OSC BAA_TraCSS Research and Technology Development 3_14_2025.pdf

TraCSS Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Research and Technology Development

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

BAA-NOAA-SSA-STC-2025

March 14, 2025

Department of Commerce (DOC)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Office of Space Commerce (OSC)

Version 3 3/14/2025

CONTENTS

1.0 OVERVIEW 4

GENERAL INFORMATION 4

NAICS Code 4

Agency Name 4

Development Opportunity Title 5

Announcement Type 5

Key Dates: Community Day and White Paper Period 5

Areas of Interest/Research 5

Scope 5

Space Situational Awareness Data 6

Conjunction Assessment 6

Risk Assessment 6

General Category for Space Situational Awareness Technologies 6

Special Considerations 6

Publication Release Approval 6

Intellectual Property 7

Coordination Requirements and Deliverables 7

Government-Furnished Property / Government Furnished Information 8

Award Information 8

Agency Contact Information and Communications 8

Pre-Proposal Communication 9

Interactions After the Receipt of Proposals (Restricted Interactions) 9

Points of Contact 9

2.0 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 9

Background and Overview 9

3.0 ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 10

Responsibility Determination 10

Foreign Participation 10

Government Entities 10

Teaming Arrangements 11

Small & Disadvantaged Business and Programs Participation 11

4.0 WHITE PAPER AND PROPOSAL GUIDELINES 11

White Paper Due Date 11

BAA Step #1: White Paper Preparation and Submission Instructions 11

Evaluation and Disposition of White Papers 12

Evaluation Process 13

Disposition Process 13

BAA Step #2 – Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions 13

Proposal Submission Preparation 13

Quad Chart Guidelines 14

5.0 EVALUATION INFORMATION 15

A. Technical Merit Factor 15

B. Past Performance Factor 15

C. Price Factor 15

Evaluation and Disposition of Proposals 16

Other Pertinent Information 16

System for Award Management (SAM) 16

Representations and Certifications 16

EXHIBIT A 17

SAMPLE FORMAT OF OFFEROR PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) 17

EXHIBIT B 18

PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCES 18

1.0 OVERVIEW

This is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) posted in accordance with the Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) subpart 35.016.

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is requesting White Papers that could lead to Proposals and funded research to enhance and advance technologies in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space

Traffic Coordination (STC).

To be eligible for consideration and possible contract award, the technology or methodology shall be either basic research, applied research, advanced technology development not for a specific system/hardware, or demonstration and validation.

BAAs may be used by agencies to fulfill their requirements for scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on a specific system or hardware solution.

“Basic Research” is defined as research directed toward increasing knowledge in science with the primary aim being a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, rather than any practical application of that knowledge.

“Applied Research” is the effort that normally follows basic research but may not be severable from the related basic research; attempts to determine and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques; and attempts to advance the state-of-the-art.

White Papers that lead to Proposals that are selected for award are the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.

GENERAL INFORMATION

NAICS Code

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this BAA will be 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and

Biotechnology).

Agency Name

United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), Office of Space Commerce (OSC).

Development Opportunity Title

Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Research and

Technology Development

Announcement Type

Broad Agency Announcement (Initial Announcement)

Key Dates: Community Day and White Paper Period

This announcement is for a Two- Step BAA, with a specific White Paper due date. This BAA period begins the date it was originally posted on the System for Award Management website (https://sam.gov) until 12:00 PM Eastern time, May 30, 2025.

A virtual Community Day will be held where offerors will have a chance to ask questions about the BAA or Areas of Interest/Research. The meeting agenda and related information will be posted to the TraCSS website (https://www.space.commerce.gov), SAM.gov, or other appropriate venues. OSC encourages interested offerors to review the BAA and submit any questions prior to the Community Day tentatively scheduled for April 3, 2025. Additional questions arising from topics covered during the Community Day shall be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer no later than 3:00 PM Eastern Time, April 17, 2025.

Responses to the Community Day Questions & Answers (Q&A) will be made publicly available to all potential offerors on the TraCSS website and SAM.gov.

Only White Papers will be accepted as initial submissions; formal Proposals will be accepted by invitation only. White Papers submitted after the due date are “late” and will not be considered. An interested party must submit a White Paper in order to be eligible for further consideration.

The Contracting Officer is the only individual legally authorized to commit the Government.

