DevSeed JOFOC_CSDA_EODC Mod 16 Approved.pdf

Rev.:5/2024

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

FOR NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DATA CONTRACT

80MSFC22CA004

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

(MSFC). The procuring agency is NASA and the contracting activity is MSFC.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a new work modification to the Novel Technologies to Support Science Data contract number 80MSFC22CA004 with New Rights Group, Inc. doing business as Development Seed

(herein referred to as Development Seed) for architecture upgrade support within Task 1 – Earth

Observation Data on the Cloud (EODC) to support a new data format for storing and accessing large-scale science datasets in the cloud; and the requirement for a commercial vendor satellite tasking system within Task 3 – Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The

CSDA Program focuses on increasing the use and utility of commercial constellations of small satellites for Earth science research and is expanding its current data system to support the tasking of CSDA commercial small satellite data vendors through the platform. The added scope supports requirements needed by NASA stakeholders within the Earth Science Division of the Science

Mission Directorate and requires completion no later than March 31, 2025. The current contract period of performance end date of September 30, 2025, remains unchanged. The contract includes an additional 12-month Option Period 4 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026);

however, this option is not anticipated to be exercised; but is available, if necessary, should the award of the follow-on Next Generation Scalable Data Engineering, Operations, and Informatics

Support for Open Science (Next Gen) competitive acquisition and sole source Innovative

Visualization, Exploration, Data and Analysis (IVEDA) contract awards be delayed.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA/MSFC seeks to modify Development Seed’s existing contract, 80MSFC22CA004, to incorporate additional requirements within Tasks 1 and 3. For Task 1, the EODC team will use their subject matter expertise to develop a new, novel data format to improve the accessibility of

Earth observation data in the cloud. This development work will prototype open-source software that enables efficient analysis and visualization of legacy data formats from NASA's Earth science data archive. This modification requires software upgrades and system knowledge and expertise to overcome challenges related to handling massive, multi-dimensional data.

For Task 3, support is needed to enhance the existing CSDA data system infrastructure. This includes development of new systems to communicate with program management for review and tracking, interfaces with vendors for data tasking, and integration with the existing data system for data delivery and distribution to end users. Such a system will allow CSDA to acquire and provide the most useful commercial data for its users thereby maximizing investments in commercial data.

The estimated period of performance associated with this action is from time of award through

September 30, 2025, for Task 1 and Task 3 with an intermediate prototype completion on March

31, 2025. The interim Task 1 prototype completion by March 31, 2025, is required to support

NASA Headquarters decision making on future project pathways. The interim Task 3 prototype is required to support the NASA's Science Mission Directorate annual, omnibus solicitation for basic and applied research, Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) in April

2025. The overall contract period of performance will remain unchanged from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025. The estimated dollar value of this action is $775,000. The current contract value will increase from $27,547,213 to $28,322,213; and the potential contract value to include unexercised Option Period 4 will increase from $33,088,434 to $33,863,434.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C 3204(a)1, which is only one responsible source and no other supplies and services will satisfy agency requirements, as described below.

1. Development Seed has demonstrated unique capabilities that allows them to maintain and provide support to the existing data system infrastructure as part of its current contract deliverables. Their expertise and knowledge of the existing data system is critical to meet the requirements outlined in the proposed scope expansion. Engagement with another contractor to expand upon existing systems at this late stage, without prior knowledge of the complex cyberinfrastructure would create unnecessary disruption to the contract’s current deliverables and system operation. Given the complexity of the scope expansion, an estimated 8-month learning period and additional cost of $524K would be required for any new vendor to fully understand the project requirements and implement the necessary modifications. Since the period of performance associated with this action is of short duration, it is highly unlikely that any vendor other than Development Seed could be awarded a new contract and then complete all the requirements within the specified timeframe.

2. Development Seed possesses the unique collaborative capabilities, specialized skills, and expertise needed to modify the current system and incorporate system upgrades and new applications to support commercial vendor tasking. Seamless integration of existing systems with newly developed applications is paramount for continued success. In order for the work to be completed by March 31, 2025, the introduction of a new contractor without this unique capability would introduce serious risks to schedule and delivery of an operational system to NASA stakeholders. An estimated 8-month schedule delay is expected should another contractor be chosen.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on December

12, 2024, and closed on December 27, 2024, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source modification to

Development Seed. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will assess the Contractor’s proposal utilizing cost and price analysis techniques in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-1 to determine a fair and reasonable price. Assistance from the MSFC Pricing Team, the Defense Contract

Management Agency (DCMA), the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), and other independent auditors will be utilized as appropriate to analyze, evaluate, and negotiate based on detailed cost or pricing data.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

A SAM.gov market survey was not conducted for the proposed acquistion. The Development

Seed contract was awarded under full and open competition and is currently ongoing. As the award of the follow-on Next Gen competitive acquisition and sole source IVEDA contract awards are currently in process and anticipated to begin full contract requirement assumption beginning

October 1, 2025, an attempt to award another new, standalone contract at this time is not practical nor in the best interest of the government.

However, in accordance with FAR 8.002(a)(2) market research was performed by the mandatory source AbilityOne.gov Procurement List with no availability. A review of the Office of

Procurement Strategic Sourcing Website was performed yielding no solutions. Other sources were reviewed such as geospatial data science contracts via GSA eLibrary, and other Government contracts. Additional review of existing NASA contracts, per NFS 1808.004, that provide the required services has been conducted and none were suitable for this requirement.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website

(Sam.gov) on December 12, 2024, per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). Responses were due on December 27, 2024. There were no responses received from the posting, and as a result, no additional respondents other than Development Seed were found to have the capabilities to fulfill the additional requirements described herein within the required timeline.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

There currently is an ongoing competitive acquisition (Next Gen) planned for award October 1, 2025. This action will incorporate additional scope to fulfill requirements to support architecture upgrade within Task 1 – Earth Observation Data on the Cloud (EODC) and support the development of a “commercial vendor satellite tasking system” outlined within Task 3 –

Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program.

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DATA

CONTRACT 80MSFC22CA004

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

David Hood

Project Manager/ST14

Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT)

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jason Arnold

Contracting Officer/PS51

Science and Technology Support Branch

CONCURRENCES:

Kristina L. Parmenter

Competition Advocate/Deputy Procurement Officer

Marshall Space Flight Center

APPROVAL:

John E. Cannaday III

Head of Contracting Activity, Director, Office of Procurement

Marshall Space Flight Center