Cal_X-1_RFI-1.pdf

Description

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center

(GSFC) is requesting information on vendor capabilities to provide flight hardware, instrument integration, environmental and functional testing, and mission operations for Cal X-1, a mission to be proposed to the 2022 Astrophysics Pioneer announcement of opportunity (AO).

The Cal X-1 requirements are presented below. Responses shall describe capabilities for available flight hardware and mission support services, with particular attention to navigation.

If any of the requirements cannot be met with the available hardware, please state current capability and if a Non-Recurring Engineering effort (NRE) could be pursued to meet the requirement (and associated cost). The intent of the Cal X-1 team is to narrow down the payload configuration options based on responses to this RFI. Cal X-1 may issue a partnership opportunity document (POD) in the near future. Interested parties with the capabilities necessary to meet the requirements described herein should submit a capability statement indicating the ability to perform some or all aspects of the effort, and a ROM firm fixed price estimate.

1) Science Mission and Concept of Operations

The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is planning for the procurement of two SmallSat busses, integration and test (I&T) services, and mission operations support (MOS) services to perform the Cal X-1 space mission. The objective of the Cal X-1 mission is to utilize an in-orbit

X-ray source to measure the absolute fluxes of several celestial X-ray sources, which could then be used as “standard candles” for in-orbit calibration of current and future X-ray astronomical observatories. For details on Cal X-1 science goals, see [1].

2) Satellites

The Cal X-1 mission consists of two small satellites, one containing a calibrated X-ray source payload (Cal-S) and the other containing an X-ray telescope payload (Cal-T). These satellites operate in the same low-Earth orbit and actively maintain a distance from one another between 1 and 4 km using propulsion and/or differential drag.

The instrument accommodations for the satellites are given in Table 1 (see the attached set of figures). The Cal-S spacecraft (Fig. 1) is notionally a standard 12U CubeSat bus structure containing a 4U payload and a 2U electronics module. The payload consists of two X-ray sources approximately 10cm x 18 cm x 10 cm each and two electronic boxes under 1U each.

Two options for the telescope payload are under investigation, Cal-T1 and Cal-T2 (Figs. 2, 3).

The telescope configuration that results in the lowest mission cost will be selected. Both Cal-

T1 and Cal-T2 options contain a 1U electronics box with a 2 kg mass.

• Cal-T1 includes two fixed cylindrical telescope tubes 18 cm in diameter and 160 cm in length, rigidly mounted to one another. Notionally, the telescope payload would be mounted external to the smallsat bus, with a solar panel and sunshade mounted to the opposite side (Fig. 2). The mass of the telescope assembly is 12 kg, with the center of gravity

65 cm from the telescope aperture.

• Cal-T2 includes a telescope payload with a deployable structure. At launch, the telescope is 20 cm in diameter, 20 cm in height, and 10 kg in mass. Once in orbit, the telescope deploys to 200 cm length with the center of gravity 60 cm from the telescope aperture.

3) Launch and Orbit

The two smallsat spacecraft will be launched as the secondary payload on an AO-provided

Rideshare Payload (RPL) launch service using EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) or

ESPA-Grande adapter on spaceflight launches via NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) or

SMD's rideshare program. It is anticipated that the Cal-T1 spacecraft will be launched in an

ESPA Grande port using an expanded volume (Fig. 4) and the Cal-T2 configuration will result in two 12U cubesats launched from a standard containerized deployer (Fig. 5). The spacecraft will operate in loose formation for one year in low Earth orbit (500-600 km) at an inclination of less than 52 degrees.

4) Concept of Operations

A typical Cal X-1 science orbit has three phases (Fig. 6). During daytime, the spacecraft will align with the sun and charge batteries. During nighttime, Cal-T will alternatively point toward Cal-

S (calibration phase) and a celestial source (science observation phase). During the science observation phase, Cal-S adjusts the distance between the satellites using propulsion and/or differential drag.

5) Navigation and Pointing Accuracy

Cal-T requires ±30 arcsec (3σ) attitude knowledge and ±45 arcsec (3σ) pointing accuracy

(control) during both the calibration and science observation orbital phases. Cal-S requires ±30 arcmin (3σ) attitude knowledge and ±30 arcmin (3σ) accuracy (control).

During the science observation phase, Cal-T maintains a fixed attitude toward a sky target.

