Final Request for Proposal (RFP)80GRC025R7013 Cover Letter.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration John H. Glenn Research Center Lewis Field Cleveland, OH 44135-3191

July 21, 2025

Reply to Attn of: PR

TO: All Potential Offerors

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP), Solicitation No. 80GRC025R7013, for 10-Kilowatt Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) Power Conversion System (PCS) Prototype for Fission Surface Power

You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center’s (GRC) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide is to design, manufacture, and test a CBC PCS unit to inform the requirements for a spaceflight fission power system.

NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541715 and the small business size standard is 1,000.

This competitive acquisition will result in a Firm-fixed Price (FFP). The contract will have a total potential period of performance of 19 months.

The anticipated contract award date is September 29, 2025, with a September 29, 2025, contract effective date. The contract will be performed and offsite at the Contractor’s facilities.

Potential offerors should pay close attention to all solicitation instructions; however, the following requirements list is summarized to assist in proposal development. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and the solicitation terms and conditions and provisions in sections L and M take precedence:

1. Offerors are required to have a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code that matches the corporate address submitted with its proposal.

2. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA Box, a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential Offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Submission of Proposals - Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via Box. Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA Box.

All Offerors must contact the Contracting Officer AT LEAST 7 days prior to the proposal deadline, as stated in Section L of the RFP, prior to being able to submit a proposal. Offerors are highly encouraged to contact the Contracting Officer about their Box accounts as early as possible. Please read RFP provision Electronic Submission of Proposals – Proposal Marking and Delivery through NASA Box very carefully.

Offerors are encouraged to refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.215-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS–COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION, in particular paragraph (f)(4) which discusses the Government’s right to award a contract without discussions.

In order to control and protect sensitive data owned by the Government and its Contractors, NASA policy required all acquisition-related documents be released in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The Offeror’s Price Volume proposal shall include completed Price Volume exhibits in Microsoft Office Excel format with working cell formulas. Offerors shall follow all Price Volume instructions listed in Section L of the RFP.

Documents related to this acquisition, including this letter, the solicitation, attachments, exhibits, any amendments and links to online reference/technical/bidders library will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry website at www.SAM.gov. Potential offerors are requested to periodically monitor the websites for updates.

NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate- Listing.pdf

This RFP does not commit NASA GRC to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA GRC to procure or contract for these services. This request is not an authorization to proceed and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

NASA has determined that the receipt of a contract from this RFP will not constitute an OCI based on biased ground rules. An OCI based on biased ground rules could prevent recipients from proposing on subsequent solicitations regarding the 10-Kilowatt CBC PCS. NASA based this determination on FAR Sections 9.505-2(a)(3), 9.505-2(b)(ii), and 9.505-2(b)(3), which provide an exception for development and design work. NASA views the work contained in this RFP as developmental work. Additionally, the contract will provide valuable information for any potential subsequent solicitation regarding the 10-Kilowatt CBC PCS but does not require the contractor to write specifications or a work statement. In the event that more than one contract is awarded, the additional exception in FAR Section 9.505-2(b)(1)(iii) may also apply.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than 5:00PM EDT August 20, 2025.

In accordance with NFS 1815.201(f), a “Blackout Notice” has been issued to NASA personnel.

All inquiries/communications pertaining to this acquisition shall be directed only to the Contracting Officer listed below.

All questions regarding this RFP should be submitted in writing, on or before 5:00pm EDT July 31, 2025, electronically to BOTH:

Linda. M. Nabors, Contracting Officer, at linda.m.nabors@nasa.gov and Hunter C. Butkovic, Contract Specialist, at hunter.c.butkovic@nasa.gov

Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Linda M. Nabors Contracting Officer