LCAT Justification Fully Executed 2APR21.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Langley Research Center

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

Description of the action being approved: This justification documents the basis for issuing a task order under the General Services Administration (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Contract using an exception to the Fair Opportunity process.

Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs: The requirement is for testing in support of NASA Hypersonic Material Development utilizing the Boeing Large Core Arc Tunnel (LCAT) Arc-Jet Facility. A cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) task order will be issued for the testing required to expose various material specimens to a range of temperature and pressure conditions that are relevant to expected hypersonic flight conditions. Specifically, the task is for performance of the required ground testing to evaluate potential candidate composite ceramic matrix material systems (resin, fiber, ceramic matrix composites) for application on hypersonic vehicles. During flight, the material systems will be exposed to high temperatures and pressures for which an arc-jet tunnel is the only viable ground test facility capable of producing the required test conditions to adequately assess the viability and survivability of the candidate material systems. The objective of this test campaign is to evaluate the response of a leading edge of control surface (i.e. wing, nose) as a function of temperature and pressure. This requires testing over a range of pressures. We have performed preliminary screening tests at the Langley HyMETS arc-jet at low pressures, and further require testing at higher pressures and temperatures and larger scale. The total estimated amount of the proposed order is $2M and the estimated period of performance is seven months.

Identification of Exception to Fair Opportunity:

FAR 16.505 (a)(4), Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer. An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A), The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(D), It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(E), For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F) In accordance with section 1331 of Public Law 111-240 (15 U.S.C. 644(r)), contracting officers may, at their discretion, set aside orders for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3). When setting aside orders for small business concerns, the specific small business program eligibility requirements identified in part 19 apply.

Supporting Rationale:

NASA Langley Research Center, Hypersonic Technology Project has developed potential candidate material systems for application on hypersonic reusable vehicles and ground testing is required to validate the materials in a relevant environment. During flight, the material systems will be exposed to high temperatures and pressures for which an arc-jet tunnel is the only viable ground test facility capable of producing the required test conditions to adequately assess the viability and survivability of the candidate material systems.

The scope of this task is to evaluate three different technologies related to hypersonic leading-edge concepts under various aerothermal test conditions and will involve several different configurations and model types. Data obtained from previous ground testing conducted in Boeing’s LCAT will be used for direct comparison with the data acquired from this task order to assess technology advancement. Specifically, the NASA- Scaled Geometry Model (SGM) testing data will be compared directly with data acquired during previous testing conducted in the LCAT under a current task order under the Basic and Applied Aerospace Research and Technology (BAART) Contract (NNL16AA04B) with Boeing to assess technology advancement and improvement for passively-cooled leading-edge technology. The NASA- Materials Architectures and Characterization for Hypersonics (MACH) test effort to be conducted under this task order will provide test data for actively-cooled leading-edge technology which will be directly compared with the NASA-SGM test data to determine technology advancement and improvement.

In addition, the NASA-Leading Edge Coating Characterization (LECC) and NASA-MACH data will be directly compared between active and passively-cooled leading edge technology as the NASA-LECC tests will be passively-cooled samples The NASA-MACH and NASA- LECC tests were previously conducted in the Boeing LCAT facility and considerable effort, test time, and funding has been devoted at the LCAT facility (as a task order under Contract NNL16AA04B) to develop the required test conditions, unique test techniques and instrumentation requirements.

There are only two major arc-jet test facilities located in the United States which provide a large flow-field adequate to test larger models, larger than 2-inches wide, and can perform the full range of the required testing (SGM, MACH, and LECC). These two facilities are: 1) the Arnold Engineering Development facility (AEDC), located in Tullahoma, TN and 2) the Boeing Large Core Arc Tunnel (LCAT) located in St. Louis, MO. The first facility (AEDC) is a government facility, and other than the Boeing LCAT, there are no other commercial arc-jet facilities in the United States capable of conducting the required testing. This proposed new task for ground testing potential candidate material systems for application on hypersonic vehicles builds upon extensive past efforts of testing conducted in the Boeing LCAT facility.

Since all previous testing was conducted in the Boeing LCAT facility, baseline test data has previously been conducted and is readily available to assess the NASA-SGM performance improvement and support a comparison with data from the NASA-MACH and NASA-LECC tests. If the testing under this requirement is performed in an arc-jet facility other than the Boeing LCAT facility, a new series of baseline test data would need to be generated to perform assessments and comparisons, since all arc-jet facilities do not produce identical test conditions. Any change in testing facility would not produce reliable and translatable data and would result in a substantial duplication of cost to rebaseline data. Therefore, the NASA Hypersonic Technology Project has evaluated all the available testing facility alternatives and has determined that use of the Boeing LCAT facility for exposing the various material specimens to a range of temperature and pressure conditions is required in order to ensure data continuity.

Determination that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

Boeing’s LCAT is the only commercial facility in the United States capable of testing at the required higher pressures, relevant test profile, and model size, and based on historical data, typically costs less to run than the Air Force AEDC (~$120-160k/wk for LCAT versus ~$240k/wk for AEDC). Further, the CPFF amount for this acquisition will be determined fair and reasonable by the Contracting Officer prior to award of this proposed new task order. Actions anticipated to ensure reasonableness will be accomplished using the procedures and criteria contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), NASA FAR Supplement (NFS), and other regulatory documents as applicable. The Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM) which will document the determination of reasonableness using the evaluation of Boeing quoted pricing, compared to the Independent Government Estimate (IGE), and the pricing of previous similar efforts. Cost or pricing data will be obtained in accordance with FAR requirements and used in determining a fair and reasonable cost.

Other Facts:

The Boeing LCAT facility is a commercial facility and provides a higher return on value in terms of models tested per day and allows for a more timely testing schedule when compared to the noted Government facility. Use of the Boeing facility will allow the NASA team to evaluate the respective models (SGM, MACH, LECC) more efficiently and compare that data to previous testing of similar model geometries. Overall, the Boeing LCAT facility provides a higher return in terms of models tested per dollar compared to the government facilities.

There are no other commercial facilities that can provide a large flow-field adequate to test larger models, e.g., larger than 2-inches wide, thus, there is no opportunity for competition.

The Government facility is not a viable candidate but was reviewed for market research and cost reasonableness purposes.

A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

The CO will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

Testing in the Boeing LCAT Arc-Jet Facility in Support of NASA Hypersonic Material Development JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the requirements and technical data contained herein, and which form a basis for this justification are accurate and complete.

Dr. David E. Glass Technical Representative

I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the content herein, it is determined there is substantial evidence to justify this exception to fair opportunity.

Zachary M. Wright Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCE:

Stephen DeLange Office of Chief Counsel

Susan E. McClain Procurement Officer

APPROVAL:

Based on the information provided in this justification, and as the approving official, I have determined that the exception at 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) applies to the order.

David F. Young Competition Advocate, Langley Research Center

DAVID GLASS Digitally signed by DAVID GLASS Date: 2021.03.31 10:07:12 -04'00'

ZACHARY

WRIGHT

Digitally signed by

ZACHARY WRIGHT

Date: 2021.03.31 10:09:47 -04'00'

Stephen Delange

Digitally signed by Stephen Delange Date: 2021.03.31 10:54:17 -04'00'