Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) Signed.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Glenn Research Center (GRC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For 80GRC022R0008 / SKOUT LEO Flight Test / 80GRC022CA012

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 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (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 Cesium Astro to integrate and flight test a low-cost, small-satellite-class, Ka-band actively phased array antenna (APAA) for direct-to-earth communications links in support of the NASA SmallSat Ka-band Operations User Terminal (SKOUT) project under contract number 80GRC022CA012.

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 project encompasses the development and flight demonstration of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 5G, Ka band, actively phased antenna array (APAA) technologies compatible with commercial space networks, including APAAs, software defined radios (SDR), power optimization algorithms, and high data rate to ground communication standards. The estimated value of this procurement is $300,000.00. The period of performance for this contract is 14 months.

Description of the Work/Contractor Tasks:

The vendor shall integrate the Nightingale 1 / SKOUT architecture into flight test configuration designed to meet or exceed the maximum expected mission duration.

The vendor shall design payload to meet relevant requirements (e.g. electrical, mechanical, environmental) for the flight test configuration.

The vendor shall optimize the Field of View (FoV) for DTE experiments with best effort for support LEO-LEO and LEO-GEO links.

The vendor shall design payload to operate at max power for at least an hour each day.

The vendor shall design payload to run continuously in a transmit-inhibit mode The vendor shall support activities to obtain authorization for permits to radiate The vendor shall work with flight provider to qualify the payload and to secure a launch

The vendor shall support Technical Interchange Meetings (TIM) when appropriate The vendor shall complete a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) with NASA The vendor shall position APAA test hardware in LEO with best effort by end of CY22.

The vendor shall support waveform development of massless payloads for test.

The vendor shall plan and execute flight tests with NASA and flight provider The vendor shall submit monthly status reports The vendor shall submit flight test reports The vendor shall submit a detailed summary final flight test report

Flight hardware shall be form, fit and function equivalent to the Nightingale 1/ SKOUT hardware as per contract number: 80GRC019P0022. Battery and power requirements should support an operating payload at max power for 3 passes / day.

The vendor shall propose a set of experiments for the development and demonstration of Ka band APAA technologies. The vendor shall optimize the test setup for Direct to Earth (DTE) experiments with secondary considerations given to LEO-LEO and LEO-GEO experiments.

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.

The APAA and terminal were developed by Cesium Astro. Cesium Astro is the only company who can successfully integrate the APAA, the controller, the software defined radio, frequency modulator, and power conditioning unit into the host bus. Interfacing with the hardware will require Cesium Astro intellectual property and expertise in phased array development.

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 April 6, 2022, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Cesium Astro. 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.

The proposed pricing will be determined fair and reasonable per 15.404-1 Proposal Analysis Techniques. The proposal will also be evaluated against an independent government cost estimate (IGCE) for a more thorough analysis of the proposed costs.

This contract will be a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract given its complexity, and level of risk.

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:

Market research for this acquisition includes a posting the notice of intent to sole source on SAM.gov as well as previous and ongoing research surrounding the statement of work. There were no responses that met the requirements to the posting as was expected due to the unique nature of the work.

The integration and flight testing a low-cost, small-satellite-class, Ka-band phased array antenna for direct-to-earth communications links in support of the NASA SmallSat Ka-band Operations User Terminal (SKOUT) project do not exist as a commercial service. As determined based upon prior and ongoing work, there is no available alternative on the market, and a sole source contract to Cesium Astro is the only valid path forward.

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

FAR 6.303-2(b)(9)(i) – Technical data packages, specifications, engineering descriptions, statements of work, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed and are not applicable. Such data would include Cesium Astro proprietary information that is not available for general release. Such data further are subject to restrictions against public release imposed by applicable International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

If the contract action is not executed, there will be a lack of a commercial supply chain for phased arrays that can operate in the space environment and on NASA’s space network. This activity is aligned and paced with the lunar architecture envisioned for Artemis III and the 2025 timeframe. If delayed, there is a high likelihood on the technology gap and mission impact for the Artemis missions and the lunar architecture.

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). The synopsis was posted on April 6, 2022 for 15 days and one response was received from VCloudTech. The synopsis closed on April 21, 2022 at 12:00 pm EDT. An email was sent to VCloudTech which stated that their capability submission didn’t address the requirement posted on SAM.gov.

VCloudTech’s submitted NAICS and capabilities are far different than the requirement.

Since VCloudTech’s submission does not meet the Government's requirements, they will not be considered for this procurement. No other respondent provided a written response to the posted synopsis.

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.

SKOUT LEO Flight Test / 80GRC022CA012

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

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

Aaron Yingling Project Manager

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

Tyler Braden Contracting Officer

Aaron Yingling

Digitally signed by Aaron Yingling Date: 2022.04.27 15:58:45 -04'00'

Tyler Braden Digitally signed by Tyler Braden Date: 2022.04.27 16:03:29 -04'00'