RED DIGITAL CINEMA_JOFOC_Redacted.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT OFFICE (ITPO)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

UNUSUAL AND COMPELLING URGENCY

FOR 80TECH26QA086 / 80TECH26P0012 / RED DIGITAL CINEMA V-

RAPTOR [X] Z MOUNT CAMERA

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.104-1(a)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The procuring agency is NASA, and the contracting activity is Information Technology Procurement Office (ITPO).

2. FAR 6.104-1(a)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole source order - 80TECH26P0012 with Red Digital Cinema, Inc.

The general purpose of this order is to acquire RED Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR [X] Z Mount Cameras. This requirement is critical to NASA’s Artemis campaign and its overall mission to safely land humans on the lunar surface.

The Artemis campaign’s timeline, and its included mission dates, are a vital component of the government’s need. For reasons discussed below, delays to mission execution as a result of developmental challenges are likely to result in mission failure. This order is necessary to ensure that development of a lunar landing capability is complete in time to support NASA’s Artemis missions.

a. The Artemis Campaign and National Strategic Interests.

The Artemis campaign consists of several interconnected NASA programs, encompassing multiple contracts and international efforts. Each component of the campaign is required to reach the agency’s end state of landing humans on the lunar surface. Among these programs are: the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s primary space launch capability; Orion, NASA’s solution for transport of crew from low-earth orbit to cis-lunar orbit; Extra- Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits and the Human Landing System (HLS). Each of these programs depends upon the timely development and success of the others to perform its role, and delays within one program have a cascading effect upon the others.

NASA’s Artemis campaign explores the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world in order prepare for human missions to Mars. The Artemis campaign collaborates with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. These efforts support several vital national strategic interests including national security, solidifying the United States’ leadership and influence in space, supporting scientific and technological development, and supporting space commercial development.

To support these interests and ensure continued American superiority in space exploration, it is critical that the United States return to the lunar surface before its global competitors. By completing a lunar landing mission in advance of our global competitors, the United States can shape rules, policy, priorities, and the overall geopolitical landscape of future space exploration. This will provide the United States with the initiative needed to best advance related national interests and maintain its role as the global leader in space exploration.

Falling behind our global competitors in this effort cedes this initiative, and our nation’s leadership in space exploration, to our global competitors. This will result in unacceptable impacts to the United States’ geopolitical position and its national security.

Currently, China is actively developing a human crewed Moon landing mission. China has recently experienced significant success in development of space exploration technologies, including launch and landing of the country’s first reusable orbital rocket in 2025. China’s significant space technology progress has established the country as a near-peer competitor to the United States for space exploration. China’s recent progress also includes significant developments in the country’s crewed lunar program, including successful liftoff and landing tests of a crewed lander. These developments place China on target to meet their current goal of landing two astronauts on the lunar surface before 2030.

It is critical to the national interests of the United States, and therefore to NASA’s mission, that the Artemis program return American astronauts to the Moon before China reaches this milestone and seizes the initiative and global leadership role in human space exploration.

NASA plans to launch its first mission to return humans to the Moon (currently titled “Artemis IV”) by 2028. This launch schedule is critical to NASA’s mission and the national interests it supports.

b. Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program Background

The Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program is responsible for developing, integrating, operating, and sustaining the ground systems, launch infrastructure, and operational capabilities required to safely process, test, and launch NASA’s Artemis missions from Kennedy Space Center. EGS provides the critical communications, command and control, launch imagery, environmental monitoring, and engineering support systems necessary to execute integrated vehicle testing, countdown operations, launch, and post-launch assessments.

As part of this responsibility, EGS operates NASA’s Artemis launch imagery system, which provides high-resolution engineering imagery used throughout integrated testing, Wet Dress

Rehearsals, launch operations, and post-flight engineering analysis. The imagery collected supports engineering evaluations of vehicle performance, launch pad systems, debris assessments, anomaly investigations, mission assurance activities, and verification of launch system performance during human-rated spaceflight operations. This capability provides engineering data that cannot be obtained through other instrumentation alone and serves as a critical component of NASA’s overall launch risk assessment process.

Much of the existing launch imagery architecture continues to rely on legacy film-based camera systems originally developed decades ago. These systems have become increasingly difficult to sustain due to equipment obsolescence, diminishing vendor support, limited availability of replacement components, and the continued reduction in commercial film processing capability. The transition to a modern digital imagery architecture is a critical modernization effort necessary to ensure long-term operational sustainability while significantly improving engineering responsiveness through near real-time image availability and enhanced image quality.

This RED Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR requirement represents the first phase of NASA’s broader transition from legacy film-based launch imagery to a sustainable digital imaging architecture that will support Artemis missions and future human spaceflight operations for years to come. This modernization effort enhances operational resiliency, improves engineering decision-making through near real-time imagery, reduces dependence on obsolete technologies, and establishes a scalable foundation for future launch imaging capabilities.

Deployment of this capability is essential to maintaining NASA’s launch imagery requirements for Artemis III and future Artemis missions while ensuring continued support for safe human spaceflight operations.

3. FAR 6.104-1(a)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

a. RED Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR [X] Z Mount Cameras Part Number (710-0419) Qty 28

4. FAR 6.104-1(a)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.103-2, Unusual and compelling urgency.

5. FAR 6.104-1(a)(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. 3204(a)(2) is as described below.

The agency’s need for RED Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR [X] Z Mount Cameras is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured, both financially and in terms of significant negative impact to the national interests discussed herein, if it is not permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits proposals.

