JOFOC - EDGE Beryllium - APPROVED_Redacted.pdf

Rev.:5/2024

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Goddard Space Flight Center

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE) I-220-H Grade Beryllium

Solicitation # 80GSFC24P0005

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) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD.

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 to award a sole-source contract to Materion Brush Inc., (Materion) to procure approximately 898 pounds of I-220-H instrument-grade Beryllium (Be) from Materion to support the construction of the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE) 1.2 m diameter Beryllium telescope being built by General Dynamics (GD) as per the guidelines and criteria of the 2023 Earth System Explorers (ESE) Announcement of Opportunity (AO) # NNH23ZDA016O.

Under the new contract, NASA’s GSFC proposes to award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Contract to Materion to procure the I-220-H Beryllium instrument-grade metal required. The proposed period of performance (POP) for this new FFP contract is 55 weeks from date of award.

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):

Under the authority of the competitive NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) Announcement of Opportunity (AO) # NNH23ZDA016O, NASA’s Earth System Explorers (ESE) program selected four proposals, including EDGE, for concept studies of missions to help NASA better understand Earth science key focus areas including greenhouse gases, the ozone layer, ocean surface currents, and changes in ice and glaciers around the world. These four investigations are part of the agency’s new ESE Program – which conducts principal investigator-led space science missions as recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017 Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space. The program is designed to enable high-quality Earth system science investigations to focus on previously identified key targets.

https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/decadal-survey-for-earth-science-and-applications-from-space

The purpose of the EDGE mission, led by Principal Investigator (PI) Helen Amanda Fricker at the University of California in San Diego, is to observe the three-dimensional structure of terrestrial ecosystems and the surface topography of glaciers, ice sheets, and sea ice as they are changing in response to climate and human activity. On April 29, 2022, the EDGE mission selected General Dynamics as one of three industry partners to conduct a twelve (12) month concept study that focuses on mission implementation, feasibility, cost, management, and technical plan to manufacture a 1.2 m diameter Beryllium (Be) telescope for EDGE based on the 0.8 m Be telescopes flown on ICESat-2 and GEDI.

As Beryllium has a long procurement lead time of 55 weeks, the purpose of this procurement is to acquire the required quantity of Beryllium for the EDGE telescope during Phase A of the ESE program and provide it as Government furnished material to the contractor, General Dynamics (GD), during Phase B of the mission if the EDGE mission gets selected to move forward for implementation. Acquiring the Beryllium directly from Materion and providing it to GD allows the Government the ability mitigate risk by cutting down future long lead times and retain ownership of the Beryllium metal for other NASA projects to use should the EDGE mission not be selected to move forward to Phase B.

The estimated value of the Procuring the Beryllium in Phase A while evaluating, negotiating, and definitizing the Phase B-F proposal from GD would enable work to continue uninterrupted beyond Phase procurement is and the proposed period of performance is 55 weeks from the date of award.

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”.

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), “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements” is described below.

EDGE mission selected General Dynamics to manufacture a 1.2 m diameter Beryllium (Be) telescope based on the 0.8 m Be telescopes flown on ICESat-2 and GEDI. General Dynamics is also the manufacturer of the ICESAT-2, ATLAS Flight Telescope and the GEDI Telescope.

Similar to the ICESAT and GEDI missions where Beryllium telescope performed laser ranging measurements focused on the polar regions (ICESAT) and vegetative areas closer to the equator (GEDI), the EDGE mission plans to use a similar General Dynamics built Beryllium telescope to perform laser ranging measurements focused on analyzing critical regions of the Earth undergoing rapid change.

Beryllium is a critical component required to manufacture the EDGE telescope because the metal has the unique qualification of being light, strong, less prone to expansion and shrinkage, magnetically more transparent, and a better electrical and thermal conductor than alternative materials. Moreover, I-220-H grade Beryllium metal has the highest tensile yield strength and highest micro yield strength (PEL) of all Beryllium metal grades and has been NASA standard material choice for all Space telescopes with the exception of JWST which used a special O- 30 grade due to size and manufacturability.

The I-220-H grade NASA selects for space applications is only available from Materion. No other vendor has the access and knowledge to mine Beryllium containing bertrandite ore in the vertically integrated Materion delta mine in Utah. Materion is the only US based manufacturer of Beryllium metal with the other commercially available sources being in Kazakhstan and China, making Materion the western world's sole, commercially viable source of Beryllium ore.

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 (Sam.gov) was published on July 8, 2024, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Materion Brush Inc. and provided potential sources with the opportunity to be considered based on their qualifications and capability statements. 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 cost for the contract action is fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer will utilize all sources such as the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and Government technical and financial representatives in determining a fair and reasonable cost. Historical data established under the existing NASA missions and in-house estimate will be used for cost comparisons and analysis, as applicable.

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

The Government has conducted market research and determined Materion to be the only responsible contractor for this effort. Materion is the western world's sole, commercially viable source of Beryllium ore. Materion is the only global, fully integrated developer and supplier of engineered Beryllium materials, from mining to Research and Development (R&D) to mill products and fabrication services. This market research is a result of years working with makers of weather telescopes in the industry. The project’s past and current experience with building telescopes have been invaluable in determining the path forward to ensure mission success.

It was determined that there are no sources other than Materion that have the access, heritage, expertise, and facilities required to mine, produce and manufacture I-220-H instrument-grade Beryllium required to build the new telescope essential to the success of the EDGE mission.

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

None

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 (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above) on July 8, 2024. The synopsis notified all interested sources that this requirement will be issued on a sole-source basis and provided them an opportunity to submit their interest and capabilities to the Contracting Officer within 15 days of the synopsis publication. The synopsis closed July 23, 2024, and the Government received no capability statements in response from interested parties by this date.

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:

There are no follow-on procurements for Beryllium anticipated for this mission. A non-competitive acquisition is currently the only available means of procuring the I-220-H instrument-grade Beryllium metal to meet EDGE telescopes technical, cost and schedule requirements. 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.