CLPS TO CT-3 JEFO 6.24.2024 Redacted.pdf

Rev.:4/2023

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

Johnson Space Center (JSC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY (JEFO)

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Task Order CT-3 Requirement to Deliver NASA’s Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) to the Lunar South Pole

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity:

This document is a JEFO prepared by NASA at JSC in support of the CLPS project requirements.

2. FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by exception to fair opportunity to award a sole-source task order to contract number 80JSC020D0010 with Blue Origin, LLC for delivering NASA’s SCALPSS payload to the Lunar South Pole prior to the end of calendar year 2025.

3. FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA is contracting to deliver a NASA-developed payload, SCALPSS, to the Lunar South Pole. The SCALPSS payload is an array of cameras that will be placed around the base of a lunar lander to collect imagery during and after lunar descent. Using a technique called stereo photogrammetry, the images will be analyzed to produce a detailed three-dimensional view of the lunar surface. The three-dimensional view will subsequently be used to analyze the changes resulting from the interaction between the thruster plumes and the lunar surface.

This data will then be used to validate computational and engineering models of the plume-surface interactions which can then be used in the design of future lunar lander missions.

The interaction between the thruster plume and the lunar surface is strongly correlated to the thrust levels of the engines.

NASA’s Artemis Program has selected two vendors to develop its Human Landing System (HLS). Due to the high payload mass to the lunar surface, the two vendors are relying on engines with thrust levels in excess of 8,000 pounds force (lbf) of thrust.

The ability to obtain and analyze data from the plume/surface interaction involving engines with thrust levels in excess of 8,000 lbf of thrust is a necessary, and important, precursor to NASA’s future Artemis missions and, because of the strong correlation between interactions and thrust levels, the SCALPSS payload must be integrated on a lander having engines with