NASA FFRDC Sources Sought.pdf

Market Research NASA Follow-on Federally Funded Research and Development Center at

Jet Propulsion Laboratory Sources Sought Notice No. 80NM0025SS001

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO PROPOSALS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED

IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.

This notice is issued by the NASA/NOJMO to solicit responses from interested parties. This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition.

INTRODUCTION

The NASA Office of JPL Management and Oversight (NOJMO) is hereby requesting information from potential sources to operate and manage NASA's Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the purpose of effectively meeting special research and development needs. FFRDCs are operated, managed, and/or administered by either a university or consortium of universities, other not-for-profit or nonprofit organization, or an industrial firm, as an autonomous organization or as an identifiable separate operating unit of a parent organization. FFRDCs enable agencies to use private sector resources to accomplish tasks that are integral to the mission and operation of the sponsoring agency.

JPL is a government-owned facility that spans 167 acres, located in Pasadena, California. The site consists of 139 buildings, encompassing approximately 6,783,000 square feet of office space and 906,000 square feet of non-office space. These facilities are integral to advancing NASA’s science and exploration objectives, enabling the development and execution of complex space missions, and providing oversight of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) space communication operations and system modernization. The incumbent university contract operator of the FFRDC is the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), by its separate operating unit, also known as “Caltech/JPL”.

The purpose of the NASA FFRDC is to provide specialized independent and objective programmatic and institutional support to NASA, in accordance with FAR 35.017.

1. The programmatic element encompasses carrying out the specific objectives identified in the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Science Plan (see website:

https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/).

2. The institutional element includes the capacity to provide the following support services:

protective services, fire department, facility operations and management, technology transfer, information technology, construction and construction management, logistics management, safety and mission assurance (SMA) and health, and other support services.

A broad range of systems engineering expertise, scientific analysis, deep-space telemetry data acquisition capability, and program/project management capabilities are required for successfully executing and implementing space projects and missions. The technical support for both the https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/ programmatic and institutional element requires professional staff capabilities that range from spaceflight project engineering and management to facilities and infrastructure maintenance and operations management.

Some Operations and Maintenance support staff positions require security clearances; these may rise to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalize Information (TS/SCI) level. The facility clearance is at the Top-Secret level.

The primary responsibility of the Contractor is to support NASA in carrying out its mission. In doing so, the Contractor shall, in conjunction with the on-site NOJMO and the appropriate NASA sponsors, develop task plans to undertake science, research and technology, as well as end-to-end mission development and operation, for advanced concepts that offer breakthroughs in science and exploration for NASA and the Nation. Such concepts may involve capabilities that are beyond the current state of the art in space missions, which NASA cannot accomplish as effectively through in-house or Contractor resources, and thus NASA’s FFRDC offers new opportunities to advance NASA’s science and exploration goals well beyond existing programs.

All work performed under this contract shall align with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory roles and responsibilities delineated in NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 1000.3, The NASA Organization.

https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PD_1000_003F_&page_name=mai n

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this requirement is 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences and the small business size standard is 1,300 employees.

DESCRIPTION

This sources sought notice seeks responses from qualified and interested potential sources that can demonstrate the experience and capability to manage limited to highly complex or first-in-kind deep space and Earth orbiting exploration and science missions and instruments, including mission concept development, design, project management, systems engineering, and mission operations, particularly for those missions requiring: deep space communication and navigation;

integration of radioisotope power systems; entry, descent, and landing on planetary surfaces;

mobility on planetary surfaces; survival in extreme environments; and/or advanced Earth, Planetary and/or Astrophysical remote sensing, as well as space research and technology development.

Potential sources will be required to enable scientific exploration by developing and maintaining the technical skills and infrastructure necessary to carry out projects in Earth orbit or deep space, and involves spacecrafts sent as orbiters to the Moon or other planetary bodies, robotic landers, rovers, and scientific observatories on permanent space trajectories or on sample return missions.

Although instrument observations from and in space will be the primary tools for such https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PD_1000_003F_&page_name=main https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PD_1000_003F_&page_name=main explorations, investigations, science programs, ground-based research, and laboratory experiments shall also be required for successful mission development and execution. A broad range of hardware and software engineering, scientific analysis, deep-space telemetry data acquisition capability, and management effort are also implicit in space mission assignments.