AREAS OF INTEREST/RESEARCH

Scope

OSC is interested in funding research and development across multiple technology readiness levels (TRL) in several focus areas to advance the state of the art of the science and technology of space situational awareness and related disciplines. The TRL levels are defined by:

● Fundamental Research - (TRL 1-3) o Conduct studies and research in areas to inform future space policy decisions.

● Prototyping R&D - TRL (4-7) o Focused on developing operationally relevant prototype implementations of technologies relevant to improving the performance of TraCSS.

https://sam.gov https://www.space.commerce.gov

● Applied R&D - TRL (7-8) o Efforts are focused on bridging the “valley of death” of prototyped technologies into an operation system (TraCSS)

Space Situational Awareness Data

Summary: OSC is interested in exploring the utility of data fusion, including but not limited to the fusion of state vectors to state vectors and observations to state vectors, and other methods to improve the states of objects and reduce ambiguity in conjunction screening results, especially in circumstances where independent data streams and supporting information may be deficient. Improvements in covariance, object accuracy and uncertainty of position, velocity and orbit are sought via unique and novel combinations of available sensors and information. This effort will include creating new strategies for handling the reconciliation of orbit states and related SSA Data from multiple independent data sources.

OSC is also interested in exploring techniques and approaches for the management and selection of states for conjunction screening when multiple states on an object are available.

Conjunction Assessment

Summary: OSC seeks efforts on improvements to conjunction assessment techniques and algorithms including, but not limited to flexibility, scalability, and speed with application to launch, on-orbit and end-of-life operations. In addition, OSC seeks to explore the impact of various variables and factors in the calculations of conjunction assessments and how to optimize approaches for items such as, but not limited to, hard body radius modeling.

Risk Assessment

Summary: OSC is also interested in risk assessment approaches that are comprehensive and flexible and could be used to inform standards and best practices and that may address challenges associated with both the volume and diversity of current and future space operational activities.

General Category for Space Situational Awareness Technologies

Summary: OSC is interested in general technologies that advance the state of the art of space situational awareness in the application of space safety and space traffic coordination. This category is intended to cover areas not specifically mentioned earlier and solicit for unique ideas. However, the other categories will be prioritized for this BAA.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Publication Release Approval

BAA Awardee may publish papers dealing with the results of the research under this BAA, except that such publications will not disclose any of OSC’s Sensitive Information without the written consent of OSC. Prior to submission to publication, BAA Awardee shall submit for OSC’s review and approval any proposed publication resulting from research conducted under this BAA. Expect the OSC review to take no longer than fifteen (15) calendar days. BAA Awardee is not authorized to publish prior to OSC’s review and approval. BAA Awardee, on request of OSC, shall delete any Sensitive Information in the proposed publication. BAA Awardee shall give appropriate recognition to the support received from OSC in accordance with research and/or academic standards.

Intellectual Property

The Government does not intend to obtain ownership of any existing intellectual property used or newly developed under an award pursuant to this BAA. Instead, consistent with FAR 52.227-11 Patent

Rights-Ownership by the Contractor, for any intangible property developed under an award, the

Government would obtain the following licenses:

Inventions: A nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, any invention throughout the world.

Copyrightable works: A royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use any copyrightable work for Federal purposes and to authorize others to do so.

Data: A right to obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data and to authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data for Federal purposes.

Release From Liability: The Offeror agrees that the Government, and other persons to whom the Government may have released or disclosed technical data or computer software delivered or otherwise furnished under this contract, shall have no liability for any release or disclosure of technical data or computer software that are not marked to indicate that such data are licensed data subject to use, modification, reproduction, release, performance, display, or disclosure restrictions.

Respondents are welcome to propose alternative intellectual property right allocations as part of their proposals. Additionally, the Government reserves the right to negotiate for alternative intellectual property right allocations. Final intellectual property right allocations, addressing existing and newly developed intangible property will be specified in any award.

Coordination Requirements and Deliverables

The BAA Awardee shall maintain proactive, open, and responsive communication with the Government.

Regular communication shall include support of Programmatic and Technical interchanges.

● Kick-Off Meeting: A kick-off meeting will be held (Face to face, WebEx/telecom, or a combination). Its objective is to ensure the project plans, schedule, and deliverables are understood, and to answer any questions that may arise as part of the process.

