Fair Opportunity Exception - Brand Name Justification - LENS - Redacted.pdf

Rev.:5/2024

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (KSC)

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 Deep Space Logistics ENgineering Support (LENS) contract using an exception to the Fair Opportunity process. This modification is to add an additional option year from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs: This action is for a modification of existing order 80KSC021F0014, a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Task Order (TO) awarded under the General Services Administration (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) for systems engineering and integration support of all Deep Space Logistics (DSL) related work to develop, integrate, and execute the Gateway Logistics Services (GLS) missions. The total estimated ceiling price of the proposed modification is and the period of performance for the additional option year is October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

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:

On November 30, 2020, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Office of Procurement (OP) Commercial Space Office awarded a GSA OASIS CPFF TO to MEI Technologies, Inc.

(MEIT). MEIT has since restructured as Aegis Aerospace, Inc. (Aegis). The CPFF included a 10-month base period, with three 12-month option periods, ending September 30, 2024. The Aegis OASIS master contract term expires December 19, 2024. TO Period of Performance (POPs) may extend for up to 5 years from the master contract term expiration date.

The LENS engineering services support the Deep Space Logistics (DSL) project office at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). DSL is tasked with providing the launch service for the Gateway Logistics Module used in support of the Artemis missions (beginning with Artemis IV) and do so via a separate launch services contract, Gateway Logistics Services (GLS). The requirements of the original action, including systems engineering and integration support of all DSL related work to develop, integrate, and execute the GLS missions, were completed.

DSL was given the funding to execute Authority to Proceed (ATP) on their first mission (DSL-1 in support of Artmis IV) in November 2023, years later than originally anticipated.

This delay caused a significant reduction in work performed during LENS’s original contract period. Immediately following ATP of DSL-1, the DSL team, including LENS personnel, began to finalize the mission solution and spacecraft system requirements for a System Readiness Review (SRR), with a pre-SRR Architecture Review projected to occur in December 2024 and the SRR itself projected for March 2025.

Continuity within the DSL team during these design reviews will enhance the speed, quality, and effectiveness of NASA’s evaluation of the end-to-end services, ultimately contributing to mission success. Though additional mission solution and spacecraft system requirement milestones are set to occur in FY26, the program anticipates an enhanced ability to navigate a procurement during the additional option year (FY25) than during the current option year

(FY24).

Given the above timeline of events due to the delayed ATP, DSL requested an additional option year be added to the contract after the last option period ends on September 30, 2024, extending with the total potential period of performance through September 30, 2025. The KSC Procurement Officer (PO) was briefed on this strategy and provided concurrence with the additional option year on the LENS contract on February 8, 2023.

Due to ATP occurring three years after the establishment of LENS, the program did not have a significant workload during its first three years. ATP occurred in November 2023 and resultant negotiations regarding incorporating requirement changes were finalized in May 2024. As a result, the LENS workload is expected to increase to its originally intended levels during this current option year (FY24) and into the additional option year (FY25).

A TO under OASIS Small Business (SB) is a Tier 3 Best-in-Class (BIC) Contract, the highest Category Management (CM) tier. The additional option year boosts the continued achievement of KSC’s CM goals.

The Acquisition Plan for the LENS contract was valued at , the maximum potential value of the initial award. Approval authority for Acquisition Plans valued at less than $50M is retained by the Procurement Office Lead/Chief locally at KSC.

The Planning, Programming, Budget, and Execution (PPBE) anticipated a need for 24 work-year equivalents (WYE) in FY25, with an estimated value of . After Aegis’ proposal for FY25 was received, DSL received the budget for FY25 and requested a 20% reduction in WYE for this project. A new proposal was not requested from Aegis, and this reduction was instead communicated to Aegis who provided no feedback or exception. As a result, though Aegis’ submitted proposal reflects a value of , the value is to reflect the 20% reduction.

The addition of the proposed to the contract results in a total revised potential contract value of . Adding an additional 12-month option period does not increase the potential contract value above the approval authority of Acquisition Plan, and is still significantly less than the maximum potential contract value of while remaining within the original scope and magnitude of the project. Additionally, the extension creates a total potential contract POP of less than 5 years, so no Request for Deviation would be required, per NFS 1817.204. Therefore, the addition of this additional option year to the LENS contract is justified.

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

In determining whether the anticipated cost to the Government was fair and reasonable, the technical value of retaining the same contractor throughout the additional option year and the reasonableness of the proposed labor rates were analyzed.

The driving factor of the program’s decision to pursue an additional option year instead of recompeting the contract is to prevent work flow disruption since the program received ATP in November 2023. Recompeting the contract now would create a delay by interrupting work flow during an anticipated increase of work to its intended levels, and would create a cost impact by shifting DSL resources away from the current work flow to a new competition.

Aegis’ program-specific skills and familiarity with the project’s goals and challenges cannot at this time, be replicated by any other contractor, nor can any other contractor replicate these skills and project familiarity in a way that will not cause a significant disruption in work flow.

As a result of Aegis being already embedded in the project, they can seamlessly begin work in FY25 without causing a delay in contractor support and without disrupting the program’s ability to complete major project milestones. This lack of disruption, particularly as work is anticipated to increase since ATP has been received, greatly outweighs the option of recompeting the contract at this stage and disrupting workflow to onboard a new contractor.

Due to Aegis’ familiarity with the project and ability to continue work into FY25 without risking project disruption, their technical value represents the best technical value to the Government.

Additionally, Aegis included in their proposal for the FY25 option year a list of positions and OASIS labor categories consistent with the requirements of the proposed task order for the period of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. A price analysis was completed in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-1 and NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1815.404-1 and has been documented in the contract file. Based on these analyses, this contracting officer has determined adding an option year to the contract represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

Other Facts:

Due to the contractor’s integration into the project and the ongoing DSL work being conducted, continuity of the team is the overarching reason for an additional option year being added. As a result of the integration between government and contractor workforces, the contractor’s knowledge and expert familiarity with the work required, and the anticipated increased workload in FY25, no other provider is sought for this extension. Therefore, no market research was conducted for this action.

However, our experience in conducting the original procurement for LENS has given our office insight to market capabilities and pricing within OASIS and an understanding that alternative sources for the work required of LENS exist within the market. While these alternative sources may be suitable in the longer term, no source can replace the support currently provided by Aegis without risking delays on the completion of current major project milestones. However, these barriers to competition will be significantly reduced once the current LENS contract (with the inclusion of the additional option year) is complete due to the majority of the major project milestones being completed or near-completion, allowing for a full competition to occur. Once the additional option year is underway and the DSL team has adjusted to the increased workload since ATP, the DSL team will be better equipped to navigate a new procurement during the additional option year (FY25). As a result, competition for a follow-on contract is expected in Calendar Year 2025, and will likely be procured through OASIS. Therefore, while no market research was conducted for this action, our office has an understanding of the current market environment for a future procurement, and the addition of an additional option year to LENS with the current contractor will provide the Government with the best value.

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

DEEP SPACE LOGISTICS ENGINEERING SUPPORT (LENS) CONTRACT

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.

Russell Saylor 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.

Jennifer O’Neill Contracting 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.

Edwin Martinez Competition Advocate John F. Kennedy Space Center