Hypersonics JOFOC.pdf

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) for Hypersonic Technology Development (HTD)

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 full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) LaRC:

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

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 full and open competition to award a cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) sole-source contract to General Electric Aviation (GE Aviation) for both high-temperature ceramic components and turbine-based combined cycle technologies research based on the F-101 engine. Though the ceramic components and cycle technologies research will be acquired from the same source, GE Aviation, they are separate research activities within the NASA Hypersonic Technology Project (HTP). The requiring organization is the NASA LaRC Research Directorate.

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):

NASA Langley has a requirement to develop composite components and engine technologies to support the HTP and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hypersonic vehicles research. This contract will allow NASA Langley and other NASA Centers to obtain unique propulsion and structural/thermal analysis support, design support, and hardware that will be utilized to support the development of aircraft structures, such as control surfaces, leading edges, nose caps, and aeroshells, as well as the development of hypersonic air breathing engine technologies to support hypersonic propulsion. Any engine technology research work supporting other Centers will be limited to those efforts that support the Aether project. It is anticipated there will be a continued need for additional work to support hypersonic research in these key areas with the current customers: DARPA, United States Air Force (USAF), and NASA’s HTP.

NASA Langley also has a requirement to research/analyze the GE F-101 turbofan engine’s suitability for use on the Aether concept vehicle. The NASA-designed Aether conceptual vehicle from the NASA Hypersonic Technology Project is a turbine-based combined cycle

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(TBCC) demonstrator-scale aircraft. The TBCC engine consists of a low speed turbofan system that can operate from take-off to ramjet takeover and a high speed system that accelerates from this point to dual-mode ramjet operation for hypersonic flight. To make the NASA design feasible with existing flight proven technology, the HTP project team utilized the F-101-GE-102 turbofan engine and its affiliated design characteristics as it is solely capable of a speed regime matching the Aether design approach currently being used at

NASA.

The contract will have a five (5) year period of performance and a Not-to-Exceed (NTE) total value of $13M.

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

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source.

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:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) is as described below.

GE possesses proprietary processes that utilize a combination of in-house composite assembly, densification, and machining that allows for the fabrication of aerospace components that are used in high-temperature/pressure environments. GE utilizes two different processes to develop CMC material systems for components: silicon carbide/silicon carbide (SiC/SiC) for turbines/hypersonics and carbon/silicon carbide (C/SiC) for hypersonics/space applications. GE also uses two proprietary processes, melt infiltration (MI) and chemical vapor infiltration (CVI), to create these material systems. The MI process infiltrates liquid silicon into a porous composite structure and converts carbon to silicon carbide (SiC). The resulting SiC/SiC material has demonstrated excellent multiuse capability up to ~ 2500°F. The CVI process uses a vapor to deposit SiC in a porous composite structure.

The resulting C/SiC or SiC/SiC structure has demonstrated limited multiuse capability up to ~ 3000°F. Due to the high temperatures experienced during hypersonic flight, these types of CMCs with their very high temperature capability are well suited to survive hypersonic flight.

Additionally, the GE MI SiC/SiC material is the only lightweight composite material that has the multiuse capability in the hypersonic high temperature environment that can be fabricated at the scale required for the control surface structures (~ 3 ft long) required by NASA. GE has the capability to build sizes NASA requires for control surfaces, nose caps, and fuselage panels (~ 3 ft long) using either MI or CVI processing.

GE has worked on the development of these material systems since the 1990’s and has become the only source within the United States to reliably obtain test and flight articles of the type required by researchers at NASA LaRC. As a result of their research efforts, GE has an extensive database of material properties. The database is important because without it, material properties must be generated prior to the design of the components. Generating material property databases requires millions of dollars and at least 3 to 5 years. GE is the

Page 3 of only source for structures matching the properties contained in the database. GE and NASA will utilize the GE proprietary database to design both SiC/SiC and the C/SiC structures, so NASA LaRC will not need to develop those material databases ahead of time. As a result, it is not feasible for other companies to meet the technical requirements due to the proprietary processes of GE Aviation.

For the engine technology research, the F-101 turbine engine is the only high-Mach (Mach 2+) flight proven turbine engine (with augmentor) that has fan bypass duct ratio of 2.0 required for acceleration of the Aether vehicle up to the ramjet takeover point. The bypass ratio of the F-101 enables most of the air flow to bypass the core when the core is throttled down to avoid exceeding the F-101 compressor and turbine flow temperature limits. As the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the F-101, GE Aviation alone has the intricate knowledge base of the F-101 hardware design, performance capabilities, and thermal limitations for high-Mach flight required for this critical and complex technology research.

GE Aviation also has the propulsion, structural/thermal, and control system analysis capabilities to assess the viability of the F-101 beyond its designed B-1 flight envelope. This unique capability is required to assess the viability and performance of the F-101 within the proposed Aether propulsion system design and flight envelope for acceleration to hypersonic flight.

Additionally, due to ITAR restrictions associated with the Aether effort, the necessary turbofan engine must come from a U.S.-based company. G.E. is the only U.S.-based company that possesses a turbofan engine (F-101) that meets the Government’s specific high-Mach and fan bypass duct ration requirements.

