2.06 Attachment II- Industry Questions and Answers.pdf

Question# Question Answer Responsibility

Will the system require automatic pump-down cycles, ie: one button push to pump from atmosphere to high vacuum?

No.

Customer

Will the Turbo pump & Cryo pump need to be used simultaneously, individually or selectable for either?

Selectable for either. For example, devices that use heavy gases (e.g., xenon) would use the cryo-pump only to avoid damaging the turbopump blades.

What vacuum level are you referring to when you use the term 50 µtorr (5x10-5) torr?

5x10-5 Torr

Is the length of the chamber inclusive of the outer radius of the dished heads?

Yes.

Would it be acceptable to embed the copper cooling lines into machined grooves in the platen?

Yes.

Can the chamber be a constructed as a SS cuboid instead of a SS round?

Regarding the thruster tests, are you expecting the bidding party to provide a collection panel capable of supporting the thruster tests and capturing the gases used during testing?

As the manufacturer, are we permitted to supply the necessary backing pumps for the high vacuum pumps while utilizing the existing Kinney pumps at your facility for roughing the chamber? Or are we responsible for supplying all the pumps required to meet the system specifications?

The former (supply necessary backing pumps), although we do not expect additional roughing / backing pumps to be necessary.

The Kinney roughing pumps will be used to bring the chamber to rough vacuum and to provide backing for the turbopump. Each pump has a pumping rate of 850 m3/hr (500 CFM) and is equipped with a roots blower with a 1100-3400 m3/hr pumping rate.

What is the distance from the pump mounting position and the size of the test article?

Test article size will vary.

Electric propulsion devices are likely to be at most 3” diameter, and CubeSats to be space-qualified will likely be at most 50cm x 20 cm x 20 cm.

The maximum distance between the test article and a high-vacuum pump flange is about 45”.

We do not recommend that you use the Turbo with Xenon or Krypton as these gases will prematurely kill the turbo pump, would this be sufficient?

Understood. Yes, this would be sufficient.

Would the customer like for it to be exactly as specified or so that it will better match the performance results vs the pump specs?

The solution should match the pumping specs as outlined in the PWS, and, if possible, the performance specs.

The contractor may refer to Section 8 in the PWS (“ The contractor shall inform the client if, after calculations, the pumping system cannot process the maximum expected gas flow rate. If that is the case, the contractor shall provide the client with a new estimate of the maximum mass flow rate that the system can process.”)

12 Would a pumping package that includes a 200m3/hr Drvyac 200 pump, a 3000eSL Cryo pump and an Ebara EMT3304 be sufficient?

We do not expect an additional roughing pump to be required since the facilities have already existing roughing pumps: it would not be necessary to add a Dryvac pump to the package.

The 3000eSL and Ebara EMT3304 should be sufficient for the high-vacuum pumps.

Would it be possible to receive an extension to the solicitation due date?

The solicitation has been amended to close on 5 May 2025 at 10:00AM EST.

Contract Specialist