Redacted Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) for AEMMS Ext. 4 Contract No. NNA16BD60C.pdf

Rev.:4/2023

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Ames Research Center (ARC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For Aeronautics and Exploration Mission Modeling and Simulation (AEMMS) Contract No. NNA16BD60C

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(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) Ames Research Center (ARC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the contracting activity is the Procurement Office located at ARC. This JOFOC is recorded in the ARC JOFOC Log as JA-FY24-J06.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 an extension to contract number NNA16BD60C with Science and Technology Corporation (STC) for up to 6 additional months, added to the period of performance with an estimated cost of $8.7M. The contract has $3.25M in maximum ordering value remaining. Therefore, this JOFOC would increase the maximum ordering value by $5.45M.

The contract extension will consist of one (1), one--month base period (from June 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024), and five (5), one (1)-month option periods (from July 1, 2024, through Nov 30, 2024). The options will be exercised if necessary to accommodate the completion of the competitive Aircraft and Spaceflight Systems Engineering Support Services (ASSESS) procurement, which is a consolidation of requirements from existing ARC contracts, including AEMMS.

NASA ARC competitively awarded contract number NNA16BD60C on May 9, 2016, with a period of performance from June 1, 2016, through May 31, 2021. JOFOC requests have been approved to extend the period of performance through May 31, 2024, including an extension from June 1, 2021 – May 31, 2022; June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023; June 1, 2023 – November 30, 2023; and December 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024. The contract is a hybrid with a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Contract Management Core and an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) component under which CPFF task orders are executed.

The total maximum potential contract value is $92.6 million. To date, task orders totaling $87.1 million have been issued. The current period of performance will need to be extended and the contract maximum value will need to be increased in order to permit the ongoing services supporting critical projects and missions (e.g. Artemis, Advanced Air Mobility, Commercial Crew, Commercial Supersonic Technology and Entry Systems Modeling) under the contract to continue until the new ASSESS contract is awarded.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

This JOFOC documents the justification for executing a sole-source extension to current AEMMS contract for a period of up to six months, pending completion of a competitive procurement for the ASSESS contract.

The AEMMS contract provides highly specialized services for multiple programs and projects in following Modeling and Simulation disciplines:

- Aerodynamics

- Vertical Lift Computational and Experimental Analysis

- Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics Tool Development and Application

- Systems Engineering

- Advanced Airspace Systems Concept Development and Analysis

- Engineering Risk Assessment

- Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization Tool Development and Application

The AEMMS contract provides support to multiple offices and divisions at ARC to carry out their varied research programs. The organizations that are supported by this contract include the Systems Analysis Office (AA), the Aeromechanics Office (AV), the Aeronautics Projects Office (AT), the Airspace Systems Division (AF), the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division (TN), the Earth Sciences Division (SG), and the Partnerships Office (DI). Currently these organizations support technology development under a variety of programs and projects including Artemis (Orion and SLS), Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program (TACP), Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP), Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP), Advanced Air Vehicle Program (AAVP), Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technologies (RVLT). The same technical support in areas such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool development and application, vehicle modeling and analysis, risk analysis, and airspace safety and security, which are critical requirements for these organizations and projects, will be procured during the potential 6-month extension period.

The current contract is a hybrid Core and Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery type contract with a Contract Management Core Value of $2.25 million and a maximum IDIQ value of $90.35 million, which allows CPFF Contract Task Orders (CTOs) to be issued. A total of $87.1 million in IDIQ task orders has been issued, leaving $3.25M remaining under the maximum IDIQ ordering quantity. The estimated value of the required services for the potential six (6) month extension is approximately $8.70 million based on the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). The IGCE was based on a review of the current requirements, historical direct labor costs, subcontracts, and other direct costs required to continue performance of the AEMMS

AEMMS contract provide unique computational and experimental expertise in the development of Mars flight capabilities. The high visibility Rotorcraft Optimization for the Advancement of Mars eXploration (ROAMX) project, sponsored by the STMD Game Changing Division (GCD) and being supported under the AEMMS contract, will significantly enhance rotorcraft capabilities on Mars, enabling a vast expansion of science experiments and exploration of the surface and atmosphere of Mars. Upcoming critical tests of an optimized rotor using novel unconventional airfoils and rotor blades would be delayed without the support from STC contractors, potentially jeopardizing availability of the technology in a timely manner for a planned Mars mission.

Critical support to Artemis is being performed by AEMMS staff, providing Orion aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic databases as the Program moves to addressing heatshield issues prior to the flight of Artemis II. Staff are required to contribute to continuing data analysis and testing after the Artemis 1+ PFAR (Post-Flight Assessment Review) as well as flight readiness analysis for Artemis II. In addition, there are major upcoming products including updates to the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) databases as well as analysis inputs to both the crew module (CM) and LAV aerodynamic databases for the 1st crew mission, Artemis II, now scheduled for 2025.

Safe flight of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) in densely populated areas, being addressed by ARMD’s Advanced Air Mobility project, is another critical area being supported by experts on the AEMMS contract. The expansion of airspace control approaches to enable safe integration of UAVs and autonomous vehicles is a critical area in which STC is providing expertise. In support of the NASA ATM-X project and to the DoD, STC is supporting the development of a comprehensive capability to model vehicle flight under varying atmospheric conditions that will be critical to both vehicle and flight control system designs, as well as informing the definition of safe flight parameters. STC is also supporting the development of relevant scenarios for DoD and commercial flight testing to support the development of vehicle control approaches. Without the proposed contract extension, there will be a gap in providing the expertise, delaying the performance of flight testing the providing the resulting control approach recommendations which will severely impact highly visible NASA and DoD efforts.