In summary, GE Aviation possesses unique capabilities in the manufacturing of CMC via both the MI and CVI processes, and has a turbine engine that is uniquely suited for the NASA HTP propulsion requirements for the Aether project. GE’s CMC manufacturing processes and engine technologies are key to our development of technologies to further enable hypersonic vehicles.

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 (beta.sam.gov) will be published in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting will inform potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to GE Aviation.

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. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable using both cost/price realism and a detailed cost and price analysis

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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:

NASA Langley has been a leader in the effort to apply carbon/carbon (C/C) and ceramic matrix composites (CMC) to hypersonic vehicles for decades. Langley engineers are well versed in the composite industry as they have attended numerous conferences and conducted business development activities that are directly and highly relevant to this effort.

Extensive market research was completed in January in the areas of CMCs by technical representative from LaRC, and no other sources for the required CMC and engine research requirements were identified. Specifically, NASA LaRC engineers have also attended conferences, trade shows, and reviewed product literature online continuously over the years.

A review of CMC manufacturer’s websites and trade show literature revealed the following:

• One company is a manufacturer of boron fibers and prepreg, boron nanopowder, and carbon fiber monofilament. However, the company has no further capabilities for fabrication of densified fiber layups, and only focuses on fiber.

• Another company has core competencies in the synthesis of silicon-based pre-ceramic polymers and silane compounds used for CVD precursors. The company stated that their materials were used in high-temperature heat exchangers, but the company did not themselves fabricate the heat exchanger.

• A manufacturer of C/SiC and SiC/SiC composite components utilized 2D and 3D weave architectures for both flat panels and medium size components, but not via the MI process. Typical components included non-tipped nose cones. The company cannot fabricate the required size structures via the CVI and MI processes, and does not possess the required material property database.

• Another company’s activities were solely in providing matrix materials for CMC and PMC fabrication, TPS coatings, and high-temperature adhesives. No full CMC production was done in-house, as they are a supplier for others.

• Another company reviewed had capabilities limited to weaving architecture preforms for uni-directional, 2D, and 3D weaves. 3D weave preforms can be fabricated into near net shapes. The company is exploring polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing in the future, but currently is not able to meet our requirements.

• A company has experience in developing carbon-carbon components in both the 2D and 3D design space. The company manufactures composite materials, as well as large complex aerostructures for both military and commercial aircraft. However, the company does not have experience in MI SiC/SiC fabrication which is needed for this effort.

Also, efforts under a NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract to develop a similar CVI process have not produced a usable test specimen and the contract has been closed for several years. The company tried unsuccessfully to fabricate small coupons that had good material strength. In addition, our Fabrication Division is intimately familiar with the pre-preg industry based on knowledge and use of the on-site ISAAC instrument and its capability. The in-house ISAAC instrument is not capable of producing the MI and CVI processes as described above and are not aware of other sources for our effort.

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As stated above, the F-101 turbine engine is unique in that for a high-Mach turbofan (with an augmentor), it has a relatively large fan bypass duct ratio needed for the Aether propulsion system design. Other existing high-Mach turbofan engines (with augmentors) all have relatively low fan bypass duct ratios. Most of these other high-Mach low fan bypass duct ratio turbine engines were designed for fighter aircraft where the fuel efficiency/range benefit of a larger fan bypass duct ratio turbine engine (like the F-101) was not prioritized over maximum thrust and acceleration. The F-101 was designed for the B-1, a supersonic bomber (where range is a priority), and not for a fighter. The B-1 is the only active supersonic bomber in the US and the F-101 is the only turbine engine designed for it. Market research and consultation with NASA’s Glenn Research Center confirmed that there are no other similar high-Mach turbine engines with a relatively large fan bypass duct ratio (and with an augmentor) in the US. GE Aviation is the only OEM for the F-101 and the only vendor that has the capabilities to fully analyze the potential application of the F-101 within the Aether TBCC vehicle design and flight envelope. This assessment of the F-101 unique design/capability has been confirmed by NASA HTP engineers from both NASA Langley and NASA Glenn. While some firms can meet some of NASA LaRC’s requirements, no single firm was identified that could perform all of the requirements.

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

GE has over 30 years of experience fabricating CMC components via the CVI process and has recently opened several manufacturing facilities supporting the MI process. LaRC now requires CMC components manufactured utilizing both the MI and CVI process. Other companies would need to develop and perfect the processes mentioned above to densify utilizing the MI and CVI processes, requiring tens of millions of dollars. For a company that does not currently have this capability, it would significantly increase cost and impact the schedule for the evaluation of aerospace hypersonic components and structures.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

No other known sources have the capability, facilities, and databases to meet the Langley requirements.

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 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.

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HYPERSONIC TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

Technical Representative: I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

David E. Glass Technical Representative

Contracting Officer: I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Lisa M. Harvey Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCE:

Susan E. McClain Procurement Officer

APPROVED:

David F. Young Competition Advocate, LaRC

DAVID GLASS Digitally signed by DAVID GLASS Date: 2020.05 22 15 38:01 -04'00'

LISA HARVEY Digitally signed by LISA HARVEY Date: 2020.05.22 21:01:22 -04'00'

SUSAN MCCLAIN

Digitally signed by SUSAN

MCCLAIN

Date: 2020.06.11 16:37:12 -04'00'

DAVID YOUNG Digitally signed by DAVID YOUNG Date: 2020.06.17 10:08 57 -04'00'