During the calibration orbital phase, Cal-T must track Cal-S – a target moving at 4 arcmin/s with respect to the sky. The pointing direction to Cal-S will be continuously calculated by the Cal-T payload computer using data from GPS receivers onboard the two satellites. Each satellite will have two standard GPS antennas on different faces of the craft to ensure that there are enough

GPS satellites commonly viewed by both spacecraft at all orientations. Cal-S will continuously transmit its GPS measurements to Cal-T via a radio link. The calculated pointing position will be provided to the Cal-T ADACS in the form of the instantaneous inertial-frame coordinates for the Cal-S target. The position will be provided as a function of time for a time interval from the present moment to 100s into the future; this 100s-long prediction will be updated every 30s.

The Cal-T ADACS should be able to use this input to precisely follow Cal-S. Cal-T will also transmit pointing data to Cal-S to allow the Cal-S ADACS to point the calibration source toward

Cal-T with the above (lower) accuracy.

6) Communication

Cal-S continuously communicates GPS, science and housekeeping data to Cal-T, and Cal-T continuously communicates pointing data to Cal-S. Cal-T communicates science and housekeeping data to the ground (Fig. 7).

• Inter-spacecraft communication is ~1 kB/s

• Minimum science dataset is ~0.2GB per 36 hours of accumulated observation time.

• The Spacecraft shall decrypt the command link using a NIST FIPS PUB 140-2 certified uplink security system using NIST FIPS PUB 197 Advanced Encryption Standard algorithms that employ 256-bit keys.

7) Mission Lifetime:

The Cal X-1 spacecrafts will nominally support a one-year mission lifetime, including at least 9 months of observations. Cal X-1 is targeted to launch in 2025.

8) Maturity and Reliability:

Cal X-1 will be managed as a research project, not as a space flight project. Thus, the standard

NASA mission classification scheme of classes A-D does not apply. Management requirements for research projects are fully documented in NASA Procedural Requirements document

NPR7120.8A. It is expected that the hardware, facilities, processes and controls used to produce and operate the spacecraft buses proposed by the provider will be identical to those used on other smallsat missions conducted by the provider, to the extent possible. The design should accommodate the radiation environment and avoid or tolerate errors due to non-destructive Single Event Upsets (SEUs)

9) Deliverables:

The Cal X-1 team requests a rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) estimate on the total firm fixed price for flight hardware and mission support encompassing the following 13 elements. The respondent may also provide cost estimates for any one or more of the elements. For purposes of cost estimation and planning, interested parties should consider award of the Spacecraft

Phase A (start-up) contract no earlier than 2023 for a 2025 launch. The respondent should assume that the instruments will be delivered to the spacecraft provider for integration & testing at the observatory-level.

1. Cal-T, Telescope smallsat bus

2. Cal-S, Source smallsat bus

3. Payload to smallsat interface requirements documents (IRD)s

4. Payload integration services

5. Environmental testing facilities and services

6. Rideshare delivery/ launch services integration

7. Mission ground operations and data handling services

8. Flight dynamics and navigation services

9. A schedule of progress milestones and deliverables that is compatible with the phases of the project life cycle shown in NPR7120.8A Figure 4-1

10. Monthly status reporting to the Cal X-1 project manager

11. Participation in project gate reviews, including Systems Requirements Review (SRR), Preliminary design review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), and Pre-Ship/Flight

Readiness Review (PER/FRR)

12. A description of Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) processes and activities

13. A description of all functional and environmental testing to be performed on all hardware prior to and after payload integration and the locations, facilities, equipment, and methodology that will be utilized.

10) Response Content Requirements

All Responses are due by 11/1/2021.

1. Provide a summary of the form factor, mass, and architecture of each spacecraft.

2. Indicate if the response is for the Cal-T1 or Cal-T2 payload option, or both.

3. Indicate which deliverables will be provided by the respondent directly, which will be outsourced, and deliverables not included in the response.

4. Indicate the rideshare accommodation requirements (1 or 2 ESPA ports, separation hardware, Cubesat deployers).

5. Describe your plan for initially obtaining and then maintaining spacecraft separation.

6. Identify the ground station network and operations plan.

7. Include suggestions, if any, for alternative solutions, technical performance and cost drivers that could result in significant cost savings while still meeting science mission objectives.

8. Describe any past or upcoming spaceflight missions that incorporate the deliverables you are proposing to use on Cal X-1.

9. Describe any low-TRL technology and plans to mature the technology prior to the Cal

X-1 mission.

10. Provide a brief summary of your fabrication and test facilities that demonstrate the ability of your company to support the Cal X-1 requirements.

Request For Information (RFI) Only. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. While our intent may be to team with an industry partner(s), we are not bound by this RFI to do so. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The RFI responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. It is not NASA's intent to publicly disclose vendor proprietary information obtained during this solicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential. Not responding to this

RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.