● Mid-Project Status Meeting: The mid-project status meeting is intended to provide current project status, discuss the approach towards completing the project, and agree on any adjustments to the work to be completed during the remainder of the project.

● Monthly Status Meetings: This will include a BAA Awardee developed presentation template including: Activities performed during the reporting month; Problems Encountered and https://urldefense.us/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.acquisition.gov_far_52.227-2D11&d=DwMFaQ&c=Al8V6E3U0yBSSEuVtdZbGtsvjPA49U3WmtZAsdW0D_Q&r=hpfafm9UXi5iy6S1ii8qc9o5uDcdLDjtwk1Rgv9e0wE&m=7zMlHo5XVPot0lG83Sej1bpzwaQMaTQvOvXsdC3IbHIhGuCs9o5UdfczD-KBEe_s&s=Jtb_EEQxN5-BRno8swMxJ0W3EsZ-xXgwLyDeqZfHx3k&e=

Corrective Actions; Planned Activities for Next Month; Milestone Schedule and Status, and Budget Status.

● Additional Technical Meetings (as necessary): These meetings are to support iterative or agile or similar approaches towards supporting project development.

● End-Project Status Meeting: The End-project status meeting is intended to provide final project status, discuss the approach towards completing the project, and agree on any adjustments to the work to be completed during the remainder of the project

Additionally, the formal Deliverables including Intermediate Progress Reports, Final Technical Report, and Deliverables unique to each effort will be included in the Area of Interest/Research or negotiated, as applicable. (TBD)

Government-Furnished Property / Government Furnished Information

TraCSS HORIZON Research Modeling & Simulation environment (RMS) or archive data may be provided, as needed. No government hardware will be provided.

AWARD INFORMATION

The estimated funding for this inaugural BAA is a combined total of approximately $9.9M for all awards.

Individual contract award period of performance will vary from a few months to a maximum of 24 months with dollar amounts ranging from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., Concept Studies) to more than several million per year for extensive activities that advance the state of the art in tools and techniques for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Traffic Coordination

(STC).

At this time, it is anticipated that each project award will result in a firm-fixed-price contract. The government may award zero, one, or multiple contracts under this BAA, depending on the applicability of the Proposals to the technical need and congressional appropriations. Subject to the availability of funding, offerors whose Proposals receive a favorable evaluation may be awarded.

This BAA should not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur costs in anticipation of a contract. This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to make an award or pay proposal preparation prices generated in response to this announcement. The price of proposal preparation for response to a BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract. The Government is not responsible for any costs incurred in the preparation of a submission in response to this BAA.

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Pre-Proposal Communication

After receipt of White Papers, pre-proposal dialogue between selected White Paper Offerors and

Government representatives is anticipated with those the Government deems to have technical value and interest to the Government.

Technical and contracting questions can be resolved in writing or through open dialogue. Dialogue with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort.

Email subject lines must reference the BAA Number, BAA Title, and Prospective Offeror Name.

Additionally, the body of the email should note if the question is general in nature or specific to an Area of Interest/Research.

Interactions After the Receipt of Proposals (Restricted Interactions)

After receipt of proposals, all interactions with offerors must go through the Contracting Officer (CO) and

Contract Specialist regardless of communication method (email, in person, etc.).

Significant questions may require electronic, face-to-face, or telephonic communication sessions among the review team, CO, and offeror. The CO or his or her delegate must be present during all electronic, face-to-face, and telephonic interactions.

Points of Contact

Contracting Officer

Name: Noelle Albert

Office: AGO/CSAD-SOS

Email: noelle.albert@noaa.gov

2.0 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

Background and Overview

The space domain is becoming increasingly more crowded as more operators engage and as the number of resident space objects increases. Historically, the Department of Defense (DoD) has provided basic space situational awareness services to commercial and civil space operators, in addition to their primary protect and defend duties. In 2018, Space Policy Directive -3 (SPD-3) assigned the Department of

Commerce’s (DOC) Office of Space Commerce the task to establish a civil space traffic coordination capability and migrate the service of commercial and civil space operators to the civil system.

