JOFOC_No_JA-FY18-J03_(NNA17BF41C)_REDACTED.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, California 94035-1000

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition [FAR 6.303-2(b)(1)]

Summary Information:

Initiating Office: NASA Ames Research Center Small Spacecraft Technology Program (Code PX)

Contracting Activity: NASA Ames Research Center

JOFOC Number: JA-FY18-J03 Purchase Request No.: PR# 4200651812 Procurement Title: Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) Total Estimated Value: $FOIA Ex. 5 Period of Performance: No change to the existing period of performance (01/10/2017 –

04/27/2020, if all options are exercised) is being requested under this JOFOC.

Statutory Authority:

[FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)]

10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

This Justification for other than full and open competition has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303 and NASA FAR Supplement

(NFS) 1806.303.

Detailed Information:

A. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)]

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) proposes to negotiate a sole source contract modification with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc., hereinafter Tyvak, of 15256 Alton Pkwy #200, Irvine, CA 92618, to increase the scope of work and total price of contract number NNA17BF41C titled “Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator”. The increase in contract value is the result of the following: (1) increasing the contractor’s mission operations responsibilities for the PTD Technology Demonstration Spaceflight Missions and Globalstar Technology Demonstration, (2) adding 3 additional payload assessment activity options, and (3) incorporating Flight 1 & 2 Payload Integration Activity Accommodation. Mission operations for the PTD Spaceflight Missions and Globalstar Technology Demonstration are currently managed by the Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) Level II Office located at NASA Ames Research Center. Through this modification, full mission operations will be managed and performed by the Contractor. The increase in scope and additional options is not expected to impact the period of performance.

Under the original PTD project plans, NASA Ames had the responsibility for the conducting the Mission Operations Planning and Management. Subsequent to project Authority to Proceed

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition JOFOC Number JA-FY18-J03

(ATP) and project kick-off, a more in-depth analysis was conducted, by the Small Spacecraft Technology Program Office, to determine the requirements necessary for NASA Ames to provide Mission Operations support to the PTD Project. Under the terms of the initial contract, the Contractor provides the Ground Station, Ground Station Network Interface and spacecraft console operator which allows for the communication and control of the PTD spacecraft. A NASA Ames managed mission operations effort would require a secure tie into the Contractor provided Ground Station and Network Interface. A substantial upgrade to the NASA Ames Multi - Mission Operations Center (MMOC) infrastructure would be required. In addition a sustained level of effort of mission operations personnel would be required to upgrade and maintain the MMOC operations console. The Contractor provided mission operations solution was determined to provide the lowest risk and best value to the government.

The PTD contract was awarded on January 9, 2017 as a Firm Fixed Price contract with a total value of $7,376,316.22. The independent Government estimate for th is contract modification is $ FOIA Ex. 5, therefore increasing the value of the maximum value of the contract to $FOIA Ex.

5.

B. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including estimated value). [FAR 6.303-2(b)(3)]

The PTD contract was awarded for the development, integration and delivery of one 6U nano-satellite bus plus five spare (optional) buses. This scope of work includes primary ground station support and spacecraft operations support. Under the proposed modification, the scope and value of the contract will increase to include mission operations support for the primary and four

(4) optional missions, mission operation support for the Globalstar Technology Demonstration, additional options for payload assessment activities, and payload accommodation activities considered out of scope of the current contract.

Mission operations support is currently led by NASA personnel with support from the Contractor (Tyvak) and payload providers. NASA provided a supporting NEN S-band ground data system solution and a notional PTD operational concept document for reference. The Contractor currently provides approximately 320 hours of engineering and operations support which includes activities such as mission unique trade studies, engineering and operational readiness test support, mission simulations, and on-console support, and on-orbit calibration and checkout support and anomaly resolution, and ground station and network access.

As the result of the modification, the Contractor:

shall perform mission operations, engineering support, mission planning, crew console training, operate the NASA PTD spacecraft, flight product generation, and real-time operations as needed to characterize integrated payload.

shall provide all necessary mission control facilities, GDS integration, command load simulations and verification, on-console flight support, on-orbit bus and payload calibration, on-orbit bus and payload checkout, on-orbit payload characterization, fault management and anomaly resolution. Operations coverage shall cover launch through end-of-mission decommissioning. Payload telemetry and supporting bus Health and Status (H&S) telemetry shall be made remotely accessible to NASA and/or the Payload Principal Investigator (PI) as soon as it is received and processed on the ground. The daily operations planning process shall provide for PI tasking requests and incorporation into daily command loads.

shall provide a ground data system (GDS) solution that is compatible with the awarded spacecraft communication system and the interface between the NASA mission operations Center and the Globalstar terrestrial network for operations.

Shall lead and manage pre-flight performance testing and flight operations.

shall provide and perform additional payload assessment and integration activities including thermal design accommodations.

