PrePreproposal Conference QA.pdf

Pre-Preproposal Conference Q&A

Question # Question Answer 1 In the slide referencing reimbursable costs, there was a line about material costs for supporting the lab. Does that apply to the material cost of establishing a support/ operations lab? Such as Costs to facilitate setting up equipment or computers (wiring, IT services), shipping costs for transporting equipment from Ames, other unanticipated logistical costs for establishing the technical labs to support this program.

NASA is willing to engage in discussions with participants about any type of reimbursable arrangements for support of the Astrobee activities as described in the AFP. Participants interested in more information about the Ames Research Center (ARC) lab facilities and pricing for use of these facilities or to transition these facilities elsewhere may contact Matthew Holtrust, NASA ARC Agreements Manager, at matthew.j.holtrust@nasa.gov

2 Can you describe the expected quantity and cost of software agreements needed to be made through reimbursable costs to maintain current ASTROBEE capabilities?

As it relates to software needed to support the operations and sustaining engineering of the Astrobee capability on a reimbursable basis, there are 5 types of software to maintain Astrobee, which have current recurring licensing costs of approximately $25k per year.

3 What can be anticipated regarding ownership of the Astrobee units post-retirement of the ISS? The solicitation states that NASA retains ownership of the units during the course of the SAA, but doesn't expand on what will happen to them afterwards. Are there (or will there be) avenues for the awarded management company to take ownership and utilize the units post-SAA?

NASA will retain ownership through the end of life of ISS. The Other Transactions Authority under which we conduct Space Act Agreements does not provide NASA authority to transfer government property to partners.

Disposition of the Astrobee units after ISS end of life will be handled in accordance with GSA property disposition regulations.

4 Is NASA interested in groups with strong, partial capabilities, and if so, will NASA do any facilitation of teaming post proposal submission?

NASA will not be facilitating any teaming arrangements.

5 Are there any current relationships with STEM communities (universities, etc.) that NASA sees value in continuing under the SAA?

NASA sees value in all of its STEM partnerships and is not in a position to endorse one relationship over another. NASA has provided a listing of previous Astrobee Technology Demonstrations and STEM Outreach on p.3 of the Executive Summary released as an attachment to the AFP for information only. The Government encourages participants to engage with new community partners to maximize utilization of the Astrobee capability.

6 To jump off from this question, does NASA value keeping the facilities at Ames?

Whether a participant proposes to use the available facilities at Ames Research Center (ARC) or not will not be a discriminator in selection.

7 Will keeping the Ames facility operational be a requirement?

No, it is not a requirement to keep the ARC facilities supporting the Astrobee capability operational. However, if a participant isn’t planning to use the ARC facilities on a reimbursable basis, it should demonstrate in its proposal how it will perform payload and end to end testing activities that otherwise occur in the ARC facilities without using ARC.

Never submitted [a proposal] to NASA, thus uncertain if there is a portal or just e-mail?

Per the Announcement for Partnership Proposals (AFPP) “3.1.3 The participant shall submit its proposal via NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Electronic submissions shall not contain hidden formulas or tables, be locked, be password protected, or contain links to data not included in the electronic copy. All electronic submissions should be searchable and should not contain scanned documents, except those documents that must be provided in their native format (e.g., signature pages). The participant shall ensure documents are free from viruses and malware, as documents determined by NASA to contain a virus, or malware will not be opened or evaluated.

3.1.4 Prior to the submission of proposal files, participants interested in submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation should notify Ashley Chaves of their intent to submit a proposal at least 48 hours prior to the intended submission date, at the following email address jscastrobee@mail.nasa.gov. Participants, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s App Box, are encouraged to coordinate the submission of a test file with the Agreements Officer several days in advance of the date and time specified for proposal submission in order to allow time to work through any submission issues.

3.1.5 The participant shall submit all proposal files

to:

https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/2ad20f65b2834450b 8c111e7929a35cf The Participant shall follow instructions regarding proposal submission found at EFSS-Box-Offeror-Proposal-Submission- Instructions.pdf.”

https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/2ad20f65b2834450b8c111e7929a35cf https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/2ad20f65b2834450b8c111e7929a35cf https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/other/EFSS-Box-Offeror-Proposal-Submission-Instructions.pdf https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/other/EFSS-Box-Offeror-Proposal-Submission-Instructions.pdf