Consequently, OSC is standing up the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) to fulfill this mandate. TraCSS will use commercial capabilities to the greatest extent possible to provide basic services to space situational awareness products and services to space operators. But as the number of space operators increase, new technologies, algorithms and techniques will be necessary. Recognizing this, SPD-3 also directed OSC to engage in research and development to advance the state of the art of space situational awareness, space traffic coordination and space traffic management technology and practice.

3.0 ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Through this BAA, OSC is seeking to fund partnerships with other U.S. Government entities, academia, and/or private industry to enhance and advance technologies in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and

Space Traffic Coordination (STC).

Offerors may include single entities or teams from private sector organizations, Government entities, and academic institutions.

The Government will only award contracts to Offerors it determines to be Responsible in accordance with the General Standards outlined in FAR 9.104-1, as well as the following special standards that are unique to this effort:

Responsibility Determination

To be eligible for award of a contract, all prospective Offerors must meet certain minimum standards pertaining to financial resources, ability to comply with performance schedules, have a satisfactory performance record, integrity, organizational structure, experience, accounting and operational controls, technical skills, facilities and equipment and be otherwise qualified. For additional information concerning standards of responsibility for prospective contractors, please refer to FAR Subpart 9.1.

Foreign Participation

This BAA is restricted for United States businesses, subsidiaries, and entities. The term “United States business” means (A) a United States citizen; (B) a corporation, partnership, or other association created under the laws of the United States or of any State (including the District of Columbia or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States); or (C) a foreign corporation, partnership, or other association, more than 95 percent of which is owned by persons described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). Non-United States citizens participating in the BAA must be identified in the White Paper and Proposal.

Government Entities

Government entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority (as well as, where relevant, contractual authority) establishing their ability to propose to government solicitations. Specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval will be required to establish eligibility. NOAA will consider eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the Offeror.

Teaming Arrangements

Offerors who propose a teaming arrangement must name which organization will operate as the main point-of-contact or lead for the team. The proposal must be submitted by the team lead organization. A description of each team member’s role in the team must be included. In the event of an award to a team proposal, the award will be made to the team lead (Prime) organization named in the proposal for the purposes of contract administration. The Prime organization will be responsible for putting in place all the sub-contracts and other teaming arrangements.

Small & Disadvantaged Business and Programs Participation

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Institutions (MI), Small Business concerns, Small Disadvantaged Business concerns, Women-Owned Small Business concerns, Veteran-Owned Small

Business concerns, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns, 8(a) Business concerns, and HUBZone Small Business concerns are encouraged to submit proposals and to join other entities as team members in submitting proposals. OSC seeks and encourages small business to participate in its research programs. However, due to the broad nature of OSC R&D programs and the fact that OSC is seeking the best ideas available, it is generally not feasible to set aside all or some portion of a BAA for small business.

4.0 WHITE PAPER AND PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

White Paper Due Date

To be accepted for evaluation, a White Paper must be received by the Government NO LATER THAN

12:00 PM Eastern Time on May 30, 2025. If an Offeror does not submit a White Paper before the specified due date and time, the Offeror will not be eligible to submit a BAA Step #2 Proposal and will not be eligible for negotiations and/or award. The Government’s decision to select an Offeror to participate in BAA Step #2 will be based upon the results of the evaluation of BAA Step #1 Submittals.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to bring to the Government’s attention any perceived ambiguities, discrepancies, or inconsistencies within the submission (i.e. this document, attachments, and any document incorporated by reference).

For planning purposes, if the White Paper is selected for the Proposal stage, expect three (3) weeks to prepare and submit the Proposal.

BAA Step #1: White Paper Preparation and Submission Instructions

OSC requests interested parties to submit an initial synopsis, commonly referred to as a "White Paper."

The purpose of White Papers is to minimize the labor and price associated with the production of detailed Proposals that have very little chance of being selected for funding.

If Offerors want to submit White Papers for multiple concepts, they shall submit a separate White Paper for each concept. Each White Paper will be evaluated independently.

The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the proposed research should be clearly stated in the White

Paper.

The Government may use various non-Governmental advisors such as support contractors and Federally

Funded Research and Develop Centers (FFRDCs) to assist in the review of any submitted materials.

(1) Offerors should submit White Papers via email directly to the Contracting Officer and Contracting

Specialist.

