tour)?

As indicated on Industry Day charts, the Government does not currently plan to hold additional site visits or one on ones.

However, Industry may provide the Government with any additional questions until the release of the limited communication notice by submitting them to the CO. Note that any questions will be officially answered and posted for all interested parties.

144. Are you considering using augmented or virtual reality in the pool? Is anyone doing any work in the new suits?

Currently, there is not an active effort to include Augmented Reality (AR) into the suits being used in the NBL. However, AR is being developed for in-suit use for future missions. Joint Augmented Reality Visual Informatics System (JARVIS) and various Informatics efforts are maturing AR knowledge and systems at present. See https://www.ices.space/ for additional information.

145. Brownout vs. blackout estimate based on schedule?

Prior to the release of the limited communications notice all offerors may communicate with the CO, FOD Business Office or the JSC Procurement Office. The release of the limited communications notice will occur prior to the release of the final RFP. Once the limited communication notice is issued all communications will occur only through the CO (Reference Milestone Schedule).

146. Any input outside of this meeting, can it be marked confidential?

The Government will accept confidential information from interested parties submitted to the CO. However, the submission of such information does not obligate the Government to provide a response related to the submission.

Any proprietary or confidential information contained within a document must be clearly marked on each page where such information is displayed. Failure to properly mark this information may result in unauthorized disclosure and is the sole responsibility of the contractor. Please note that any questions submitted will be answered and publicly posted for all interested parties to see.

147. Can you please provide a floor schematic of the LMF and lay down facility?

The released Industry Day charts include a schematic of the Logistics and Mockup Facility (LMF). The Government is working to release a schematic and photo(s) of the lay down yard area, which will be added to the Technical Library.

148. How much unplanned downtime do NBL systems incur?

The majority of NBL systems have redundancy, making unplanned downtime for NBL Systems very rare.

Although infrequently down, the SSRMS is the system with the most unplanned downtime, since other systems have redundancy, but the SSRMS does not - it’s all single string.

We do planned maintenance in maintenance periods or in association with a maintenance project.

149. Which NBL systems incurs the most unplanned downtime?

See question 148.

150. What kind of safety mishaps have occurred most commonly during

NOC I?

The most common mishaps are slips, trips, and falls as well as scrapes and cuts requiring basic first aid.

151. Will any Security Clearance be required for NOC II?

The Government does not yet have an approved Procurement Strategy for this acquisition; however, it currently anticipates requiring a Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance at the time of proposal.