Task 1: Mission Operations Under the terms of the original contract, the Contractor provided mission operations support to the NASA led mission operations team. Under this modification, the Contractor will manage, operate the NASA owned spacecraft, and perform all mission operations for the five (5) planned flight missions.

The contractor is to provide Mission Operations Support for the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) Project.

Task encompasses supporting the five (5) planned flight missions designated for the PTD Project. This task includes the following:

Mission operations planning and scheduling Ground systems planning and coordination Mission operations procedures development Test and integration of mission operations support systems Data processing and distribution

Sub-Task 1A – Provide Mission Operations Support for the PTD1 Mission (Est. Value = $ FOIA Ex. 5)

- Mission Operations Preparation

- Vehicle Commissioning and On-Orbit Operations

- Ground Data System Coordination

Sub-Task 1B – Provide Mission Operations Support for the PTD2 Mission (Est. Value = $ FOIA Ex. 5)

- Mission Operations Preparation

- Vehicle Commissioning and On-Orbit Operations

- Ground Data System Coordination

Sub-Task 1C – Provide Mission Operations Support for the PTD3 Mission (Est. Value = $ FOIA Ex. 5)

- Mission Operations Preparation

- Vehicle Commissioning and On-Orbit Operations

- Ground Data System Coordination

Sub-Task 1D – Provide Mission Operations Support for the PTD4 Mission (Est. Value = $ FOIA Ex. 5)

- Mission Operations Preparation

- Vehicle Commissioning and On-Orbit Operations

- Ground Data System Coordination

Sub-Task 1E – Provide Mission Operations Support for the PTD5 Mission (Est. Value = $ FOIA Ex. 5)

- Mission Operations Preparation

- Vehicle Commissioning and On-Orbit Operations

- Ground Data System Coordination

The estimated value of this work is $ FOIA Ex. 5.

Task 2. Globalstar Technology Demonstrator Mission Operations

Under the terms of the original contract, the Contractor provided spacecraft support to the NASA led mission operations team. Under this modification, the Contractor will provide complete mission operations support for this demonstration. Similar to the Mission Operations support, the contractor establishes the physical interface and network access to the Globalstar Communications Network in order to communicate and command the spacecraft. Direct control and commanding by the spacecraft operator provides substantial risk reduction and value to the government.

Provide Mission Operations Support for the Project Globalstar Technology Demonstration.

Task encompasses supporting the planned Demonstration of the Globalstar Technology Communication System in space. This task includes the following:

Establishing a communications interface to the Globalstar Communications network.

Mission operations planning and scheduling Ground systems planning and coordination Mission operations procedures development Test and integration of mission operations support systems Data processing and distribution

The estimated value of this work is $ FOIA Ex. 5.

Task 3. The number of payload assessment options will also increase by 3 for a total of 8 optional assessments.

Under the terms of the original contract, there were 5 optional payload assessments. This assumed that the pre-selected payloads would successfully complete their anticipated development and meet the PTD planned flight mission schedules. Since the inception of this project, it is noted that a number of the planned payloads will be unable to meet the flight delivery schedules as originally desired. NASA has determined that additional payload assessments will be required in order to ensure that a flight payload and a backup payload will be ready and available for each of the planned flight missions.

There are no changes to description of the Payload Assessment Tasks, other than to increase the total number of assessments.

The estimated value of this work is $ FOIA Ex. 5.

Task 4. Thermal design modifications

The planned payloads for the PTD project were selected prior to the selection of the spacecraft bus. The current contract has options built in for Tyvak to perform payload assessment and integration activities to ensure compatibility with the spacecraft but it has developed. The assessments determine, what, if any, electrical and or mechanical interfaces must be modified in order to accommodate the intended payloads.

Two payload assessments have been exercised to date. The resultant analysis of these payloads has indicated that modifications to the standard spacecraft bus configuration are necessary in order to accommodate the thermal requirements of those payloads. At this time, requirements for subsequent payloads modification have not been identified.

The current estimated value of these Payload Integration tasks is $ FOIA Ex. 5.

The current value of the contract is $7,376,316. The overall estimated value of this modification is approximately $ FOIA Ex. 5.

C. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)]

The statutory authority for this procurement is 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

D. Demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualification or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)]

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

The objective of the PTD Project is to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of key enabling payload technologies that may be infused or incorporated in future NASA science and exploration space missions. In order to assess the performance of the test payloads, the mission operations provider must able to discern and differentiate between the performance and interaction between the satellite and the payload.

