JOFOC For Propsim F64 RF Channel Emulator Signed Final.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Glenn Research Center (GRC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For PROPSIM F64 RF CHANNEL EMULATOR

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) GRC:

The procuring agency is NASA and the contracting activity is GRC.

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 Keysight Technologies for a Radio Frequency (RF) Channel Emulator.

This RF channel emulator is a critical enabling piece of hardware, which will be integrated as part of the Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed, to be setup in the future Advanced Communications Facility (ACF). It will provide the ability to conduct hardware-in-the-loop testing of communication systems for both aeronautics and space vehicles. NASA engineers will be able to test, validate and verify complete communication system over simulated flight and orbital trajectories. The RF channel emulator will support microwave frequencies, allowing NASA researchers to develop technologies that enable autonomous aircraft operations and urban air mobility, in addition to supporting communications for human exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

This investment will transform Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed into a leading world-class testbed platform, providing immense value to the Center and Agency. The Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed is not capable of delivering this value without this critical piece of equipment.

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):

Specifications for RF Channel Emulator:

• The instrument shall support a frequency range of 450 MHz to 6 GHz. Must be able to support external modules to facilitate future operation at a maximum frequency of 27 GHz.

• The instrument shall support an instantaneous bandwidth per channel of 100 MHz.

• The instrument shall support the ability to combine channels to produce an instantaneous bandwidth greater than or equal to 600 MHz.

• The instrument shall support 24 simultaneous RF input/output channels.

• The instrument shall support a maximum Doppler range of +/- 1200 kHz.

• The instrument shall support a maximum propagation delay of 1.2 to 1.35 seconds.

• The instrument shall support a RF dynamic range of at least 60 dB.

• The instrument shall utilize a standard 110/220VAC, 60 Hz, power supply.

• The instrument shall support the ability to externally control the channel emulator using SCIPI commands or another API compatible with the Python programming language.

• The instrument shall be future upgradable to support 5G hardware and software platforms.

• The instrument shall support the Geometric Channel Modeling (GCM) package for creating dynamic MIMO and beamforming models.

• The instrument shall include the Aerospace channel emulation option which includes extension of the maximum delay, Doppler, among other parameters.

• The instrument shall include the extended signal bandwidth option, which includes up to 600 MHz on 2 TRX ports per Channel Unit.

• The instrument shall provide the ability to load and playback user defined channel and fading models.

• The instrument shall support beamforming applications with internal auto-phase calibration capability.

• Estimated Value $800,000.

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

Keysight’s Propsim F64 RF channel emulator is the only commercial system capable of meeting the necessary combination of critical system performance specifications required by the Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed. These include:

The ability to support a minimum of 24 channels, which is necessary to emulate multipath interference and fading for urban air mobility vehicles operating within congested city environments. This capability is also required, in order for NASA engineers to assess the performance of cognitive antennas and radios.

A propagation delay resolution of less than 100 picoseconds. The Cognitive

Communications Ground Testbed must have this capability to emulate agile aircraft maneuvers in urban environments. This capability also needed to support the development of autonomous, resilient, real-time communication and navigation control algorithms. Furthermore, this delay resolution is necessary for distinguishing between satellite assets in close proximity, a key capability for cognitive antennas.

Required to have a maximum propagation delay of 1.2 to 1.35 seconds. This is necessary in order to model communication links to geostationary communication from Earth to the Moon, one way.

Must have the ability to support an instantaneous single channel bandwidth of 100 MHz and a combined channel instantaneous bandwidth of at least 600 MHz. This is required to emulate high data rate communication systems utilized by NASA and other government agencies.

Necessary to have a Doppler frequency range +/- 1200 kHz for LEO relay.

Must have the ability to auto-calibrate phase information, and work with frequency conversion systems, in the future, in order to operate antenna arrays nominally at 6 GHz.

Keysight’s Propsim F64 RF channel emulator uniquely achieves these performance requirements, enabling the Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed to achieve its mission of providing hardware-in-the-loop emulation capabilities for NASA’s air and space communication systems.

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 February 26, 2021, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Keysight Technologies. 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:

Keysight’s Propsim F64 is the only commercial system capable of meeting the required performance specifications. Keysight has provided an official quote for the system.

Recently, the MATRICS team purchased a Keysight Propsim RF Channel Emulator with 8 channels under PR 4200710490. The pricing between this quote and the prior PR

, demonstrating that Keysight is maintaining consistency in pricing.

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

A thorough market analysis was conducted, before determining Keysight’s Propsim F64 as the only commercially available solution. The market analysis resulted in identification of four alternative options from 1) I.A.I Digital, 2) DYSE, 3) RT Logic, 4) Spirent and 5) National Instruments. NASA evaluated the each of these alternatives and determined that each system did not meet the Government's requirements in varying ways as identified below:

I.A.I Digital D600 Channel Emulator o Doppler range of +/- 200 kHz

Requirement is +/- 1200 kHz

DYSE

o Maximum delay is 120 ms

Requirement is 1.2 to 1.35 sec o Provides 8 emulation channels

Requirement is 24

RT Logic T400 CS o Provides 1 emulation channel

Requirement is 24

Spirent: Vertex Channel Emulator o Provides a maximum of 18 emulation channels

Requirement is 24 o Delay resolution equal to 100 ps

Requirement is less than 100 ps

National Instruments: CAPture Channel Emulator o Provides 4 emulation channels

Requirement is 24 o Doppler range of +/- 1 MHz

Requirement is +/- 1200 kHz

This market analysis indicates that Keysight’s Propsim F64 RF channel emulator uniquely achieves the required performance specifications.

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 (beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). Synopsis was posted on Beta.Sam on February 26, 2021 for 15 days, no responses were received.

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 Cognitive Communications Ground Testbed development team has reviewed the required performance specifications and has determined that reducing the performance standard of the required RF channel emulator will result in a capability that will not meet NASA’s needs.

Therefore, open competition is not possible at this time. Open competition could resume in the future, assuming that manufacturers of RF channel emulators improve the performance of their systems to a level capable of solving NASA’s cognitive antenna/networks, urban air mobility, autonomous aircraft and space communication objectives.

PROPSIM F64 RF CHANNEL EMULATOR

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Taylor Pember Technical Representative

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Ashlee Shaw Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCE:

Kurt Straub Procurement Officer

APPROVED:

Marla E. Pérez-Davis, Ph.D.

Competition Advocate Glenn Research Center

Taylor Pember

Ashlee Shaw Digitally signed by Ashlee Shaw Date: 2021.04.23 10:58:01 -04'00'