ESTRAD JOFOC redacted.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

Ames Research Center (ARC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For

Entry Systems Technology Research and Development (ESTRAD), NNA15BB15C

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-1(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) Ames Research Center (ARC).

The procuring agency is the NASA and the contracting activity is the Procurement Office located at

ARC.

This JOFOC is recorded in the ARC JOFOC Log as JA-FY20-J09.

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

ARC proposes to negotiate a sole source contract modification with Analytical Mechanics Associates

(AMA) to extend the period of performance of Contract No.NNA15BB15C, Entry Systems

Technology Research and Development (ESTRAD), for up to thirty one additional months consisting of a one year base period (from June 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021), three six-month option periods (from June 1, 2021 through November 30, 2022), and one one-month option period

(from December 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022), if all options are exercised. The options will be exercised, as necessary, to accommodate the completion of the competitive procurement of the Aircraft and Space Systems Engineering Support Services (ASSESS) contract. NASA ARC competitively awarded Contract No. NNA15BB15C on May 4, 2015, and the current period of performance ends on May 31, 2020. The current contract is a hybrid contract with a Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Contract Management Core and an Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite- Quantity (IDIQ) component under which CPFF task orders are executed. The total maximum potential contract value is FOIA Ex. 5 with a total Core value of FOIA Ex. 5 and a total maximum ordering value under the IDIQ component of FOIA Ex. 5. To date, the Core funding has reached FOIA Ex. 5 and IDIQ funding has reached FOIA Ex. 5 for a total of FOIA Ex. 5. Therefore, the current contract maximum value will need to be increased in order to permit the critical services under the contract to continue until the new ASSESS contract is awarded. Additionally, the requested period of performance for the extension will enable the continuity of support being provided by the ESTRAD contract to on-going requirements and critical projects (e.g Orion, New Frontiers, Entry Systems Modeling, Mars

2020, Mars Sample Return, and Arc Jet Modernization).

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):

Version: Base

This JOFOC documents the justification for executing a sole-source extension of the current ESTRAD contract for a period of thirty one months, pending completion of a competitive procurement for the

ASSESS contract, in order to continue critical requirements performed under the ESTRAD contract.

The ESTRAD contract provides highly specialized services for multiple programs and projects in following Entry Systems disciplines:

- Aerodynamics

- Aerothermodynamics

- Thermal Protection Materials Research and Development

- Systems Engineering

- Thermal Protection System Design and Development

- Post-Flight Analysis Support

- Analysis Tool Development

The ESTRAD contract provides support to the Entry Systems and Technology Division (Code TS) at

NASA ARC to carry out their varied research programs. The branches within the Division that are supported by this contract include the Aerothermodynamics Branch (TSA), the Thermal Protection

Materials Branch (TSM), and the Entry Systems and Vehicle Development Branch (TSS). These organizations work with other ARC organizations, NASA Field Centers, Government Agencies, and commercial entities to perform multidisciplinary, highly interdependent research and development.

The major objective of the organization is the development of technologies for use in the design and fabrication of prototype vehicles that travel at hypervelocities in the atmosphere of Earth and other bodies in the solar system, including access to Earth orbit and reentry, sustained high-altitude hypersonic flight, planetary entry, and high altitude aerocapture. Currently the division supports a variety of mission types and technologies including the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion); Mars

2020; Mars Sample Return including Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Design and

Instrumentation, and Earth Return Vehicle; Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator efforts; Propulsive

Descent Technologies; Entry Systems Modeling; Science Mission Directorate Discovery and New

Frontiers missions; and Arc Jet Modernization. All of these missions are critical service requirements that need to continue during the ESTRAD contract extension. Many of these missions are well underway with the contractor having in depth knowledge that cannot simply be transferred if this contract is not extended beyond the current period of performance.

