FSOC III JEFO (redacted).pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

FREE SPACE OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS III (FSOC III)

1. The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is NASA Headquarters (HQ), Washington, DC.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2), Exceptions to the fair opportunity process, this document provides justification that only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies and services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

3. Description of the supplies/services required to meet agency’s needs:

The objective of this effort is to enhance and build upon the atmospheric modeling and simulation capabilities developed in the previous effort. The effort shall continue to support and perform trade studies to determine the optimal ground station network sizing and ground station locations, characterization and prediction of atmospherics at proposed

NASA Optical Ground Stations (OGS) and to assess various operational concepts to achieve high availability of both the near earth and deep space to ground optical links.

The estimated value is [text deleted].

4. Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and supporting rationale and a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to justify use of the cited exception:

The statutory exception to fair opportunity falls under 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.

In order to properly develop, test, and operate optical communications links considerable experience in the following areas are required: (1) collection, archival and processing of

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) past and current

Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite (GOES) and international geostationary imagery and proprietary cloud analysis, (2) cloud coverage retrieval software from satellite and ground based Infrared Cloud Imagers, (3) ground station network optimization through the Lasercom Network Optimization Tool (LNOT), (4) operational concepts simulation, (5) field campaigns and validation studies through Consultative

Consortium on Space Data Systems (CCSDS) compliant atmospheric instrumentation and the network trafficking of the data back to Northrop Grumman, (6) cloud analysis and prediction using artificial intelligence techniques for link handover, and (7) development of standards (blue book) within the CCSDS community.

Northrop Grumman (NG) has developed and enhanced these capabilities under the U.S.

Government's Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC) programs. Attempting to redevelop the existing validated databases and modeling tools would pose a severe risk to

NASA’s budget and schedule. More specifically these unique state-of-the-art capabilities held by NG include the following:

• NG's capability centers on nearly 150 Terabytes of data collected over the last 23 years which is relevant to optical communications and the work that this effort requires.

• The Cloud Mask Generator (CMG) database consists of cloud depiction data collected over the last 23 years, at a 4 km, 15-minute resolution. The CMG algorithm uses multi-spectral imagery from the Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellite and sophisticated remote sensing algorithms to determine the probability of clouds for each satellite pixel. Under the current free space optical communications contract, NG has developed a 1km version of the CMG that runs in real-time which supported the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD).

It is anticipated that SCaN will utilize this same capability for the upcoming Laser

Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD).

• The CMG serves as input to the Lasercom Network Optimization Tool (LNOT), which was developed by NG in order to identify specific candidate ground stations to be used in a high availability FSOC network. Under the current free space optical communications contract, NG has enhanced LNOT by incorporating many other

Concept of Operations (CONOPS) including Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium

Earth Orbit (MEO) and Deep Space scenarios.

• LNOT provides a climatological assessment of the performance of a free space optical communications system based on clouds and optical turbulence. What it does not provide is the ability to determine how links are established and maintained in an operational environment. NG developed the Lasercom Simulator

(LSIM) to help make decisions that mitigate the effects of the atmosphere. This will be crucial for next generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) optical links.

• NG has invested heavily in the development of two state-of-the-art computational labs in order to specifically support free space optical communications programs.

• NG's Sleet Lab is used to support unclassified processing for various customers.

The lab includes custom computational gear used specifically for data collection and various risk reduction analyses, trade studies, and simulations.

• The NG Virgo supercomputing cluster is used to support free space optical communications studies of atmospheric turbulence and numerical cloud prediction.

The NG team consists of experts in the fields of atmospheric science and high performance computing and has participated in the development and constant upgrading of all the tools currently being used. As more information is learned, new and better tools will be developed.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the cost to the government will be fair and reasonable:

This order will be placed under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Alliant 2

Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) using the procedures in FAR 16.505(b), Orders under multiple-award contracts. The contractor will be required to provide a detailed cost proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the government. The proposed costs will be evaluated by the Contracting Officer’s Representative and the Contracting

Officer to determine that the direct labor rates, direct labor hours, skill mix, other direct costs, indirect costs, and fee(s) are fair and reasonable. This may also include support from external organizations, as needed.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification:

None

7. Actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

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

TECHNICAL DIRECTORATE: I certify that the data presented in this justification are complete and accurate.

FOIA Ex. 6 01/09/2020

Signature Date

CONTRACTING OFFICER: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

FOIA Ex. 6 01/09/2020

PROCUREMENT OFFICER:

(CONCURRENCE)

FOIA Ex. 6 01/29/2020

HEADQUARTERS’ COMPETITION

ADVOCATE: I determine that FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) applies to

(APPROVAL) this order.

FOIA Ex. 6 02/12/2020