MTN - Cover Letter.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771

TO: All Potential Offerors

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP), Solicitation No. 80GSFC26R0011, Mars Telecommunications Network

You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) solicitation. The principal purpose of this requirement is to provide the design, development, integration, launch, and on orbit, continuous communications in support of a Mars sample return mission and future Mars surface, orbital, and human exploration missions. MTN is expected to support autonomous operations, onboard processing, and extended mission duration capabilities.

NASA will conduct this acquisition as a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 336414 and the Small Business Size Standard is 1,300 employees.

This competitive acquisition will result in a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price contract with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Time and Materials (T&M) component. The contract will include a Core Requirement for the Delivery of the MTN. Optional Requirements include Launch Services, Integration, On-Orbit Commissioning, and five (5) years of Mission Operations. Additionally, the contract will provide the ability to issue T&M task orders for Engineering Analyses. These analyses will increase confidence and understanding of the design, support planning activities, and enable feasibility and trade studies related to MTN capabilities or future enhancements. The contract will be performed offsite at the Contractor’s facilities.

The anticipated contract award date will be in accordance 51 U.S.C § 20306; therefore, potential Offerors should assume a contract effective date of No Later Than (NLT) October 01, 2026. Furthermore, to enable NASA to comply with the statute, each Offeror shall provide the information below in a manner and format that is most suitable to the Offeror. The information below will be used to determine the Offeror’s eligibility to compete for this requirement and shall be submitted under the Offer Volume.

- Documentation that demonstrates that the Offeror is US commercial provider.

- Documentation that demonstrates that the Offeror received NASA funding in FY 2024 or FY 2025 for commercial design studies for Mars Sample Return.

- Documentation that demonstrates that the Offeror proposed a separately and independently launched Mars telecom orbiter to support an end-to-end Mars Sample Return mission.

This solicitation includes eligibility requirements mandated by 51 U.S.C § 20306. Offerors must submit all required information and documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility at the time of proposal submission. Failure to provide all the documentation required by the solicitation will result in proposal rejection.

Failure to meet the eligibility requirement, as stated herein, will constitute a material deficiency. Proposals containing such deficiencies will be considered non-responsive, ineligible for award, and removed from further evaluation or award consideration.

Potential Offerors should pay close attention to all solicitation instructions; however, the following requirements list is summarized to assist in proposal development. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and the solicitation terms and conditions and provisions in Sections L and M take precedence:

1. The Government will make available Government Furnished Property (GFP) for offsite use at the Contractor’s facility as described in the RFP.

2. NASA has determined that this acquisition may give rise to a potential Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI). Offerors should refer to Provision L.14, Notice of Potential Organization Conflicts of Interest, for a description of the potential conflict(s) and Attachment F, DRD 3a for the data requirements of the Offerors submitted OCI Avoidance Plan, to be incorporated as contract Attachment G. In addition, NFS 1852.237-72, Access to Sensitive Information, that references the OCI Avoidance Plan as a contract compliance document.

3. NASA GSFC appreciates the comments received in response to the release of the Draft

RFP. These comments resulted in improvements to the quality and content of the overall RFP. Offerors should review the RFP in its entirety, as its content has changed from the Draft RFP version. The following list identifies some areas where significant changes or clarifications have been made from the Draft RFP to this Final RFP that may not have been addressed in the Draft RFP questions and responses. Feedback that was incorporated resulted in updates to the requirements document as reflected by the was brought to an MTN project control board (PCB). Those PCBs that affected the document are identified in the change history log below:

- PCB-0004 updated advanced proximity and DWE link requirements.

- PCB-0006 significantly reduced the number of applicable documents.

- PCB-0008 updated the SISE requirement and resulted in incorporation of a new appendix to provide clarity.

- PCB-0009 added a non-proprietary protocol goal requirement.

- PCB-0010 clarified DWE telemetry during critical events, revising / adding a new requirement and updating an associated GR&A.

- PCB-0011 provided clarity to the cybersecurity and command protection requirement.

- PCB-0012 updated the link budget template and resulted in a lower EIRP for closing the legacy UHF link.

- Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) 0009 added and cost exhibits added accordingly.

This list is not intended to cover all changes nor describe all RFP requirements. Offerors should carefully review the RFP in its entirety posted to www.sam.gov.

4. Be advised, in accordance with Provision L.13, Offerors need to encourage their references to submit their Past Performance Questionnaires directly to the Contracting Officer prior to proposal due date.

5. Below is a list of the Source Selection Authority and Voting Members along with their associated NASA organization for the Source Evaluation Board. The names provided are for informational purposes only and other than the Contracting Officer, Ian P. Sherry, these individuals shall not be contacted regarding this acquisition. The Government may change personnel associated with this acquisition at its discretion.

Source Selection Authority

Michael J. Barrett, Director of Space Flight Systems Directorate, Glenn Research Center

Voting Members

Richard D. Burns, MTN Project Manager, Goddard Space Flight Center Gary T. Davis, MTN Orbital Systems Engineer, Goddard Space Flight Center Michael V. Aulisio, MTN Lead Engineer, Glenn Research Center Bradley D. French, MTN Systems Engineer, Glenn Research Center Richard C. Rhinehart, MTN Telecommunications Engineer, Glenn Research Center

6. Offerors are required to have a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code that matches the corporate address submitted with its proposal.

Offerors are encouraged to refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.212-1, Instructions To Offerors-Commercial Items, in particular paragraph (d), which states that the Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with Offerors.

In order to control and protect sensitive data owned by the Government and its Contractors, NASA policy required all acquisition-related documents be released in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). While the RFP’s Price Volume Exhibits may be in PDF format, the Offeror’s Price Volume proposal shall include completed Price Volume Exhibits in Microsoft Office Excel format with working cell formulas. Instructions for converting from PDF format to Excel format can be found in Provision L.12.

Documents related to this acquisition, including this letter, the solicitation, attachments, exhibits, any amendments and links to online reference/technical/bidders library will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry website at www.sam.gov. Potential Offerors are requested to periodically monitor the websites for updates.

Due to recent Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) changes, Offerors are encouraged to monitor the FAR Part Deviation Guide at: https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide for complete up-to-date information on applicable RFO changes, clause updates, deviations, and guidance.

NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at:

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate- Listing.pdf

This RFP does not commit NASA to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA to procure or contract for these services. This request is not an authorization to proceed and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the Offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than June 15, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT. Proposals for this solicitation are required to be submitted through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box (EFSS Box), a FedRAMP Moderate certified platform. Potential Offerors, especially those that have not previously submitted a proposal utilizing NASA’s EFSS Box, are encouraged to review the solicitation instruction entitled “Electronic Proposal Delivery – Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box” which provides instructions related to the submission of proposal via EFSS Box.

Offerors are encouraged to check with their corporate IT staff to determine if there are firewall restrictions that would need to be addressed prior to the submission of proposal files through NASA’s EFSS Box.

In accordance with NFS 1815.201(f), a “Blackout Notice” has been issued to NASA personnel. All inquiries/communications pertaining to this acquisition shall be directed only to the Contracting Officer listed below.

All questions regarding this RFP should be submitted via email to Ian P. Sherry, Contracting Officer, at Ian.P.Sherry@nasa.gov, with a courtesy copy to Aaron M. Case at Aaron.M.Case@nasa.gov on or before May 24, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT. Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Ian P. Sherry Contracting Officer