The AEMMS contract provides unique expertise that will have significant impact on the future of NASA test facilities. Experts working under the AEMMS contract are developing the most detailed computational models ever of wind tunnel facilities to provide high confidence comparisons of CFD analysis with wind tunnel test data. Delay of this work would create simulation inefficiencies and have a major impact on the cost of future vehicle designs and affect near term budget decisions, therefore making a delay unacceptable.

The potential six-month extension to the current contract is necessary to provide coverage of important AEMMS support pending completion of the competitive ASSESS procurement. If these requirements were acquired via a separate competition for a separate six-month contract, rather than via the extension provided for herein, the result would be a substantial duplication of costs to the Government that would not be recovered, as well as a gap in R&D services to Programs and Projects due to the time required to perform the procurement activities. In addition, with procurement and technical experts already concentrating on the ASSESS procurement, it could cause delay to the ASSESS procurement by having to re-vector these experts to a potential separate contract. The duplication of costs would include not only those costs associated with competing a separate procurement for the extension period, but also the costs associated with phase-in activities for the separate six-month contract, which would be necessary to ensure that the new, possibly different, contractor has proper knowledge of highly specialized technical requirements necessary to support AEMMS requirements.

Failure to extend the contract would also result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling important requirements currently performed under this existing contract and to be performed under the ASSESS contract. Further, the award of a separate six-month contract would generate unacceptable delay, due to the unavoidable start-up and related learning curve that would be associated with a new contractor. STC management and staff have unparalleled experience and technical expertise that are necessary to perform mission critical work. A separate competition and award to, potentially, a different vendor for a six-month period would neither be feasible nor reasonable given the current and on-going competitive ASSESS procurement.

For reasons set forth above, STC is the only responsible source that can perform the highly specialized requirements under the AEMMS contract for potentially six additional months, given that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs which would not be recouped through competition, and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the highly specialized requirements. This makes the incumbent the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the subject requirements under the AEMMS contract pending completion of the competitive ASSESS procurement.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on March 1, 2024, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source extension to Science and Technology Corporation (STC). The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 shall 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.

The analysis of the proposal for the contract extension will be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.404, and include a detailed cost element analysis, a comparison to the IGCE, and other appropriate cost and price evaluation techniques to ensure the final agreed-to cost and fee is fair and reasonable. 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. In accordance with FAR 15.406, a certificate of current cost or pricing data will be obtained from the contractor as required and a post negotiation memorandum will also be prepared to document the outcome of the negotiation.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

ARC conducted market research in support of the decision to award this extension to STC.

Based on the Contracting Officer’s Representative’s (COR) technical knowledge of the current AEMMS requirements, and for all the other reasons stated herein, market research supports that STC is the sole responsible source able to fulfill the short-term AEMMS requirements.

Market research was performed in March 2024, which included a synopsis posted to the Government Point of Entry (GFP) Sam.gov on March 1, 2024, as stated in paragraph 6 above. The purpose of the synopsis was to: (1) notify industry of NASA’s intent to extend the AEMMS contract on a sole-source basis; and (2) solicit information about interested sources that can provide the required support during the extended period of performance.

Interested parties were requested to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing.

The Contracting Officer received no capability statements in response to the synopsis.

Additional research was completed which include reviews of the following Government databases:

A search was conducted in the SBA Dynamic database using the NAICS Code 541715 and key words “Spacecraft Design”. This search yielded two profiles, neither of which demonstrated the full range of AEMMS requirements.

A search was conducted in the SBA Quick Market Search using the NAICS Code 541715 and key word “Aircraft Design”. The search yielded 12 profiles none of which demonstrated the range of AEMMS requirements.

Based on the review of the CO and COR’s review of Market Research Results, while there are additional firms in the industry, the scope of highly specialized work that is required can only be accomplished by the current contractor under the proposed extension without creating unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements.

A NASA Form (NF) 1787A was prepared to document the Market Research conducted. The NF will be routed through the ARC Small Business Specialist for concurrence.

Market research indicates that in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) (B), STC is the only responsible source that can provide the highly specialized services described in Section 5 without creating unacceptable delays in meeting agency requirements. There has been no interest in this proposed contract extension.

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

The ASSESS procurement will take up to six months, including time for phase-in activities and time to address any potential post-award protest before the start of the new contract.

Therefore, it is not reasonable or possible to conduct a separate competition at the same time as the follow-on procurement. Conducting an additional competition for a AEMMS six-month bridge contract while also conducting the competitive ASSESS procurement would require two separate Source Evaluation Boards, Source Selection Authorities, solicitations, evaluations, competitive range determinations, and source selection decisions, incurring substantial duplication of cost. An estimated rough order of magnitude (ROM) for these additional costs is This includes derived by applying the ARC FY2024 Reimbursable Management Planning Rate of 14.4% to the estimated value of a one-year bridge contract) in addition to in estimated costs for the additional 60-day phase-in period that would be required. These costs associated with the acquisition process for a bridge contract represents a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. Therefore, STC is the only responsible source via this extension to the current AEMMS contract that can reasonably satisfy the current requirements pending award of the competitive ASSESS follow-on procurement.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The notice was posted on March 1, 2024, with a closing date of March 15, 2024. No sources responded to the synopsis or have expressed interest in performing the requirements NASA ARC intends to procure through this six-month extension of the AEMMS contract.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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:

ARC is currently in the process of consolidating requirements from existing ARC contracts, including AEMMS into the competitive Aircraft and Spaceflight Systems Engineering Support Services contract. A six-month extension to the AEMMS contract is necessary to provide additional time needed to complete the ASSESS procurement and provide continued support of critical requirements under the current contract. Contract award of ASSESS is expected to occur within the 6-month contract extension authorized herein. Because ASSESS is a competitive procurement, there are no actions the agency needs to take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for similar services.