JOFOC _80AFRC22DA006_SAM Posting_18Nov2021.pdf

Rev.:01/2021

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER (AFRC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

NASA 747-200 Simulator Bay License for use or Real Property, Maintenance and Operations Services (JOFOC #FY21-14)

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) AFRC.

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is AFRC.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition for the continued operation and maintenance of NASA’s B747-200 full-motion flight training simulator with Air Training Support, 7347 S. Revere Parkway, Suite B-300, Centennial, CO 80112.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

This procurement supports training of pilots, flight engineers, and ground crews flying NASA’s SOFIA 747-SP type aircraft through the operation of a 747-200 full-motion flight training simulator (FAA certified, Level C, ID#29).

This contract is to maintain and operate the NASA SOFIA 747-200 Simulator to include: (1) provide maintenance, storage, and utilities for the NASA 747-200 simulator, (2) operate a fully-functional training simulator ready for required NASA flight crew training activities,

(3) support aircrew training for proficiency checks, landing currency, initial qualification, and (4) maintain Level C FAA certification.

Additionally, this contract incorporates the License for Use of Real Property by and between the NASA and ATS for the NASA SOFIA 747-200 Simulator.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

Award to any other source would result in a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) is described below.

No other responsible or available sources have been identified for this acquisition (see paragraph #8 below). The current operator of the simulator is ATS, which has successfully operated the simulator for the past five years. ATS has the requisite specialized labor skills, including engineering and operations skills, and has exclusive knowledge and unique capabilities operating this simulator. ATS has been maintaining this simulator and has been very effective at trouble-shooting obsolescence issues with simulator system and hardware components. This includes rebuilding or reengineering parts/components when they are no longer available commercially. In addition, because of the age of the simulator, and the relatively fragility of the subsystems that support it, there is significant technical, cost, and schedule risk associated with decommissioning and de-installing the simulator from its current location.

The estimated cost of re-locating, re-installing and renewing operations for the simulator to a new location is roughly $1.0M. The estimate cost is based on the move of the simulator five years ago when the simulator was moved from the United Denver Training Center, Denver, CO to ATS, Centennial, CO.

Relocating the simulator would also cause NASA AFRC significate delay in SOFIA flight schedule due to training delays.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (beta.sam.gov) was published on March 23, 2021, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to ATS. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

Based on the Pre-solicitation and the results of the market research conducted by the Acquisition specialist and the knowledge of the requester it is determined that ATS is the only vendor that can meet this requirement. Therefore, it is reasonable for the contracting officer to recommend under statutory authority 41 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) per FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

The current contractor has consistently received very good past performance evaluations from NASA. The contractor has done an excellent job managing and operating the NASA simulator, especially in carefully monitoring the operational performance of the simulator, and quickly troubleshooting minor glitches that arise. Their staff is technically knowledgeable, dedicated, thorough, and very focused upon customer service. Their facilities operation and management are very good, as well as their communication with NASA. They have been proactive in addressing the long-term supportability of the simulator, including identification of required spares and high-value upgrade projects, and proactive inventory management. Users of the simulator, including SOFIA flight crew and external partners, are continually giving positive feedback on the condition and performance of the simulator, as well as attentiveness of ATS staff.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above).

Posted date: March 23, 2021 Closed date: April 6, 2021 Companies that responded: 0 Description of any Reponses received: N/A

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

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. This includes additional market research and continued exploration of alternate simulator types and locations to meet future requirements.