APH MIO Rev 40 JEFO REDACTED.pdf

Rev.: 2/2021

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Johnson Space Center

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

Description of the action being approved:

This justification documents the basis for issuing a modification to an order under the Research, Engineering, Mission Integration Services (REMIS) Contract (80JSC017D0014) Animal Plant Habitat (APH) Task Order (TO) (80JSC018D0115) using an exception to the Fair Opportunity process.

Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs:

This action is a Cost-Plus Fixed-Fee TO for the APH which provides a large, enclosed, environmentally controlled chamber designed to support commercial and fundamental plant research, or other bioscience research on board the International Space Station for at least 1-year of continuous operation without maintenance besides consumables. It is configured as a quad-locker payload mounted in a standard Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station Rack. This TO is for APH Mission, Integration and Operations (MI&O). The total estimated price of extending the proposed order is $3,000,000 with the extension of the Period of Performance (POP) to September 5, 2024.

Identification of Exception to Fair Opportunity:

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A), The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(D), It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(E), For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F) In accordance with section 1331 of Public Law 111-240 (15 U.S.C. 644(r)), contracting officers may, at their discretion, set aside orders for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3). When setting aside orders for small business concerns, the specific small business program eligibility requirements identified in part 19 apply.

Supporting Rationale:

The extension of the TO must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

On March 14, 2018, the Government awarded TO 80JSC018F0115 to Techshot per the stated evaluation criteria in the Request for TO Proposal (RFTOP). This RFTOP was conducted using a full and open competition under the Multi-Award Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite- Quantity REMIS Contract.

TechShot is currently under contract to do MI&O for APH through September 30, 2022.

Currently, TechShot is supporting 3 active science missions under this TO which current mission schedules have occurring in FY23 and FY24. Further, the Biological and Physical Sciences Division of the NASA Science Mission has awarded grants for two additional plant habitat experiments to commence in FY22 that also require MI&O support on APH through FY24. Based on the number of science missions in work, coupled with the required mission lead times to execute these missions, recompeting the MI&O support for APH would introduce unnecessary technical, schedule and cost risks to these science requirements successfully being executed. Therefore, pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), it is in the best interest of the Government to award a logical follow-on to the already issued TO under this contract to ensure successful execution of critical science objectives in the most efficient and economical manner.

Determination that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The resulting action to extend the POP on the existing APH MI&O TO will be on a Cost-Plus Fixed-Fee TO. The work ordered under the additional POP will utilize the previously competed rates captured in Techshot’s REMIS Contract. These rates have already been determined to be fair and reasonable.

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the REMIS Contract, the contractor will be required to provide the Government with a proposal containing certified cost and pricing data that will be evaluated and used in negotiation of the price of the new TO. Additionally, the Government has the historical cost data from the APH MI&O work and other comparable work from other REMIS and International Space Station Contracts to use as comparison points. Subject matter experts will be used to evaluate the resources proposed. This information will be used with the certified cost and pricing data to negotiate a fair and reasonable cost for the requirements.

Other Facts:

None.

A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

The need to continue with the current contractor for this activity does not allow actions to be taken to remove or overcome the barriers to competition at this time. This TO will continue to be evaluated and market research will be performed to determine if competition may be held in the future.

Research, Engineering, Mission Integration Services (REMIS) Contract/ Animal Plant Habitat (APH) Task Order

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the requirements and technical data contained herein, and which form a basis for this justification are accurate and complete.

Technical Representative

I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the content herein, it is determined there is substantial evidence to justify this exception to fair opportunity.

Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCE:

Procurement Officer

APPROVAL:

Based on the information provided in this justification, and as the approving official, I have determined that the exception at FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) applies to the order.

Associate Director/Competition Advocate Johnson Space Center