The contractor has been working since January 2017 and changing providers at this point would require the creation of a substantial learning curve to come up to speed on the critical technical issues and mission requirements to manage the additional mission operations requirements and tasks, resulting in a substantial duplication of effort and cost, as well as a significant delay to mission schedule. The first flight demonstration is currently manifested to take place in October 2018, with subsequent demonstrations projected to take place in 6 month increments. The standard acquisition lead time for a procurement of this size is estimated to take from 8 months up to one year. Not taking into account the requirements development and acquisition planning/approval phases, the original competition for this award took 11 months from the time the RFP was issued to award. Taking this information into consideration, a new competition to incorporate the change in scope solely to cover the additional mission operations effort would severely disrupt the project schedule and result in an unacceptable delay in meeting mission requirements.

In order to perform this in space demonstration assessment, a satellite with flight heritage, established ground system and an experienced mission operations team is required. Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. was competitively selected as the source for the five Nano-satellites that will be used in the PTD Project. As the satellite provider and developer, they possess proprietary knowledge of the operation and nominal performance of their satellite bus.

This knowledge is key to accomplishing the objectives and success of PTD Project and is listed as a requirement of the Project. Off nominal flight conditions, as well as fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) by the mission operations team, can only be accomplished with proprietary knowledge of the spacecraft. The requisite knowledge and spacecraft characterization is possessed only by the satellite developer, Tyvak.

In addition to the increased mission operations support, the need for additional payload assessment options provides NASA with the opportunity find payload candidates that provide the greatest likelihood of launch success. The original contract award included the option for five flight integration assessments. As part of the assessment, the contractor performs a technical assessment of the required spacecraft modifications (if any) to accommodate a NASA provided, yet proprietary, payload. At the time of award, there were four potential payloads and projected sequence of order of integration. The original expectation is that the payloads would serve as a “plug-and-play” but with the introduction of a new payload, NASA is made aware of various aspects that need to be changed. In some instances, the payloads are not a good fit for the PTD project due to either technical development issues, hardware delivery schedule issues, or the need to substantially modify the spacecraft in order to meet the payload accommodation requirements. To date, NASA has exercised 2 of the 5 optional payload assessments for payloads. Unfortunately, the assessments revealed that those payloads will not likely be used for PTD. By adding an additional 3 assessment options, NASA would be able to assess a primary and a backup (spare) payload simultaneously. This assures that a primary flight candidate and a backup payload (that is compatible with the Contractor’s spacecraft) will be ready for flight, thus reducing impact to the existing spacecraft design and well as minimizing impact to the overall mission and launch schedules.

Tyvak is the only Contractor that can perform these technical assessments. The Tyvak spacecraft and the payloads are all proprietary designs. In order to accommodate and demonstrate the payloads in the spaceflight missions, Non-disclosure agreements were required between Tyvak and the payload providers. In order for a new vendor to assume mission operations responsibility, following actions will be required:

The new vendor would be required to establish technical knowledge in the operation of the Tyvak bus, which include proprietary electrical, mechanical, thermal, software designs.

The new vendor would be required to establish technical knowledge in the operation of the payloads which include proprietary electrical, mechanical, software design information.

The new vendor must establish a secure mission operations center that is FISMA compliant for NASA missions.

The new vendor must establish a mission operations center that will be accessible to the NASA PTD Project, Tyvak Ground Station Network and the Globalstar Network.

The new vendor would be required to establish Non-disclosure agreements between Tyvak and each of the subsequent payload providers.

The overall effort to establish these agreements, knowledge and implementation of a Mission Operations Center will not be accomplished prior to the first PTD1 mission that is targeted for a Q4 FY2018 mission readiness.

E. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(6)]

On November 14, 2017, a synopsis was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website (fbo.gov) to inform the public of NASA’s intent to increase the scope and value on contract NNA17BF14C. The synopsis provided instructions for interested organizations to submit capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort to the Contracting Officer. The synopsis was posted for 14 days with a response date of November 28, 2017. As of March 19, 2018, the Government received no written capability statement submissions in response to the proposed action. The notice of intent has not been archived and remains viewable in the FBO database.

F. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(7)]

The Contracting Officer’s (CO) signature on this document indicates that the CO has determined that the anticipated price to the government will be fair and reasonable. Prior to execution of the contract modification, the CO will perform a proposal analysis in accordance with FAR 15.404 to ensure that the proposed modification amount is fair and reasonable. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the modification is fair and reasonable. Analysis will include a combination of cost (comparison of costs proposed for the individual cost elements and review of certified cost and pricing data) and price (comparison of proposed prices to historical prices paid) evaluations techniques. Pre-negotiation objectives will be prepared prior to the initiation of negotiations and will be approved in accordance with FAR

15.406 prior to the conduct of negotiations.

G. Description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)]

Market research was performed in November 2017 and included an announcement on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. Additional research was performed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer and entailed a variety of search techniques as noted below. The purpose of the research is to determine whether or not there are sources capable of performing the above stated requirements for modified/increased support to NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) project.