(a) White Papers must be in the following format but do not require any special forms:

• Single PDF formatted file as an email attachment

• Page Size: 8 ½ x 11 Inches

• Margins – 1 Inch

• Spacing– Single

• Font– Times New Roman, 12 point

• Area of Interest/Research

(2) The White Paper shall not exceed five (5) pages plus one (1) cover page and one (1) single page addendum as discussed below. The white paper shall include the following:

• Title,

• BAA number,

• Offeror Contact Information (primary investigator’s name, phone number, email address, and company address),

• Area of Interest/Research,

• Technical Description of the Effort,

• Identification of Risks,

• Project Duration,

• Preliminary Schedule, and

• Not-to-Exceed Price.

A brief abstract with information explicitly pertinent to the proposed work must be provided in the white paper. No Government furnished information, equipment, property or data will be provided. Intellectual

Property and/or Copyright markings shall be clear and unambiguous.

(3) As an addendum to the white paper, include biographical sketches (one page) of the key personnel who will perform the research, highlighting their qualifications and experience.

(4) The price portion of the white paper shall contain a “not-to-exceed” price amount of the proposed project to be completed.

EVALUATION AND DISPOSITION OF WHITE PAPERS

Evaluation Process

Offerors are advised that invitations for complete proposals may be made based on the evaluation results of the initial white paper submission and the availability of funding. The White Paper will be evaluated for the Area of Interest/Research, technical description of the effort, identification of risks, project duration, preliminary schedule, and not-to-exceed price. White papers evaluated to have significant merit may be invited to submit a complete detailed proposal.

Disposition Process

After completion of evaluation, the Offeror will be notified in writing of the results (via email). The

Government may select White Papers that are most promising for further consideration. Debriefings for

White Paper evaluations will not be provided.

BAA STEP #2 – PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Proposal Submission Preparation

The Step #2 submission is limited to a Cover Page (1 page), one-page Quad Chart (1 page), and Proposals not to exceed 10 pages. Additionally, a Performance Work Statement (PWS) shall be included, with a 5 page maximum. This results in a submission packet not to exceed 17 pages. If submissions exceed these limitations, only those pages previously defined will be reviewed and evaluated. Excess pages shall not be reviewed or evaluated.

Alternative intellectual property right allocations are welcome as part of the proposals. No page limit on alternate intellectual property information. Additionally, the Government reserves the right to negotiate for alternative intellectual property right allocations. Final intellectual property right allocations, addressing existing and newly developed intangible property will be specified in any award.

Past performance is not included in this page limit. Up to three (3) past performance references may be submitted for projects that are in progress or completed in the past five (5) years. Offerors shall use the

PPQ template provided in EXHIBIT B to this BAA.

The Government reserves the right to consider and evaluate all aspects of the Offeror’s past performance that is considered relevant to this procurement. The Offeror’s past performance may be evaluated based on in-depth evaluation of information obtained from Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), past performance questionnaire responses, interviews with other sources known to the Government, and/or any information which may be obtained by the Government from sources other than those identified by the respondent.

Price proposals have no page limitation. For price proposals, clear, concise and accurate proposals reflecting the Offeror’s financial plan for accomplishing the effort shall be included.

Offerors shall submit at a minimum the information listed below relating to price. The price proposal shall include a work breakdown structure with the price data in sufficient detail to support evaluation of reasonableness (e.g., direct labor by categories, indirect labor, indirect prices, travel, subcontract, services, materials, equipment, etc.).

The price proposal shall include at a minimum all of the price information listed below.

(a) Direct Labor: Individual labor categories or assigned persons with associated labor hours and unburdened direct labor rates.

(b) Indirect Prices: Fringe Benefit, Overhead, G&A, Cost of Money, etc. (base amount and rate).

(c) Travel: Number of trips, destinations, durations, purpose of each trip, number of personnel traveling for each each, and labor category of each traveler, etc.

(d) Any Material: Equipment, facilities, etc.

(e) Profit dollars and percentage rate.

(f) Other Direct Prices: All other prices associated with the project should be itemized.

(g) Payment Plan Schedule, if applicable: Provide a proposed invoice payment plan in accordance with the Deliverables and Schedule.

For each distinct Proposal submittal, combine all files and forms into a single searchable PDF file before submitting.

A Small Business Subcontracting Plan may also be required, in accordance with FAR 52.219-9.

The document must be submitted in accordance with the preparation guidance below. The document should describe the effort in sufficient detail to allow evaluation of the concept's technical merit and its potential contribution to the OSC mission.