The current contract is a hybrid contract with a CPFF Contract Management Core and an IDIQ component under which CPFF task orders are executed. The total maximum potential contract value is FOIA Ex. 5 with a total Core value of FOIA Ex. 5 and a total maximum ordering value under the

IDIQ component of FOIA Ex. 5. The estimated value of the services for the potential thirty one-month extension is approximately FOIA Ex. 5 based on the Independent Government Cost Estimate

(IGCE). The IGCE was based on a review of the current requirements, historical direct labor costs, subcontracts, and other direct costs required to continue performance of the ESTRAD contract for up to thirty one months. Therefore, the current contract maximum value of the IDIQ will need to be increased. Each task order issued/awarded during the base and/or option period extensions will be negotiated to ensure that the price is fair and reasonable.

The total cost estimate for the proposed extension periods is as follows:

Extension Base Period Core June 1, 2020 – May 31, 2021 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Base Period IDIQ June 1, 2020 – May 31, 2021 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 1 Core June 1, 2021 – November 30, 2021 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 1 IDIQ June 1, 2021 – November 30, 2021 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 2 Core December 1, 2021 – May 31, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 2 IDIQ December 1, 2021 – May 31, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 3 Core June 1, 2022 – November 30, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 3 IDIQ June 1, 2022 – November 30, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 4 Core December 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Extension Option Period 4 IDIQ December 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 FOIA Ex. 5

Estimated Total Extension Value FOIA Ex. 5

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. 2304(c)(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. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), for DOD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. For the reasons set forth below, the incumbent is the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the subject requirements pending completion of the competitive ASSESS procurement where certain support service requirements currently under the ESTRAD contract will be procured.

The ESTRAD contract extension will allow sufficient time for the continuation of highly specialized technical services to critical NASA Entry Systems Programs and Projects including Thermal

Protection Material Research, Development, and Testing and Thermal Protection Systems Design, Analysis, and Development. These efforts all directly support critical NASA missions such as

Artemis, Mars Sample Return, and Dragonfly. Interruption in these specialized technical activities would result in additional costs and unacceptable delays given the time it would take to gain the knowledge that AMA possesses. Without the proposed contract extension, there will be a gap in performance of the requirements under the ESTRAD contract which will severely impact on-going

Programs and Projects relying on the performance of requirements under the ESTRAD contract.

The potential thirty one-month extension to the current contract is necessary to provide coverage of important ESTRAD support pending completion of the competitive ASSESS procurement. If these requirements were acquired via a separate competition for a separate potential thirty one-month contract, rather than via the extension provided for herein, the result would be a substantial duplication of costs to the Government that would not be recovered through competition, as well as a gap in R&D services to Programs and Projects due to the time required to perform the procurement activities. In addition, with procurement and technical experts already concentrating on the ASSESS procurement, it could cause delay to the ASSESS procurement by having to re-vector these experts to a potential separate contract. The duplication of costs would include not only those costs associated with competing a separate procurement for the extension period, but also the costs associated with phase-in activities for the separate potential thirty one-month contract, which would be necessary to ensure that the new, possibly different, contractor has proper knowledge of highly specialized technical requirements necessary to support ESTRAD requirements. Again, these costs would be duplicative costs that already need to be incurred as part of the future ASSESS contract anticipated for award in fourth quarter 2022.

Failure to extend the contract would also result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling important requirements currently performed under this existing contract and to be performed under the ASSESS contract. Further, the award of a separate potential thirty one-month contract would generate unacceptable delay, due to the unavoidable start-up and related learning curve that would be associated with a new contractor which would affect day to day operations which include design and testing of thermal protection material, and thermal protection design systems, for projects such as

Artemis and Mars Sample Return. The AMA staff has unparalleled experience and technical expertise that are necessary to continue to perform these critical requirements. Additionally, not extending this contract would cause significant schedule delays and would incur additional cost with the current and ongoing work requirements such as Artemis and Mars Sample Return. A separate competition and award to, potentially, a different vendor for a potential thirty one-month period would neither be feasible nor reasonable given the current and on-going competitive ASSESS procurement.

Hence a thirty one-month extension, rather than a new procurement for the same period, is the only reasonable approach for NASA to take such that it may continue to obtain the important services provided by ESTRAD. This makes the incumbent the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the subject requirements pending completion of the competitive ASSESS procurement.

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 (beta.sam.gov) was published on March 2, 2020, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source extension to Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA). The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10.

