Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) - CyboSoft (Final).pdf

Rev.:4/2026

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA IT Procurement Office (ITPO)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For CyboSoft's Model-Free Adaptive Software Purchase

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.104-1(a)(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) IT Procurement Office (ITPO).

The procuring agency is NASA, and the contracting activity is ITPO.

2. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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 with General Cybernation Group Inc (CyboSoft) for CyboSoft's Model-Free Adaptive Software.

3. FAR 6.104-1(a)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The Government’s current Model-Free Adaptive (MFA) software licenses are tied to the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the legacy NI cRIO-9022 controllers presently deployed within the Power Control Cabinet (PCC) systems. The NI cRIO-9022 platform has reached end-of-life status and is no longer supported by the manufacturer. In addition, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) has experienced increasing hardware reliability issues and failures associated with the aging cRIO-9022 systems, creating a significant risk to continued thermal test operations. To maintain system reliability, operational readiness, and long-term sustainment of the PCC infrastructure, the Government must transition to the current NI cRIO-9045 hardware platform. Because CyboSoft licenses its MFA software based on specific hardware identifiers, new MFA software licenses are required for the replacement cRIO-9045 controllers.

The required CyboSoft's Model-Free Adaptive Software is deliverable to NASA AFRC for a total estimated cost of $890,000.00. The estimated Period of Performance is one (1) year after receipt of award.

Rev.: 4/2026

4. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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.

3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.103-1.

5. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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. 3204(a)(1) is that CyboSoft is the sole source provider for this requirement as described below.

NASA AFRC conducts thermal testing on unique and often one-of-a-kind aerospace flight hardware, including aircraft and spacecraft structural components, hypersonic systems, and other high-value test articles. Due to the cost, schedule, and limited availability of these assets, repeated testing opportunities are frequently unavailable. Consequently, conventional control approaches that require extensive system characterization, modeling, or iterative tuning prior to testing are not practical. CyboSoft’s MFA technology provides adaptive, real-time control that continuously learns and adjusts to changing thermal characteristics throughout the test profile. This capability is critical to maintaining stable and accurate thermal conditions while minimizing risk to irreplaceable test articles and ensuring successful execution of thermal test objectives.

CyboSoft’s MFA Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) controller software is the only commercially available solution currently integrated within the NASA AFRC PCC architecture. It provides the required adaptive thermal control capability without the need for a pre-developed system model, extensive system identification, or significant controller tuning. The existing PCC infrastructure employs CyboSoft MFA SISO controllers operating on National Instruments (NI) CompactRIO hardware to control high-temperature thermal test environments consisting of up to 264 independently controlled thermal zones.

CyboSoft possesses unique qualifications that make it the only responsible source capable of satisfying the Government’s requirements. The NASA AFRC PCC thermal control systems were specifically designed, integrated, and validated using CyboSoft’s proprietary MFA SISO control technology. This technology provides a commercially supported model-free adaptive control capability that continuously learns and adjusts to changing thermal system dynamics in real time without requiring a pre-developed system model, extensive system identification, or significant controller tuning.

The nature of NASA Armstrong’s thermal testing mission requires a control solution capable of maintaining stable and accurate thermal conditions across up to 264 independently controlled thermal zones while supporting highly variable and often one-of-a-kind aerospace test articles. Alternative commercial solutions are based primarily on conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) or model-based control methodologies and do not provide the same mature, commercially supported adaptive control capability currently deployed within the PCC systems.

Additionally, CyboSoft’s MFA software licenses are proprietary and licensed directly by CyboSoft for specific National Instruments CompactRIO hardware platforms. The Government’s existing MFA licenses are tied to the obsolete NI cRIO-9022 controllers currently installed in the PCC systems. As the Government transitions to the NI cRIO-9045 platform to address hardware obsolescence and reliability concerns, only CyboSoft can provide the required replacement MFA software licenses compatible with the new hardware.

Because the Government’s thermal control infrastructure, software architecture, and operational test procedures are dependent upon CyboSoft’s proprietary MFA technology, and because no other vendor can provide equivalent licenses, software functionality, or direct compatibility with the existing system, CyboSoft is uniquely qualified to fulfill this requirement. Therefore, the nature of the acquisition and the contractor’s unique capabilities require the use of other than full and open competition.

6. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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 5.1 and, if not, which exception under 5.101 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on July 16, 2026, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.1. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to CyboSoft. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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 requested CyboSoft's Model-Free Adaptive Software will be competed as a brand name solicitation under NASA SEWP. Vendors will provide the best price available in the market and the competition will yield a price that is fair and reasonable to ITPO. Procurement anticipates multiple vendors to provide a competitive price on the CyboSoft’s brand.

8. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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):

Market research was conducted to identify commercially available alternatives capable of providing adaptive thermal control functionality for NASA Armstrong’s PCC systems while meeting the Government’s technical, operational, and integration requirements. The research included a review of commercially available thermal control products, adaptive control technologies, industrial process control solutions, National Instruments (NI) CompactRIO-compatible software offerings, and commercially supported control platforms used in aerospace and high-temperature test environments.

The market research determined that while numerous vendors offer conventional PID controllers, model-based controllers, and other advanced process control solutions, these products require varying levels of system modeling, plant characterization, controller tuning, or system identification before achieving acceptable control performance. None of the alternative products reviewed were found to provide a commercially supported model-free adaptive control capability equivalent to CyboSoft’s MFA technology that can automatically adapt to changing thermal dynamics without a pre-developed system model.

The Government’s thermal test environment presents unique challenges due to the large number of independently controlled thermal zones, varying thermal characteristics of each test article, and the requirement to support one-of-a-kind aerospace hardware for which repeat testing opportunities are often limited or unavailable. Market research found no alternative commercial solution that demonstrated compatibility with the existing PCC architecture while also providing the proven real-time adaptive learning capability required to maintain thermal control performance across these highly variable test conditions.

In addition, no identified alternative solution was found to be directly compatible with the Government’s existing PCC implementation utilizing CyboSoft MFA controllers on NI CompactRIO hardware. Any alternate product would require significant engineering effort to redesign control algorithms, modify software interfaces, reconfigure controller architectures, and perform extensive validation and qualification testing to verify performance within the operational environment. As a result, the market research concluded that CyboSoft’s MFA software remains the only commercially available and operationally proven solution capable of meeting the Government’s requirements while maintaining compatibility with the existing thermal control infrastructure.

Based on the results of this market research, CyboSoft is considered the only responsible source capable of providing the required MFA software licenses for deployment on the NI cRIO-9045 platform and supporting the Government’s established thermal control architecture and mission requirements.

9. FAR 6.104-1(a)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

10. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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). The notice of intent was posted on 7/16/2026 and closed on 7/23/2026. No companies responded.

11. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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 subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.