DAISI Bus POA Public FINAL.pdf

Dec. 16, 2021 Heliophysics SMEX Spacecraft Bus

Partnership Opportunity Agreement (POA)

For a

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/ Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Heliophysics Small Explorer (SMEX)

Spacecraft Bus

1.0 INTRODUCTION/SCOPE

This proposal opportunity is in response to a NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) due to be released no earlier than April, 1 2022. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing a mission concept to be proposed for this AO. The partnership opportunity is being issued to select a teaming partner to provide a spacecraft bus.

The proposed mission is currently in pre-Phase A. If the proposal is down-selected, the next step in the proposal process is a mission concept study culminating in a Concept Study Report (CSR), which is the Step 2 proposal, and a Site Visit. The following schedule should be used as a basis for responses to this opportunity:

Notice of Interest (NOI) Due Friday, January 7, 2022 Proposal in Response to POA Friday, January 21, 2022

Bus Partner Selection Wednesday, January 26 2022

AO Release Date No Earlier Than (NET) April 1, 2022 Electronic Proposal Submittal Deadline 90 days after AO release Letters of Commitment Due (with Proposal) 90 days after AO release Step-1 Selections Announced Q1 CY2023 (target) Initiate Phase A Concept Studies Q1 CY2023 (target) Phase A Concept Study Reports Due Q4 CY2023 (target) Down-selection of Investigation for Flight Q2 CY2024 (target) Spacecraft bus start date Vendor specified Spacecraft Delivery for Instrument (I&T) 36 months after down-select (Q2 CY2027) Launch Readiness Date NLT December 2027 (target)

1.1 COST

Total cost and cost fidelity are important issues for the proposal. The cost cap for this AO is expected to be $170M (FY2022), including launch cost. This cost includes the instrument, spacecraft, instrument to spacecraft integration support, environmental testing, launch site operations, and mission and science operations for a nominal 2-year mission, including cost reserves (30%, Phases B

- D). The Phase A mission concept study (Step 2 down-selection) has an estimated total cost cap of

$750K (FY2022) which will be distributed among the partners as defined by project leadership.

There will be no exchange of funds between the teaming partners for the portion of this partnership opportunity dealing with the preparation of the initial submission (Pre-Phase A, Step 1 proposal).

Funding will be available for subsequent phases should the candidate mission concept be competitively selected for those additional phases.

1.2 DESIRED MISSION SERVICES

MSFC is interested in selecting a partner to provide a spacecraft bus and observatory Integration and

Test through launch and mission commissioning. All interested parties are required to respond to this

POA in accordance with Section 5 below.

1.3 PROPOSAL SUPPORT

It is expected that the selected POA respondent will provide support using their own resources to help develop the required SMEX proposal elements in response to the Step 1 Pre-Phase A NASA

SMEX AO in the area of the spacecraft bus, and observatory integration and test, launch support, and commissioning.

If the proposal is down-selected for a Phase A Mission Concept Study, this will consist of a nine-month concept study phase culminating in a Mission Concept Study Report (CSR) (Step 2 proposal) and on-site support of a Site Visit. Partial funding will be provided to the partner for this Phase A mission concept study support, Mission CSR, and Site Visit.

If the mission is selected for implementation (Phases B–F), the partner will be responsible for the design and development of the spacecraft bus and observatory integration, test, launch, and commissioning. The payload will be provided as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE).

Respondents to this POA shall state the timeframe that their services will be available and the extent that the respondent can meet the timeline requirements set forth in the AO.

2.0 MISSION OVERVIEW

The Heliophysics Explorer Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations to advance NASA’s strategic goals in heliophysics, which are to:

• Explore the physical processes at work in the space environment from the sun to Earth and throughout the solar system.

• Advance our understanding of the connections between the sun, Earth, the planetary space environments, and the outer reaches of our solar system.

• Develop the knowledge and capability to detect and predict extreme conditions in space to protect life and society and to safeguard exploration beyond Earth.

More detailed information on the parameters of the potential MSFC mission will be provided to those responding with a Notice of Interest (NOI) to this POA. A Notice of Interest (it is intentionally not called a notice of intent) does not obligate an organization to provide a POA response.

3.0 PRE-SELECTION SUPPORT

3.1 INITIAL PROPOSAL SUPPORT

Statement of Work (SOW): It is expected that the selected respondent will provide support using their own resources to help develop and write the Mission concept proposal in response to the AO in the areas of the spacecraft development and observatory integration and test. This will involve meeting with the relevant scientists and the overall mission engineering team in order to: (1) help define the end-to-end performance requirements, including interfaces to the payloade; (2) define the flight system architecture; (3) identify trade studies; and (4) predict performance and quantify risks.

This will include cost estimation for all mission phases. The period of performance for this interval is expected to last from partner selection until the submission of the Step 1 proposal.

3.2 PHASE A STUDY AND PHASE A PROPOSAL SUPPORT

SOW: If the mission is selected for a Phase A study, the proposal team will receive funds to conduct a Phase A study and submit a detailed CSR to NASA. The selected partner will be allocated a portion of this funding to assist in completing the CSR. The respondent will also be expected to contribute to designing, documenting, and costing the spacecraft for inclusion in the final CSR (as specified in the

AO). The period of performance for the phase A support is listed above.