This support includes project tasks involving:

1. Autonomous deep-space and earth-orbiting spacecraft or major subsystems

2. Experiments, instruments, or other devices which may be carried as payload on spacecrafts and aircrafts in missions managed by others

3. Ground based systems

4. Advanced technology research and development that enable and enhance new space missions, shorten the mission development cycle, and speed the use of observation, model, and research results in the planning of future and the operation of current missions and systems

5. NASA-sponsored research and analysis programs that carry out a program of competed and peer-reviewed basic and applied research and technology development in space and Earth sciences

NASA is seeking information from potential sources: Capability statements may address one or more specific focus elements. Respondents are encouraged to tailor their submissions to areas where they have demonstrated expertise and proven capacity, rather than addressing all elements broadly, unless the organization can clearly substantiate its qualifications across the entire scope.

Please clearly indicate which section(s) your organization supports and provide separate responses for each, as applicable. This information will help inform future acquisition strategies, including decisions on how the work may be grouped or segmented.; such as deep space communications, planetary entry and mobility, advanced remote sensing, or institutional operations and maintenance. This approach supports teaming opportunities and maximizes participation across the institutional management and space science and technology industries.

If, after reviewing this sources sought notice, you desire to participate in the market research, you should provide documentation that supports your company’s (or institution’s) capability in meeting the requirement by providing the following requested information:

REQUESTED INFORMATION:

Part I. Business Information

Provide the following business information for your company/institution and for any consortium, teaming or joint venture partners:

1. Company/institution legal business name and physical address.

2. Company/institution submitting capabilities as: single source; teaming arrangement (prime/sub); and seeking to support only the programmatic element, only the institutional element, or both.

3. Company/institution points of contact including name, phone numbers, and email addresses.

4. Size of business pursuant to NAICS Code: 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences.

5. System for Award Management (SAM) Registration (Yes / No). Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and applicable Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code.

Part II. Experience and Capability:

A. Programmatic Element:

Potential sources shall submit a capability statement demonstrating their experience and capabilities in developing project plans and/or program plans for mission concept development, mission formulation, implementation, and operations of space missions with complex and risky requirements to include, but not limited to:

1. Planetary missions, particularly those requiring complex deep space navigation;

integration of radioisotope power systems; entry, descent and landing on planetary surfaces; mobility on planetary surfaces; and/or survival in extreme environments.

2. Astrophysics and heliophysics missions, particularly those requiring high contrast imaging of exoplanets, cryogenic systems including telescopes and instruments, large deployable structures, and large format detectors.

3. Earth science missions, particularly those requiring: radars such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and for remote sensing of clouds, precipitation, and soil moisture, and swath radar altimeters; highly sensitive spectrometers, and multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing technologies; passive microwave and sub millimeter limb sounding remote sensors and radiometers; large deployable full and sparse aperture microwave antennae; microwave and laser instruments for gravity field measurements;

laser communications for high data rates; Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies for Earth system studies; and microwave scatterometers.

4. Application of their expertise to conduct advanced planetary exploration, astrophysics, heliophysics, and Earth science mission concept and design studies that can be used as the basis of future missions’ development.

5. Supply a broad base of scientific and technical capabilities integral to mission and operations; and maintain professional staff capabilities at the highest level in order to derive as much technological and scientific knowledge as possible from the actual performance of research and development work.

6. Provide aeronautics instruments and operations support of airborne science campaigns using NASA’s fleet of science aircraft.

7. Performing tasks that support 1) sponsored Research and Analysis (R&A) programs that carry out competed and peer-reviewed research, encompassing basic and applied research and technology development in space and Earth sciences; 2) the development of enabling technologies and tasks that support the NASA Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program.

8. Potential sources may perform these tasks in both principal and supporting roles to enable effective project implementation and to further technological capabilities for future NASA requirements.

As part of the activities listed above, potential sources shall demonstrate experience and capabilities in mission analysis and requirements development, system engineering, technology development, and system development, integration, test and evaluation, and mission operations in a manner that minimizes overall mission risk and maximize the probability of meeting all mission requirements and success criteria.

1. Potential sources shall demonstrate experience and capabilities in space communications and navigation, program and strategic planning to include oversight of the physical, personnel, operations, communications, information, and information technology security functions at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) at Goldstone, California.

2. Management of NASA’s Deep Space Network, including Deep Space Communications Complexes at Goldstone, California; Canberra, Australia; and Madrid, Spain. The Contractor shall support missions throughout the lifecycle to plan, implement and deliver reliable communication and navigation services required to meet established Agency mission objectives, including network integration objectives.

B. Institutional Element:

The property, which the government will provide for the Contractor’s use in the performance of the Contract work, includes the land, buildings and improvements located at the JPL, the government-owned facilities at GDSCC, and the Table Mountain facility in Big Pine, CA.