Contact with the requester and/or other knowledgeable people in Government and industry regarding the commercial nature of this requirement and standard industry practices in this area of supply/service: - A series of meetings and discussions were held with the COR, Elwood Agasid, to discuss the nature of the proposed contract changes. Based on those discussions, it is clear that while there are numerous firms in the CubeSat industry, the scope of work requested under the proposed modification can only be accomplished by the current contractor without creating substantial duplication of work efforts performed and cost incurred to date.

Publication of a formal notice (Sources Sought) on FBO: As stated in paragraph E above, a synopsis notice was published on FBO to solicit information about potential sources capable of performing the mission operations support and providing the additional payload assessment options under PTD. Interested organizations were requested to submit their capabilities and qualifications. The Contracting Officer received no capability statements in response to the synopsis.

Review of Government and/or commercial data bases for relevant information – o The Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) – A DSBS search was performed using NAICS 336414 and the keyword “CubeSat”. The search resulted in ten (10) results: FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, and FOIA Ex. 5.

A review of the profiles indicate that only FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, and FOIA Ex.

5 indicate an ability to provide CubeSats. However, only Tyvak would be able to perform the work without duplicating work effort and costs expended to date.

o NASA Vendor Data Base (NVDB) – A search of the NVDB revealed no viable sources. Using NAICS 336414 and the keyword “CubeSat” resulted with no search result. A search using only the keyword “CubeSat” reveals FOIA Ex. 5.

Market research indicates that in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc., is the only responsible source that can provide the highly specialized services without substantial duplication of cost to the Government and unacceptable days in meeting agency requirement. There has been no significant interest in this requirement and there is no reasonable expectation that responses to a competitive solicitation would result in offers from at least 2 or more responsive and responsible firms.

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

The necessary increase in support was not anticipated during the acquisition planning phase of the current contract but will result in substantial cost savings to the Government. Soliciting another source to fulfill these requirements would result in duplication of costs for the work that has been done to date and costs of unacceptable delays.

After the contract performance began, the Program Office conducted an analysis to assess the feasibility and cost benefit of performing mission operations in house (by NASA)(as had been planned) versus a contractor provided option. The resulting analysis indicated that the Contractor provided Mission Operations Support would be the best value to the Program Office and would result in an overall reduction in program technical, schedule and costs risks as well as providing a savings in overall project costs.

1) NASA Ames In-house mission operations support.

FOIA Ex. 5 = FOIA Ex. 5 FOIA Ex. 5 = FOIA Ex. 5

FOIA Ex. 5 = FOIA Ex. 5

FOIA Ex. 5= FOIA Ex. 5

2) Contractor provided Mission Operations Cost

FOIA Ex. 5 = FOIA Ex. 5 FOIA Ex. 5 = FOIA Ex. 5 Total estimated Project Lifecycle cost (for five (5) missions + Globalstar Demo) = FOIA Ex. 5*

* FOIA Ex. 5.

This represents a reduction and overall savings to the project of approximately FOIA Ex. 5.

Because this is not a new requirement but rather an increase in contract value to allow the program most effectively support project, the CO considers the incumbent contractor to be the only responsible source capable of fulfilling the Government’s requirements without substantial duplication of cost to the Government and unacceptable delays to the mission readiness schedule.

FOIA Ex. 5.

I. Listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(10)]

A notice of intent to modify the contract and negotiate directly with Tyvak was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website on November 14, 2017 with a response date of November 28, 2017. The Government received no written capability statement submission in response to the notice.

One inquiry was received on November 15, 2017, from FOIA Ex. 5. In a telephonic conversation with FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5, he indicated that he believed FOIA Ex. 5 was capable of meeting the requirements to provide the spacecraft. During the conversation, the Contracting Officer explained (1) that FOIA Ex. 5 had actually participated in the original competition for the spacecraft but that the proposed contract modification was not for additional spacecraft but for increased mission operations support and additional optional payload assessments and (2) issuing an award for new spacecraft that would allow another company to provide mission support to their spacecraft would result in substantial duplication of costs and efforts. FOIA Ex. 5 agreed with the assessment and indicated that the company would not be providing a capabilities statement in response to the notice.

J. Statement of the 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. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(11)]

The contract award was the result of a competitive solicitation. The objective of the contract is to perform a series of demonstrations for a variety of technology payloads. The demonstrations are critical in advancing missions in science, explorations, and space operations. At this time, there are no known requirements for any new or additional work outside of the pending modification. Once Tyvak has met all contractual obligations, there is no expectation that NASA will require any follow-on/sole source contract actions. However, the Government does anticipate that there will be future requirements for additional spacecraft with new and different technical specifications to be supported through a new contract. The future missions that will be enabled by the work done under this contract are expected to demonstrate nove l small spacecraft technologies and foster the development of commercial space capabilities. These future requirements would be advertised on the Government Point of Entry (GPE) via FBO to determine interest, capability, and likelihood for reasonable competition.