In order to return to the lunar surface before our global competitors and advance the United States’ national interests in space exploration and leadership, NASA must return American astronauts to the surface of the Moon as quickly as technological development will safely allow. Current Artemis mission timelines require a lunar landing mission by 2028, with capability demonstration mission milestones planned for Fiscal Year 2027.

Though this mission timeline places NASA close to the developmental timelines and mission goals of our global competitors, this timeline ensures that the Agency is able to support the country’s space policy objectives and related national interests. Further delay to this timeline would place the United States unacceptably close to ceding its leadership in space exploration to our global competitors – significantly harming the national interests of the United States, including national security, scientific advancement, technological maturation and superiority, and other critical Government priorities.

Allowing full and open competition would result in serious injury to the Government being realized. Due to the cutting-edge nature of the technology required for this capability, every day in the developmental timeline is absolutely vital for ensuring that a lunar landing capability is completed in time for NASA’s established mission dates. Each day added to this timeline – including the significant time that would be required for a full and open competition – places the United States closer to ceding its space exploration leadership to our global competitors.

These cameras are required to replace aging legacy film-based launch imagery systems that have become increasingly difficult to sustain operationally due to equipment obsolescence, diminishing manufacturer support, limited availability of replacement components, and declining commercial film processing capabilities. Continued reliance on this legacy architecture introduces increasing operational risk and threatens NASA’s ability to maintain the engineering imagery capability required to safely support future Artemis missions.

The RED Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR systems are mission-critical engineering instruments integrated into NASA’s launch infrastructure to capture high-resolution imagery supporting vehicle performance assessments, debris tracking, anomaly investigations, mission assurance evaluations, launch commit decision-making, and post-flight engineering analysis. The imagery produced by these systems provides engineering evidence that complements vehicle instrumentation and supports safety-critical assessments throughout launch operations.

Following contract award, the cameras require significant engineering activities before they can support flight operations, including equipment delivery, acceptance testing, infrastructure integration, software configuration, network implementation, synchronization with existing launch imagery systems, calibration, environmental verification, operational checkout, user training, end-to-end system validation, and certification for operational use. These activities require substantial schedule margin prior to supporting Artemis processing and launch operations.

Delaying contract award through a full and open competition would postpone these engineering integration and certification activities, reducing the time available to fully validate operational performance before supporting human-rated missions. Such delays increase programmatic risk, reduce operational confidence, and may require continued reliance on legacy film-based systems that present increasing sustainment and reliability concerns.

In addition, postponing this procurement would increase Government costs associated with maintaining obsolete equipment, sustaining parallel legacy and digital capabilities, and implementing temporary operational mitigations while awaiting deployment of the replacement system.

Most importantly, delays in fielding this capability increase schedule risk to Artemis launch processing and integrated testing activities supporting NASA’s planned human lunar exploration missions. Because launch imagery is a critical engineering capability supporting mission assurance and safe launch operations, delays in procurement directly impact NASA’s ability to modernize its launch infrastructure and maintain the operational readiness required to safely execute the Artemis campaign.

For these reasons, the Government would be seriously injured by the delays associated with conducting a full and open competition, making the use of the authority provided under 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(2) and FAR 6.103-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency, necessary and appropriate.

6. FAR 6.104-1(a)(6) – A 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 Subpart 5.1 and, if not, which exception under 5.101 applies:

The contracting officer has determined in accordance with FAR 5.101(b)(1) that this action is exempt from the notice required in FAR 5.101, because unusual and compelling urgency precludes competition to the maximum extent practicable and the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the publicizing and response time periods specified in FAR 5.101(d).

7. FAR 6.104-1(a)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The contracting officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor must be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.104-1(a)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

Based on the unusual and compelling urgency of NASA’s requirement and the authority of FAR 6.103-2(b), additional market research was not conducted. NASA awarded a requirement through NASA SEWP for similar RED Digital Cameras. The Contracting Officer reviewed that requirement and acquisition strategy as part of the market research for this requirement. The circumstances for this requirement required an award using the authority of 6.103-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency, due to the schedule risk of having the cameras integrated with NASA system in time for the next Artemis launch. Issuing a direct award mitigates supply chain risks and schedule risks for the quantity of cameras required and delivery lead time necessary to ensure mission success. Through the use of previous competitive activities, including the already established market research, and consultation with knowledgeable individuals in Government relative to aerospace activities, the contracting officer has determined RED Digital Cinema is the only source capable of performing this requirement in the required timeframe.

9. FAR 6.104-1(a)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

This action aligns with the Executive Order 14369, Ensuring American Space Superiority, directive to return humans to the lunar surface no later than 2028. It also supports national priorities to ensure American leadership in space exploration by returning humans to the lunar surface before our international competitors.

10. FAR 6.104-1(a)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

Based on the unusual and compelling urgency of NASA’s requirement and the resulting use of NASA’s authority under 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(2), the Agency did not conduct public

Requests for Information and thus received no responses. NASA also did not receive any unsolicited proposals to support a different approach to the Agency’s requirements.

11. FAR 6.104-1(a)(11) – A statement of 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:

NASA’s future approach to acquisitions related to human space exploration is intended to establish a robust, competitive space economy. NASA has engaged in a parallel developmental contract structure in part to ensure completion of future Artemis missions and to support a sustained contractor base for future competitive lunar transportation requirements.

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.