Final_JOFOC_University_of_Hawaii.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

(In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.3 – Other than Full and Open Competition)

1. This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for using other than full and open competition to award a sole source contract to the University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy located in Honolulu, Hawaii for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) operations.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including an estimated value:

This procurement is for the acquisition of services to perform laser ranging operations, maintenance and calibration on the NASA Government furnished Transportable Laser Ranging System (TLRS-4) located on Haleakala, Maui. The TLRS-4 system is equipped to perform laser ranging to satellite targets.

The TLRS-4 system will be operated by the University of Hawaii, a state institution. The land upon which it is located is owned by the State of Hawaii. The staffing of the observatory for its multi-disciplined operations is an independent function managed by the State of Hawaii. It is the state of Hawaii policy to only use state employees for the SLR site at Haleakala. The satellite tracking support to be provided by the University of Hawaii is a continuation of services previously being performed by them on Contracts NNG12VI02C, NNG06DA12C and NAS5-99180. [text redacted]

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open completion is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, “Only One Responsible Source”.

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 described below.

The University of Hawaii is the only source that has the combined training, experience, and the site location to provide an uninterrupted continuation of laser tracking support at the Laser Ranging facility at Haleakala. The University of Hawaii manages the state land on which the Laser Ranging facility has been operating for over 30 years. No other source can provide laser ranging at Haleakala which would meet the needs of the NASA Space Geodesy program. The University of Hawaii has the trained personnel to operate a laser ranging station. Also, the University of Hawaii Laser Ranging Station possesses the geometric location to add information to the existing database for the Space Geodesy laser satellite tracking. The global location is strategic to scientific studies and the site has year-round good weather, allowing the station many more satellite laser ranging opportunities than at most other sites around the world. It is also the only SLR station in the North Pacific Ocean between California and Japan.

The SLR station on Maui utilizing the TLRS-4 system is a critical station in the global network which tracks artificial earth satellites. The data collected by this station from artificial earth satellites is used by the GSFC and the International Space Geodesy community to study earth plate tectonic motion to better determine the Earth's gravity field, and to determine reference orbits and calibration data for altimetric satellites (JASON-3, GRACE, etc.). Additionally, the data collected by the TLRS-4 will be used by NASA and the international scientific community to study the nature of earth rotation and polar motion.

Satellite laser ranging provides unique unambiguous range measurement. Used in conjunction with alternate Space Geodesy techniques such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), SLR provides information on time varying gravity, vertical heights, and other important scientific data. No other technique will satisfy the requirements of NASA.

The geometric location of TLRS-4 in Maui is critical to the NASA Space Geodesy program. The exact location of the reference point at the University of Hawaii Laser Ranging Station is known to about 1 centimeter of uncertainty, and has been developed with over 30 years of observations contributing to the global data solution. This reference point and the Greenbelt site in Maryland are used together as the two fixed references for NASA's global tectonic motion data solution. Changing either one of these two reference points would require reinitializing the global solution (established with over 30 years of data) which would require nearly a decade of additional observations to produce a global solution with the same quality as the one that exists today.

6. 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 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2:

A notice to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) was publicized on April 20, 2016 as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 5.2 and the results of the synopsis are identified in paragraph 10.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The University of Hawaii will be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by Government. The proposed costs will be evaluated by the Contracting Officer’s Representative and the Contracting Officer to determine that the direct labor rates, direct labor hours, skill mix, other direct costs, indirect costs, and fee(s) are fair and reasonable. This may also include support from external organizations such as the Defense Contract Audit Agency, as needed.

8. Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

Other potential sources were not considered for providing the specified artificial satellite laser ranging support because no other comparable facility in the general geographic area or the entire United States can be identified which has similar geographic characteristics, trained staff, and appropriate scientific instrumentation.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None

10. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition:

[text redacted]

11. The actions the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Statement of Work has been reviewed to verify that it reflects GSFC’s minimum requirements and is not unduly restrictive. 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.