Proposal submissions must remain valid for twelve (12) months from the submission deadline.

After proposal evaluations, offerors will be notified via e-mail if their submission is successful or unsuccessful in the selection for awards. Debriefings for Proposals not selected will not be provided.

IMPORTANT: The subject line of the Proposal email submission should consist of the announcement number, and purpose of the email (e.g., BAA-NOAA-SSA-STC-2025, Area of Interest/Concept <Offeror

Name>, Proposal Submission). Proposals do not require any special forms, but must be submitted in the following format:

• Single PDF formatted file as an email attachment

• Page Size: 8 ½ x 11 Inches

• Margins – 1 Inch

• Spacing– Single

• Font– Times New Roman, 12 point

• Area of Interest/Research

The file should not exceed 10 Megabytes of storage space. Movie and sound file attachments, URL Links, or other additional files, will not be accepted.

Classification: All Quad Chart and Proposal submissions must be UNCLASSIFIED. Proprietary information should be appropriately marked. No Government furnished information, equipment, property or data will be provided. Intellectual Property and/or Copyright markings shall be clear and unambiguous.

Quad Chart Guidelines

A quad chart must contain the following information and be positioned in a landscape view. Any quad chart submitted that exceeds the one-page limit will not be read or evaluated. The following components are required:

● Heading: Title, BAA #, Development Area of Interest/Research

● Technical/Administrative point of contact (Name, Email, Phone), Company’s Name & Address.

● Please note that the Title of the Project should be different from that of the Area of Interest.

● Upper Left:

o Objective: should be 2-3 sentences describing the objective and methodology.

o Description of effort: a few bullet points noting the primary scientific challenges addressed and primary outcomes expected.

● Lower left: Benefits of proposed technology, challenges, and maturity of technology research area

● Upper right: Graphic illustrating the research or the concept.

● Lower Right: Milestones, period of performance, total ROM cost estimate for the project.

5.0 PROPOSAL EVALUATION INFORMATION

Proposals received as a result of the BAA will be evaluated in accordance with evaluation criteria specified herein.

A. Technical Merit Factor

Technical Merits of the Proposed Effort: The proposal will be evaluated for the degree to which the technical merits of the proposed studies or activities enhances and advances knowledge and technologies in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Traffic Coordination (STC).

Project Affordability: The affordability of the proposed solution against the overall Government budget for the TraCSS Space Situational Awareness Research and Technology Development BAA will be assessed.

Intellectual Property (IP): The Offeror’s IP position and its risks and impact to OSC will be assessed.

B. Past Performance Factor

(Prior Experience of the Offeror in developing technologies and leading similar types of projects)

Projects: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s submitted relevant projects (minimum of 1, maximum of 3 within three years) to determine whether it has performed at an acceptable level for similar types of projects as their proposed research. The Offeror will be assigned a rating of acceptable or unacceptable based on the degree to which current and previous efforts indicated the probability of the Offeror successfully accomplishing the contract requirements and providing timely delivery. In the case of an Offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the Offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Therefore, the Offeror shall be determined to have unknown past performance. In the context of acceptability/unacceptability, “unknown” shall be considered “acceptable.”

C. Price Factor

(Overall price of the proposed effort and supporting information for assessing the price reasonableness of the project)

Price: Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the Contracting Officer will make a determination regarding price reasonableness and realism, as applicable.

The Technical Merit factor is more important than the Past Performance factor. Price is the least important evaluation factor.

EVALUATION AND DISPOSITION OF PROPOSALS

Based on the evaluation, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one or more offerors for award will be based on the evaluation, as well as importance to OSC programs and funding availability.

Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance, if sufficient funding* is available.

Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

*Selectable proposals will be designated as funded or unfunded. Letters will be sent to the unfunded offerors. These proposals may be funded later without reevaluation, if funding becomes available.

The Government reserves the right to award some, all, or none of the proposals. When the Government elects to award only a part of a proposal, the selected part may be categorized as Selectable, though the proposal may not merit such a categorization.

