SATPC0041455 Tab 10 BNJ redacted.pdf

This is a Recommendation and Determination to Solicit from One Source or Brand Name document from NASA's Shared Services Center, dated March 15, 2017.

NASA recommends negotiating exclusively with Sheldon Manufacturing Inc. to procure a thermal vacuum (TVAC) bake-out chamber for the Kennedy Space Center. The procurement is justified as a brand name acquisition under the rationale that competition is impractical. The estimated period of performance or lead-time for delivery is 9/30/2026, with a total estimated cost that is redacted in the document. The justification emphasizes that the required items and services must be procured from the suggested source due to unique characteristics essential for compatibility with existing hardware configurations currently in use at Kennedy Space Center. The TVAC chamber's specific dimensions, thermal cycling capability, vacuum performance, and control system architecture are uniquely tailored to the center's established test setups, fixture interfaces, and operational control systems. The document notes that these characteristics are not standardized across the broader market and that alternate chambers cannot be substituted without causing significant modifications to existing hardware. Market research confirmed that commercially available alternatives do not offer chambers with the specific configuration, interface requirements, and operational envelope required to support existing bake-out processes. The document identifies substantial cost, schedule, and compatibility impacts if any vendor other than the suggested source were used, including potential needs for redesigning fixtures, modifying support hardware, requalifying materials, conducting additional testing, and experiencing schedule delays that could affect mission integration timelines and critical path processing flows.