3.3 POA RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRE-SELECTION SUPPORT

The respondent shall:

1) Demonstrate understanding and flight experience in the design, fabrication, integration and testing of spacecraft and observatory I&T:

• Identify driving mission and system requirements for the spacecraft development and observatory I&T and a response to addressing those requirements,

• Highlight particularly critical or challenging areas for the design of the spacecraft,

• Provide a technical summary/description of the proposed spacecraft bus including relevant heritage,

• Describe what types of capabilities and cost benefits the spacecraft provides for the intended mission.

2) Provide any recommended potential study topics related to the spacecraft.

3) Indicate what level of resources would be allocated to the proposal phase of support.

• Discuss skills that will be provided, ideas on what level of conceptual design and important analysis and trade studies that might be needed.

4) Identify the pertinent missions for which the respondent has provided support for proposal writing in the area of spacecraft design, fabrication, integration, and testing:

• Provide data on scope of the spacecraft design, the role played in the proposal process, the portions of the proposal written or provided assistance in writing, and provide a customer reference Point of Contact (POC).

5) Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate and schedule for the design, fabrication, and testing of the spacecraft; integration of the GFE Payload to the spacecraft; and observatory environmental testing. These ROMs will not be considered binding commitments but will serve as an important consideration during the response evaluation. Justification of the ROM is required; include previous cost and schedule performance with data (estimated cost & schedule vs actual).

4.0 DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT

SOW: At the end of Phase A, another down-select occurs. If the mission is selected for development and launch, the respondent will be responsible for the design, development, and test of the spacecraft, and observatory integration, launch support, and commissioning. The respondent is responsible for identifying the spacecraft requirements and providing all aspects of the spacecraft (either directly, or through purchasing or teaming arrangements). The period of performance for this interval is expected to follow the timeline noted in 1.0; however, the respondent is encouraged to develop a schedule for completing the spacecraft bus that provides the best value to the government.

4.1 POA RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT

The respondent shall:

1) Provide a description of the recommended spacecraft to meet the mission overview described in section 2.0

2) Identify which missions they have successfully supported as spacecraft provider and provide a customer reference POC.

• Provide information on recent similar spacecraft designed and delivered, and how that experience is applicable to the mission. Basic information on scope of work, and how well the fielded spacecraft met the requirements (cost and technical, and how well they met the proposed schedules).

3) Identify available design and modeling capabilities required to support development of the spacecraft.

4) Identify fabrication and testing facilities that will be required to support development and test of the spacecraft.

5.0 POA RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS, FORMAT, AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Potential respondents are asked to contact the MSFC team as soon as possible after release of this document with a Notice Of Interest (intentionally not called notice of intent) and any questions.

This contact does not create an obligation to respond to the POA, but allows the MSFC team to disseminate more details on the parameters of the mission being considered and provide answers to questions from potential partners. All Notice of Interest respondents will receive further details on the missions that will facilitate a focused response. These details will be proprietary and competition sensitive and are not to be shared outside the teams necessary to prepare a full response.

Answers to questions received within the timeframe listed in Section 1.0 will be publicly posted with this announcement, while the source of the questions shall be held confidential. Notices of Interest shall be sent to anthony.r.guillory@nasa.gov and cc: to quincy.a.bean@nasa.gov and alfreda.d.zackery@nasa.gov via email with ‘Notice of Interest’ in the subject line, a simple sentence or two expressing interest, and an email address to which to send further information.

For purposes of this partnership opportunity, the point of contact is: Anthony Guillory

(anthony.r.guillory@nasa.gov 256-961-7441). The backup contact is:Neil Martin

(neil.f.martin@nasa.gov, 301-821-5476).

Responses to the Partnership Opportunity Agreement (POA) shall:

1) Be in a presentation format (viewgraphs: such as Power Point) that shall not exceed 30 pages.

The font size for the text shall be no smaller than 12 point.

2) Address all requirements noted in Sections 2.0 through 5.0 of this document.

3) Shall be delivered No Later Than (NLT) January 121, 2022 to Anthony Guillory at the email address listed above.

mailto:anthony.r.guillory@nasa.gov mailto:quincy.a.bean@nasa.gov mailto:quincy.a.bean@nasa.gov mailto:alfreda.d.zackery@nasa.gov

Responses will be treated as proprietary information and controlled as such by MSFC for the U.S.

Government. Questions regarding this POA will be responded to as soon as possible and no later than

January 21, 2022. Partnership Selection is expected to be made by January 26, 2022.

6.0 EVALUATION FACTORS AND CRITERIA

The evaluation team will use the following factors in selection and award:

1) Technical Approach (30%). Respondents will be evaluated on their ability to meet the technical requirements given in Section 2, 3, and 4. This includes demonstrated understanding of the requirements and proposed approach to meet those requirements.

2) Cost (40%). Respondents will be evaluated on their overall cost and on the reasonableness of cost and schedule estimates.

3) Relevant Experience and Past Performance (30%). Special emphasis will be given to demonstrated experience with similar missions, particularly with regards to instrument accommodations, spacecraft attitude control requirements, and mission communication requirements.

7.0 ACRONYMS

AO Announcement of Opportunity

CSR Concept Study Report

CY Calendar Year

GFE Government Furnished Equipment

FY Fiscal Year

I & T Integration & Test

MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

NET No Earlier Than

NLT No Later Than

NOI Notice of Intent (Proposal) or

Notice of Interest (POA)

PDF Portable Document Format

PEA Program Element Appendix

SMEX Small Explorer