Notice of Participation of Non-Government Personnel

The Contractor is advised that the Government may utilize the outside Contractors and/or Consultants listed below to assist in the administration of this contract. These Contractors/Consultants will have access to any and all information submitted by contractor and will be subject to the restrictions contained in CAR Clauses 1352.209-71 Limitation of Future Contracting, 1352.209-72 Restrictions Against

Disclosure, 1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest and FAR Clause 52.203-16 Preventing

Personal Conflicts of Interest. The companies/organizations employing the subject

Contractors/Consultants are also required to comply with these same confidentiality restrictions. All federal and non-federal personnel supporting the government in the administration of this contract will have executed on Disclosure Agreements.

The Contractor is advised that the Government may utilize the assistance of the outside Contractors and/or Consultants listed below to assist in the evaluations of proposals as nonvoting subject matter experts.

1. IMSolutions, LLC

2. Veterans Management Services, Inc. (VMSI)

3. A-Frame Solutions, LLC

4. The MITRE Corporation

5. The Aerospace Corporation

OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

System for Award Management (SAM)

Successful Offerors not already registered in SAM will be required to register prior to award of any contract. Information on SAM registration is available at https://www.sam.gov/.

Representations and Certifications

The Offeror shall complete and submit Representations and Certifications via SAM at https://www.sam.gov.

Small Business Subcontracting Plan

Small business subcontracting plans will be required from any large business proposals selected for negotiation in accordance with the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR), Commerce Acquisition Manual (CAM) and NOAA provisions/clauses/regulations.

Utilization Of Fedconnect® For Contract Administration

The Department of Commerce will utilize the FedConnect® web portal in administering this award. The contractor must be registered in FedConnect® and have access to the FedConnect® website located at https://www.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect® questions please call the FedConnect® Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net.

There is no charge for registration in or use of FedConnect®.

EXHIBIT A

SAMPLE FORMAT OF OFFEROR PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

The following is offered as the format for the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The PWS will be incorporated into the contract.

(1) 1.0 - Objective: This section is intended to give a brief overview of the specialty area and should describe why it is being pursued, and what you are trying to accomplish.

(2) 2.0 - Scope: This section includes a statement of what the PWS covers. This should include the technology area to be investigated, objectives/goals, and major milestones for the effort.

(3) 3.0 - Background: The offeror shall identify appropriate documents that are applicable to the effort to be performed. This section includes any information, explanations, or constraints that are necessary in order to understand the requirements. It may include relationship to previous, current and future operations. It may also include techniques previously tried and found ineffective.

(4) 4.0 - Technical Requirements:

(a) This section contains the detailed description of tasks, which represent the work to be performed which are contractually binding. Thus, this portion of PWS should be developed in an orderly progression and in enough detail to establish the feasibility of accomplishing the overall program goals.

The work effort should be segregated into major tasks and identified in separately numbered paragraphs according to the decimal system above. Each numbered major task should delineate, by subtask, the work to be performed. The PWS must contain every task to be accomplished.

(b) The tasks must be definite, realistic, and clearly stated. Use “shall” whenever the work statement expresses a provision that is binding. Use “should” or “may” whenever it is necessary to express a declaration of purpose. Use “will” in cases where no Offeror requirement is involved; e.g., power will be supplied by the Government. Use active voice in describing work to be performed.

(c) Do not use acronyms or abbreviations without spelling-out acronyms and abbreviations at the first use; place the abbreviation in parenthesis immediately following a spelledout phrase. This provides the definition for each subsequent reuse. As an option, a glossary may contain definitions of acronyms and abbreviations.

(d) If presentations/meetings are identified in your schedule, include the following paragraph in your PWS:

“Conduct presentations/meetings at times and places specified in the contract schedule.”

(e) Include list of deliverables.

EXHIBIT B

PAST PERFORMANCE REFERENCES

Please identify one (minimum) to three (maximum) companies/Government agencies that you have worked with in the prior three years. The Office of Space Commerce will contact these companies/agencies to obtain a reference for your organization.

1. PROJECT 1:

a. Work Performed:

b. Name of Company/Agency:

c. Dollar Value:

d. Point of Contact:

e. Telephone Number:

f. E-Mail Address:

2. PROJECT 2:

b. Name of Company/Agency:

c. Dollar Value:

d. Point of Contact:

e. Telephone Number:

f. E-Mail Address:

3. PROJECT 3:

b. Name of Company/Agency:

c. Dollar Value:

d. Point of Contact:

e. Telephone Number:

f. E-Mail Address