J&A_Posting_3-15-19.pdf

NOTICE OF AWARD

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a requirement for System Engineering Support for the on-orbit OLI instrument and TIRS Cryocooler from Ball Aerospace. The USGS is aware of no other sources that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to Ball Aerospace, unless it is contacted by any vendor who believes they can provide the same service and products. Vendors are invited to contact the Contracting Officer, Amanda Brown (akbrown@usgs.gov) no later than 11 AM ET, Friday, March 15, 2019 with an affirmative answer.

The USGS considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted in the document below. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtain. The Sole Source Justification below states the information to demonstrate the proposed contractor’s unique qualification:

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (FAR 6.3)

1. Contracting Agency and Activity.

The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, National Acquisition Branch, plans to contract by means other than full and open competition. This document sets forth the justification and approval for use of one of the exceptions to full and open competition allowed under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984.

2. Nature of Action Being Approved.

The Department of Interior (DOI), United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observations and Science (EROS) Center has a requirement to procure System Engineering Support for the on-orbit OLI instrument and TIRS Cryocooler. Ball Aerospace was selected by NASA to manufacture and support the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and a component for the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) called the Cryocooler. Following on-orbit checkout, responsibility for L8 and its instruments transitioned to the USGS. The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center in Sioux Falls, SD operates the Landsat series of satellites. The existing Landsat 8 satellite mission operations includes flight operations, system maintenance, testing and sustaining engineering activities in support of the on-orbit Landsat 8 spacecraft instruments. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) is one of the primary instruments that must be maintained. Another instrument, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), has a component called the Cryocooler and must be maintained. This acquisition is a follow-on requirement to contract which was transitioned from NASA . These services are currently provided by Ball Aerospace under a contract

Ball Aerospace is the only vendor who can perform this work. The proposed follow-on procurement to Ball Aerospace is for the base + four (4) option years with an

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

This firm-fixed price contract will consist of support for the on-orbit OLI instrument and TIRS Cryocooler including health and safety analysis for nominal operation. Critical expertise during anomalies that threaten the health and safety of the instrument will be executed as task orders against the System Engineering Support contract.

4. Estimated Dollar Value.

The base year estimated contract cost of The total contract value is estimated at for the base year plus four option years.

5. Statutory Authority.

The proposed action may be awarded without full and open competition under 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented in FAR 6.302-1(a), Only One Responsible Source.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

The USGS operates the Landsat 8 satellite that comprises the Operational Landsat Imager-1 (OLI-1) and Thermal Infrared Radiometer System-1 (TIRS-1) instruments. OLI-1 and the TIRS Cryocooler were designed and built by Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation (BATC) under a NASA contract which was transitioned to the USGS .

The OLI-1 and Cryocooler are unique instruments. Much of the design is proprietary to Ball Aerospace.

Since this is specific to the design requires the use of proprietary information , only the original vendor can support this effort. Other vendors cannot fully provide support without access to this critical documentation. Additionally, were a third-party to attempt this work, it is unclear whether we could continue to get support from the original vendor, or if the support costs would significantly increase. No one else can satisfactorily perform the required service. No other resellers are known to exist for this requirement as design specifications of the original instruments are proprietary information.

7. Other Information.

By contracting with Ball to support OLI-1, the Government can benefit where any issues found on OLI-1 can influence preventative changes on OLI-2.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

The only reasonable source for support is the manufacturer of the instrument. This conclusion was made since the instrument is unique and proprietary. Any third-party support would have to have access to Ball System Engineers.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition.

This procurement is expected to include a one-year requirement with four option years. Future requirements will be competed, if possible, to the maximum extent practical.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a sole source basis and certify the above statements are true and accurate.

Signature Date

11. Certifications from the Contracting Officer:

This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

This award will be issued as a combined firm-fixed price/IDIQ contract as a follow on to .

The contract specialist has determined the prices to be fair and reasonable based on comparison to the rates incorporated in , for similar services.

12. Approvals

Date