Fair Opportunity Exception - SOW 14 JBE Justification_Competition Advocate signed.pdf

Rev.:3/2025

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

Description of the action being approved:

This justification documents the basis for issuing a new Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Task Order (TO) to Jackson Bond Enterprises (JBE) under Track B of the Multiple Award Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (IAD) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract using the Exception to Fair Opportunity process.

Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs:

This action is for a new CPFF Task Order under Track B of the Multiple Award IAD IDIQ Contract titled “10m Pathfinder Deployable and Conic FTPS Design & Fabrication”. The total estimated price of the proposed task order, to include a base period and three (3) options is $1,810,186, and the estimated period of performance, if all options are exercised, is 650 calendar days after Task Order Award (TOA).

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:

The Exception to Fair Opportunity is requested to issue a new CPFF TO as a logical follow-on to the work previously competed and awarded to JBE under Track B of the IAD contract 80LARC22DA008. The following orders are applicable to the follow-on work under the new TO:

1. CPFF TO80LARC23FA026 titled “Large-Scale Material Handling and Materials for 10m

HIAD.”

2. CPFF TO 80LARC24FA023 titled “Design and Fabrication of Flexible Thermal Protection

System (FTPS) Fabrication Fixtures”.

The efforts under the new task will continue the Research and Development (R&D) support required by the Vulcan Engine Recovery Aeroshell (VERA) project led by NASA Langley Research Center for the development and use of a 10m diameter Flexible Thermal Protection System (FTPS).

This task builds directly upon JBE's ongoing work designing and fabricating the specialized fixtures required for the VERA projects specific FTPS system fabrication.

Under TO 80LARC24FA023, JBE’s custom fabrication fixtures were designed, approved by NASA, and manufactured to meet the Government’s specific requirements for the VERA project’s 10m FTPS fabrication process. As these fixtures are fully customized and complex, the design and approval process took approximately 6 months to complete.

The fixture fabrication is currently in month three (3) of the eight (8) month lead time.

The extensive efforts completed in the fixture design process has allowed JBE to develop an intimate knowledge of the custom fixtures’ design and operational requirements.

Additionally, the fixtures employ artifacts specific to JBE’s FTPS fabrication approach.

FTPS fabrication is an art form, therefore each designer / fabricator has different approaches to complete the same tasks based on the vendor’s experience and expertise working with the materials. Based on the uniqueness of this fabrication, it is not efficient or practical to require another vendor to use JBE’s designed and manufactured fixture.

Under TO 80LARC23FA026 JBE successfully demonstrated their expertise in scaling FTPS fabrication from the previous state of the art 6m diameter to a10m diameter. JBE fully understands the challenges of increased size material handling and the application of the materials to the fixture, leveraging the ability to incorporate lessons learned from this task. At a size of 10m, the materials are much more subject to damage during fabrication given the larger span and resultant increased weight of the gore materials.

FTPS fabrication incorporates multiple steps of lifting and draping of the gore materials, which are delicate until integrated into the final assembly. Under TO 80LARC23FA026 JBE developed and demonstrated techniques to mitigate damage during these processes with the specific materials required for the new task order. FTPS materials are costly and require acquisition lead times of five (5) months or more, so it is imperative that the materials are handled with precision and care as JBE successfully demonstrated under the Large-Scale Material Handling Task. Additionally, under this task JBE spent 4 months scaling up existing tooling for fabrication of a 10m scale FTPS. This tooling is specific to NASA’s FTPS design and would need to be replicated by another vendor, resulting in significant increases to cost and schedule under this project.

JBE has continuously demonstrated unique capabilities and specialized expertise in FTPS fabrication through their previous work on the successful design, fabrication, and testing of the 6m diameter LOFTID Aeroshell Deployable FTPS and Nose FTPS, including both Engineering Development Units and Flight Units, as well as their work completed to date under the VERA project. They have developed Government-approved processes and procedures for FTPS fabrication, including the development of proprietary tooling, specialized fabrication techniques for maintaining material integrity, and manufacturing capabilities to produce an efficient and reliable FTPS at the required increased scale. The technical complexity of FTPS fabrication requires specialized knowledge and experience with material handling, layup procedures, and quality control processes that JBE has developed and demonstrated over ~15 years of consistently working tasks for NASA’s FTPS technology development.

There would be significant cost and schedule impacts to the Government if NASA does not utilize the work completed under task orders 80LARC23FA026 and 80LARC24FA023, as well as JBE’s successful past performance and approved approaches for HIAD FTPS fabrication. Awarding to a different IAD IDIQ Contractor would require the recreation of processes and procedures under this task and include extensive additional testing to demonstrate and verify acceptance of the new approaches that have been developed with JBE over the past ~15 years. It would also necessitate either the design and fabrication of new FTPS fabrication fixtures or a substantial learning curve to successfully utilize the specialized FTPS fabrication fixtures designed and manufactured by JBE. The Government would incur sizeable cost (deployable FTPS fixture alone costs approximately $1.3 million) and an estimated schedule impact of greater than fourteen (14) months.

Therefore, awarding a logical follow-on task for Pathfinder FTPS Fabrication to JBE under the Exception to Fair Opportunity is the most advantageous strategy for the Government, as they have successfully developed the processes and hardware for this task on previous task orders. The development of new designs and processes compatible with the Government’s existing FTPS designs and approaches would be difficult for an alternate vendor to achieve, resulting in unacceptable risks to the VERA project.

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

JBE will be requested to submit a cost/price proposal for the new CPFF task order to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Comparison of the proposed costs will be made to the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and the incorporated schedule of rates for labor and indirect rates, which were previously negotiated and incorporated into the base contract. In addition, the cost proposal will be compared to previously awarded orders for the same or similar services performed to determine reasonableness. Prior to the execution of the new task order, a cost/price analysis will be performed to ensure the final agreed-to-price for the task order is fair and reasonable.

Other Facts:

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.

IAD, VERA Pathfinder FTPS

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.

Anjie L. Emmett Contracting Officer 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.

Ashley A. Korahaes 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.

Teresa Hass Competition Advocate NASA Langley Research Center