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. During the extension period, a proposal analysis will be performed for core management and on each task order before awarded and in accordance with FAR 15.404. The proposal analysis will include cost element analysis, comparison to the IGCE on both cost and price evaluation techniques ensuring that the final agreed-to cost and fee awarded during the extension period is fair and reasonable. Pre-negotiation objectives will be prepared prior to the initiation of negotiations and will be approved in accordance with FAR 15.406 prior to the conduct of negotiations.

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:

ARC conducted market research in support of the decision to award this extension to AMA.

Based on the Contracting Officer’s Representative’s (COR) technical knowledge of the current

ESTRAD requirements, and for all of the other reasons stated herein, market research supports that

ESTRAD is the sole responsible source able to fulfill the short-term ESTRAD requirements.

Market research was performed in February and March 2020 which included a synopsis posted on

March 2, 2020 on the Contract Opportunities site located on www.beta.SAM.gov. The purpose of the synopsis was to (1) notify industry of NASA’s intent to extend the contract on a sole source basis and

(2) solicit information about interested sources that are capable of providing the required support during the extended POP. Interested organizations were requested to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing. The Contracting Officer received no capability statements in response to the synopsis.

Additional research was completed which included reviews of the following Government databases:

the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) and the NASA Vendor Database (NVD). These market research tools revealed several firms that can provide various types of research and development support. However, only of those, only thirteen (13) indicated experience in “thermal technologies.”

Of those, none indicated the ability to accomplish the specific aeronautical thermal technologies required of the ESTRAD contract. Only AMA would be able to perform the work without adversely impacting important schedules of work currently being performed on the contract.

Additional research performed by the COR and the Contracting Officer to determine whether there were sources capable of performing the above stated requirements extended to NASA’s project and engineering support services. This included the General Services Administration OASIS contract and the Federal Procurement Data System. The research included a series of meetings with the COR and members of Code TS management and other requirements owners. Based on those discussions, it was clear that while there are limited additional firms in the industry, the scope of highly specialize work required can only be accomplished by the current contractor under the proposed extension without creating substantial duplication of work efforts performed and cost incurred to date. Failure to extend the contract within a short timeframe would cause significant disruption and impacts to

NASA ARC missions and to the R&D facilities. The market research accomplished thus far for the

ASSESS indicates that competition exists for that contract.

Market research indicates that in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A) and (B), AMA is the only responsible source that can provide the highly specialized services without substantial duplication of cost to the Government that will not be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in meeting agency requirements. There has been no interest in this proposed contract extension.

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

AMA can continue to provide seamless, quality support services to meet requirements for the current critical mission support, and programs and projects conducted by the ESTRAD contract without unacceptable delays or substantial duplication of costs to the Government. Task order performance— in terms of safety, milestones, scheduled metrics, and deliverables—is well organized, prioritized, and safely completed on time and within budget. Since the award of the ESTRAD contract, AMA has received annual performance ratings from Excellent to Very Good.

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

(beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The notice was posted on March 2, 2020 with a closing date of March 16, 2020. No sources expressed interest in the additional work requirements required by this extension.

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:

ARC has already started the actions for ASSESS, the competitive procurement where certain support service requirements currently under the ESTRAD contract will be procured. This sole source award of a potential thirty-one month extension to the ESTRAD contract is necessary to provide the necessary time to complete the ASSESS procurement and to provide continued support. Because

ASSESS in a competitive procurement, there are no actions the agency needs to take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for similar services.

JOFOC Signature Page for Contract Extension for Contract Number NNA15BB15C, Entry Systems Technology Research and Development (ESTRAD)

3 April 2020

Date

FOIA Ex 6____________________________ Mary Livingston

Technical Representative

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

__5/26/2020_____________

Date

5/26/202___________________ Date

____5/26/2020___________

Date

_____5/26/2020__________

Date

____FOIA Ex 6______________ Rachel Jandron

Contracting Officer

Concurrence:

______FOIA Ex. 6___________________

Kelly Kaplan

Procurement Officer

____FOIA Ex.6_____________________ Carol Carroll

Center Competition Advocate

Approved:

_FOIA Ex. 6____________________ Kelly Kaplan

Head of Contracting Activity