Fair Opportunity Exception - LENS 2025 FE_Redacted.pdf

Rev.:3/2025

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 November 30, 2025 through November 29, 2026.

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 November 30, 2025 through November 29, 2026.

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.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(G), The order satisfies one of the exceptions permitting the use of other than full and open competition listed in 6.302 (10 U.S.C. 3406(c)(5). The public interest exception shall not be used unless Congress is notified in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(7).

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 TO included a 10-month base period, with three 12-month option periods, ending September 30, 2024. While the Aegis OASIS master contract term expired December 19, 2024, TO Period of Performance (POPs) may extend for up to five years from the master contract term expiration date. In July 2024, a 1-year option year was added extending the period of performance through September 30, 2025. In July 2025, an additional two-month option period (October 1, 2025 – November 29, 2025) was added to the contract to extend the period of performance to a full five years. The justification for an exception to competition adding the 2-month option period inaccurately stated that a second option extending the contract from November 30, 2025, to May 29, 2026, was being added. No additional option period was added. The TO included FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, however, pricing was not evaluated at the time of award. As a result, the agency obtained pricing for the potential 6-month period that would be used if the FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services was exercised.

In anticipation of the TO’s expiration, the acquisition process for LENS II began in late 2024.

The OASIS period of performance expired on December 19, 2024, but a new GSA IDIQ suite (OASIS+) was established as a replacement. Market research, including utilization of OASIS+ utilizing GSA’s eBuy, was conducted between January 29, 2025 and February 14, 2025. An Acquisition Plan to use OASIS+ for a follow-on acquisition was crafted based on the market research results and discussions with DSL, and was approved on March 24, 2025.

On February 26, 2025, the President of the United States issued Executive Order (EO) 14222, which requires Agency head approval of all new awards until a comprehensive review of all contracts and grants has been completed. On March 17, 2025, NASA Headquarters (HQ) issued a new process in response to the Executive Order, requiring all request for proposals (RFPs) for new acquisitions obtain HQ approval prior to release. The LENS II RFP was routed to HQ for approval on March 27, 2025.

In addition to EO 14222, a number of events/changes occurred in 2025 that significantly disrupted the agency’s plan for a follow-on requirement to the LENS TO. Attempting to execute the agency’s original plan for a follow-on competition to the LENS TO may result in significant waste of taxpayer money. For example, the President’s Budget Request (PBR) directs the termination/cancelation of Gateway, in addition to drastically reducing NASA’s budget. It also calls for an increased focus on human space exploration and shift in the Administration’s priorities for the nation’s civil space program. Recompeting contracts such as the LENS TO that may change or be eliminated will result in substantial duplication of costs that will not be recovered through competition. These costs could include work performed by the requirements development teams and source evaluation boards, phase-in/transition from one contractor to another, and contract administration costs. There is also risk that the follow-on TO would not be aligned with the agency’s and administration’s priorities.

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. In the time between award of GLS and ATP of DSL-1, a number of the Gateway requirements changed and the DSL team, including LENS personnel worked a significant contract modification to incorporate the updated requirements. In parallel, mission integration activities for DSL-1 including contract milestones through a pre-SRR Architecture Review were being worked. The pre-SRR Architecture Review was complete in November 2024 and included cost and schedule impacts to incorporate remaining updated requirements as a deliverable 30 days after the Pre-SRR Architecture Review. The next milestone, SRR, was originally scheduled to be completed in July 2025, but in May 2025 was replaced with a Mission Concept Review (MCR). 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.

Only one awardee is capable of providing the highly specialized services required at the level of quality needed by the agency during these unprecedented time of uncertainty in a number of factors. The contractor is integrated into the project and possesses deep knowledge and expertise about the work required. ATP occurred in November 2023 and resultant negotiations regarding incorporating a portion of the requirement updates were finalized in May 2024. This delay has drastically increased the need for continuity of the highly specialized LENS services in order to avoid significant disruptions and gaps in work. The contractor is the only awardee capable of providing the highly specialized services at the level of quality necessary to the agency to ensure continuity while the future requirements for LENS are clarified.

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.

Aegis confirmed the pricing utilized to develop their estimate for this proposed option is the same as the pricing utilized to develop the six-month pricing submitted for a previously proposed six-month option period for FY26. Aegis additionally confirmed the pricing used to develop this one year additional option estimate is double their previously proposed six-month estimate. This previously proposed six-month estimate included a list of positions and

OASIS labor categories consistent with the requirements of the proposed task order for the period of November 30, 2025 through November 29, 2026. A price analysis was previously completed for the previously proposed six-month estimate 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.

Other Facts:

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. The current incumbent is the only provider who can execute the continuation of requirements without an unacceptable delay and duplication of costs. An additional option year to LENS with the current contractor will provide the Government with the best value.

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 boost the continued achievement of KSC’s CM goals.

The initial Planning, Programming, Budget, and Execution (PPBE) anticipated a need for 22 work-year equivalents (WYE) in FY26, with an estimated value of . However, the FY26 PPBE has been revised and shows a need for 26 WYE, an increase of for a total of . The addition of the proposed to the contract results in a total revised potential contract value of . Adding this additional 1-year option does not increase the potential contract value above the the original estimated total contract value of while remaining within the original scope and magnitude of the project. Additionally, the one-year extension creates a total potential contract POP of six years, and if the FAR 52.217-8 clause is exercised, an additional six months, beyond the five-year period of performance limitation required by FAR 17.204 and NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1817.204(e)(1). A request to deviate from the above provisions of the FAR and NFS to extend the LENS POP beyond five years is currently being concurrently routed for approval. Though the pricing for the one-year extension was not evaluated at the time of award, it was evaluated as part of this modification. Therefore, the addition of additional option year to the LENS contract is justified.

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:

One the agency’s requirements are clarified a Request for Proposal for the follow-on LENS II procurement will be issued as soon as practicalable to all businesses on-ramped to the OASIS+ Total Small Business contract. The intention with the additional option year to the LENS contract is simply to prevent a disruption in work while the Agency navigates unprecedented uncertainties. Additionally, 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.

Geena Cesar 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