Potential sources shall state if they have the capability to perform institutional services as the prime, or through use of subcontractor support. If the potential source has the capability to perform at the prime contract level, they shall submit a capability statement demonstrating their experience and capabilities in performing institutional services to include:

1. Protective Services: The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, material, supervision, and other items necessary to perform comprehensive protective services. Provide Integrated Safeguards and Security to protect the FFRDC assets, personnel, property, and information, to sustain the science mission in a manner commensurate with risks.

2. Fire Department: Provide essential fire protection services to the facility and surrounding areas. With a focus on safety and emergency response, the department plays a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of employees and visitors.

3. Facility Operations, Master Planning, and Management: Provide facility operations, maintenance, repair, janitorial services, grounds-keeping services, facilities planning, and other directly related miscellaneous services for all infrastructure/facilities (buildings, utilities, structures, and related systems) and assets (equipment and utility infrastructure).

4. Technology Transfer: Ensures that innovations developed by the FFRDC for exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing the benefit to the Nation.

5. Information Technology: Provide management and oversight for the FFRDC information technology materials and assets to meet NASA scientific and space exploration mission requirements. Core Information Technology consists of, but not limited to, 1) Mission Requirements and Integration with NASA; 2) Data Protection; 3) Mission Applications and Integration with NASA; 4) Network Services; 5) Equipment.

6. Construction and Construction Management: Provide management of all facility projects funded from NASA appropriations, inclusive of projects involving funds for which NASA will be reimbursed by other federal agencies. Management of facility projects includes implementation of Construction of Facilities (CoF) Minor Facility, Minor Revitalization and Construction (MRC), and Environmental Compliance and Restoration (ECR) projects.

7. Logistics Management: Provide management and oversight for the FFRDC logistics materials & assets to meet NASA scientific, aeronautics, and space exploration mission requirements. Core Logistics Management consists of 1) Supply and Materials Management; 2) Equipment Management; 3) Property Disposal; 4) Transportation Management (including shipping and fleet management); 5) Mail Management.

8. SMA and Health: Provide for the protection of the public, workforce, high-value equipment and property, and the environment from potential harm resulting from NASA activities and operations. In addition to the performance of work at the FFRDC, the contractor is responsible for the safety and mission assurance of the FFRDC activities and operations and for compliance with NASA policies, and applicable federal, state, and local safety and health requirements, regulations, and standards.

We are seeking information from potential sources to assess the available options to meet the programmatic and institutional requirements. Potential sources should complete the table below to indicate if they can perform these requirements as: a single source, teaming arrangement (prime/sub), or seeking to support either programmatic or institutional services. Responses will assist in determining the appropriate acquisition strategy, including potential for small business participation.

Area Work Element Capability

(YES/NO)

Single Source

(X)

Prime/Sub Relationship

(X)

Business Relationships /Comments

Programmatic Planetary Missions Programmatic Astrophysics and

Heliophysics Missions

Programmatic Earth Science Missions

Programmatic Concept and Design Studies

Programmatic Mission and Operations

Programmatic Sponsored Research and Analysis Program Support

Institutional Protective Services Institutional Fire Department Institutional Facility Operations and Management

Institutional Information Technology

Institutional Construction and Construction Management

Institutional Logistics Management Institutional SMA and Health

Part III. Ability to establish subcontracting goals:

The Government is encouraging small business subcontracting for the potential FFRDC requirement per FAR Clause 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Jan 2025)- Alternate II (Nov 2016). The following table serves as a guide for potential sub-contracting goals, and the Government requests Industry feedback/recommendations as to appropriate goal percentages for each category.

Small Business Subcontracting Category Contractor Recommended

Small Businesses (SB) Concerns Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns

Historical Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Concerns Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Concerns Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Concerns

Potential sources shall discuss the rationale for all contractor recommended goals, even if the recommendation is 0%. For example, the amount of work being retained in-house for performance is an appropriate consideration. In addition, describe the type of effort and work to be subcontracted to meet the recommended goal for each category.

Note: The small business subcontracting plan requirement is only applicable to potential sources who are designated a large business under NAICS Code 541715. The small business size standard for this NAICS Code is 1,300 employees.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF CAPABILITY STATEMENT

1. Potential sources shall submit their capability statement via NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Electronic submissions shall not contain hidden formulas, 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). Potential sources 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.

2. At least 48 hours prior to the submission of the capability statement file, potential sources interested in submitting their capabilities in response to this sources sought notice should notify Rosalía Toberman, Contracting Officer, of their intent to submit their capabilities, at the following email address: rosalia.toberman@nasa.gov. The contractor shall courtesy copy

(cc) Sherry Choo, Contract Specialist, at sherry.s.choo@nasa.gov on this communication.

