JA-FY25-J01_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) document from NASA Ames Research Center for a sole-source contract modification to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. for Pathfinder-4/LISA-T and Pathfinder-R/Deep Purple mission operations and an additional energy experiment. The original contract (NNA17BF41C), awarded in January 2017 through December 31, 2024, has a current total value of $11,687,768.60 and covers one 6U nano-satellite bus plus five spare buses.

The justification explains that Tyvak is uniquely qualified as they are the only operator of the PTD-4 vehicle which contains the LISA-T payload and CIGS photovoltaic cells needed for wireless power transmission experiments, and the PTD-R vehicle with the Deep Purple payload. The modification adds 2,146 hours for PTD-R and 1,834 hours for PTD-4 mission operations. A notice was posted on SAM.gov from November 14-29, 2024. The document cites time sensitivity due to the contract end date and potential orbit decay limiting the operational window. Market research found no other vendors could perform the work without substantial duplication of effort, though two other CubeSat vendors (Eldorado Space Inc. and Fallcon Industries LLC) were identified through database searches.