Please reference No. 80NM0025SS001 in any response. Potential offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted documents utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to coordinate the submission of a test file with Sherry Choo, Contract Specialist, at sherry.s.choo@nasa.gov several days in advance of the due date specified for capability statement submission to allow time to work through any submission issues.

3. Potential sources shall submit all capability statement files to:

https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/4b5e516a095f4e2d9c290e369e9b0d2c

Potential sources shall follow instructions regarding capability statement submission found at:

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/other/EFSS-Box-Offeror-Proposal-Submission- Instructions.pdf

4. Potential sources are encouraged to include the capability statement file within a single .zip file. The electronic filename shall be limited to letters, numbers, dashes, and single spaces, except for the period that is required before the file extension (e.g., .zip, .pdf), in order to successfully upload and download files from the EFSS Box system. Potential sources shall not use special characters “/” or “\” in file names. The file cannot exceed 150GB. The submitted file shall not include password protection. Unless specifically authorized by this sources sought notice, alternate capability submissions shall not be submitted.

5. Immediately after the capability statement file has been uploaded, potential sources shall notify Rosalía Toberman, Contracting Officer, at the following email address:

rosalia.toberman@nasa.gov with the filename that was submitted via EFSS Box. Potential sources shall courtesy copy (cc) Sherry Choo, Contract Specialist, at sherry.s.choo@nasa.gov with the EFSS Box system (e.g., login, file transfer).

6. Potential sources are responsible for ensuring their capability statement reaches the

Government office by the date and time specified in this sources sought notice. The Government is not responsible for any failure attributable to the transmission or receipt of documents submitted using electronic means. Please note that uploading the document via EFSS Box and the transmission of the files from the potential source to the Government may not be instantaneous. To ensure timely delivery, potential sources are encouraged to submit their capabilities at least 24 hours prior to the due date specified in this sources sought notice. The electronic submission of the capability statement shall contain all information required by this sources sought notice to be determined responsive. Please reference No.

80NM025SS002 in any response. Potential sources shall be aware that NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents to facilitate teaming arrangements.

INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT DAY

NASA will be hosting an Industry Engagement Day. This event is intended to inform potential sources about the Government’s FFRDC requirements and to promote an exchange of information between industry and the Government.

Attendance is limited to no more than four (4) representatives per potential source to include any teaming arrangements. Please ensure all representatives register by the RSVP deadline.

https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/4b5e516a095f4e2d9c290e369e9b0d2c 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

Date: July 29, 2025 Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM EDT Location: NASA Headquarters, 300 E St SW, Washington, DC 20546 - James Webb Auditorium RSVP Deadline: July 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM EDT

Registration Link: NOJMO FFRDC Industry Engagement Day

ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS

Following the Industry Engagement event NASA will host one (1) hour in person, one-on-one meetings with a limited group of potential sources between July 29, 2025 – July 31, 2025. These meetings are designed to allow for a more focused exchange of information and to provide an opportunity for potential sources to present additional details about their capabilities, ask specific questions, and provide feedback relevant to the anticipated procurement. Meeting times will be selected/communicated on July 23, 2025. Respondents to this RFI will be notified by email of their selection or non-selection for a briefing time. NASA may elect to host additional interactions with industry partners after the one-on-one private discussions conclude on July 31, 2025. These meetings are not evaluations or part of any proposal review. Information shared by potential sources during these meetings will not be disclosed to other participants.

OTHER

This presolicitation synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. The Government may not respond to questions/concerns submitted. The Government will use the information to finalize the RFP as necessary.

NASA anticipates that the effort under this acquisition will include tasks that could lead to potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI) issues. Potential OCI issues will be addressed if a solicitation is released.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement- Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf

If a solicitation is released, then it and any additional documents will be available on SAM.gov.

It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nojmo-ffrdc-industry-engagement-day-tickets-1374448696049?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf http://www.sam.gov/

All comments or questions shall be submitted electronically via email to Rosalía Toberman, Contracting Officer, at the following email address: rosalia.toberman@nasa.gov and courtesy copy (cc) Sherry Choo, Contract Specialist, at sherry.s.choo@nasa.gov, no later than Friday, July 11, 2025, at 2:00 PM EDT. Please reference No. 80NM0025SS001 in your email.

Interested sources having the required experience and capabilities necessary to meet the requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 30 pages, single spaced, 12-point font with 1-inch margins.

All responses shall be submitted no later than Tuesday, July 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM EDT.

mailto:rosalia.toberman@nasa.gov mailto:sherry.s.choo@nasa.gov