NEXUS Appendix E Solicitation 80MSFC26R0006 Questions and Answers Submission For Amendment 01.pdf

80MSFC26R0006, Amendment 02

(PS60 Rev. 2020-03-03)

(a) The purposes of this amendment are to publish answers to questions received during the question window of June 22-25, 2026, and to extend the Proposal Submittal date from July 7, 2026 to July 10, 2026.

(b) Attachment A, RESPONSES TO INDUSTRY QUESTIONS, provides responses to questions and comments provided by industry. Attachment B, CHANGE LOG, provides a From-To Matrix of changes made to the solicitation.

(c) All other terms and conditions of solicitation 80MSFC26R0006 remain unchanged.

ATTACHMENT A – RESPONSES TO INDUSTRY QUESTIONS

Index

Industry- Provided

Solicitation Reference

Question Response

1 NextSTEP-3

APPENDIX E

NEXUS BC Ka- Band Relay BAA

– Amendment 01

We respectfully request a two‑week extension to the NEXUS proposal submission deadline.

The Government hereby extends proposal submissions to 7/10/2026 as seen on NEXUS Solicitation Amendment 02.

The Government is currently evaluating the need for an additional extension. Offerors will be notified promptly if any changes are made. At this time, Offerors should continue to plan for and work toward the current published deadline.

2 NextSTEP-3

APPENDIX E

NEXUS BC Ka- Band Relay BAA

– Amendment 01

To ensure we comply with the intent of the font‑size requirement, can the Government clarify whether the 12‑point Times New Roman rule is intended to apply to technical drawings, schematics, tables and other scaled engineering graphics? These products typically rely on industry‑standard annotation sizes that cannot be increased to 12‑point without distorting the drawing, exceeding scale constraints, or rendering the graphic unusable. Would the Government consider allowing standard engineering annotation sizes within graphics— such as 10‑point font for graphics, technical drawings, schematics, and tables—while maintaining 12‑point font for narrative text?

The Times New Roman font style and 12-point font size will apply to all information provided in the offeror’s page limited Volumes in accordance with Section 4.3 Instructions for the page limited volumes. For example, graphics and charts shall be in 12-point, Times New Roman font.

Index

Industry- Provided

Solicitation Reference

Question Response

3 Model Contract – Amendment 01

SCHEDULE FOR

ALLOTMENT OF

FUNDS, pg 25;

CLIN 2 payment milestones

Will the Government allow proposers to submit a modification to the schedule for allotment of funds that includes an additional payment milestone for CLIN 2 to enable procurement of long-lead flight hardware at the beginning of CLIN 2 to reduce schedule risk associated with accomplishing the initial on-orbit demo at CLIN 2 ATP+24 months?

Yes, see Section 4.2 Subfactor -2 – Management Approach (v) Overall Execution Schedule with Critical Path Definition. “The Offeror may propose additional payment milestones and associated deliverables, provided such milestones are fully defined within the SOW, include clear acceptance criteria, and support traceable verification of progress toward the required NEXUS capability.

Any proposed additional milestones must be structured to align with the applicable CLIN scope, contribute meaningfully to contract execution visibility, and be subject to Government review and approval.”

Per Section 4.3, Proposal Format and Contents, “The Offeror’s SOW will be incorporated to accurately reflect and measure the contractor’s performance against the planned solution, deliverables, milestones, and work schedule for each CLIN, respectively.”

Please see Attachment J Pricing Model Amendment 01, Tab 2 Milestone Payments.

Index

Industry- Provided

Solicitation Reference

Question Response

4 Model Contract – Amendment 01

SCHEDULE FOR

ALLOTMENT OF

FUNDS, pg 26;

No CLIN 3 payment milestones

The Q&A (#21) states that there are no CLIN 3 payment milestones and the Model Contract Amendment 1 does not include any CLIN 3 milestones. However, Section B (pg 3 of 71) of the Model Contract includes a fill in for CLIN 3 pricing as well as Attachment J_Pricing+Model_Amendment+01.

With no payment milestones for CLIN 3, is the expectation that no payment will be provided until CLIN completion (i.e. liquidation of CLIN

3) and offerors are to execute CLIN 3 at risk for 6 months?

If yes, this places undo burden on small business offerors and is inconsisent with the payment milestone structure established for CLIN 1 which is similar in scope and duration.

Reconsider adding a payment milestone structure for CLIN 3.

Per Attachment F, “There are no payment milestones for CLIN 3. The Government will make 100% payment of the CLIN 0003 value after the Government approves that all CLIN 0003 requirements are acceptably completed by the Contractor.”

Per Section 4.3, Proposal Format and Contents, “The Offeror’s SOW will be incorporated to accurately reflect and measure the contractor’s performance against the planned solution, deliverables, milestones, and work schedule for each CLIN, respectively.”

Index

Industry- Provided

Solicitation Reference

Question Response

5 NextSTEP-3

APPENDIX E

NEXUS BC Ka- Band Relay BAA

– Amendment 01 4.4.3.(f)

'"NASA does not require an executed launch contract, confirmed manifest position, or final launch arrangement at proposal submission."

It remains unclear how proposers are expected to provide firm pricing during initial proposal submission for launch services without an executed launch contract. The inability to update launch pricing at some future time (such as the beginning of Phase 2) after a launch contract is fully executed, places undue risk on the proposer of either overestimating launch costs impacting competiveness or underestimating launch costs creating undue financial burden in a fixed priced structure.

Recommendation: Amend the BAA to recharacterize launch pricing as a ROM only during initial proposal submission. Create a new CLIN in the Model Contract solely for launch pricing. Include direction in the BAA to provide an updated price proposal for the launch CLIN only to incorporate firm launch pricing at the beginning of Phase 2.

NASA does not require an executed launch contract, confirmed manifest position, or final launch arrangement at proposal submission. That statement from NEXUS Solicitation 4.4.3 (f) is unchanged.

NASA does not intend to amend the BAA to create a separate launch services CLIN, treat launch pricing as ROM-only, or establish an automatic later repricing mechanism for launch services.

Per Section 4.3, Proposal Format and Contents, “The Offeror’s SOW will be incorporated to accurately reflect and measure the contractor’s performance against the planned solution, deliverables, milestones, and work schedule for each CLIN, respectively.”

Please see Attachment J Pricing Model Amendment 01, Tab 5 Assumptions_Drivers.

ATTACHMENT B – CHANGE LOG

Inde x RFP Reference From To

Appendix E, Amendment 01, Section 1.2 General Information for Participants

Fourth bullet of Section 1.2:

Proposal Submittals: Proposals must be submitted electronically through NASA’s EFSS Box no later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time (CT), July 7, 2026. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Fourth bullet of Section 1.2 revised:

Proposal Submittals: Proposals must be submitted electronically through NASA’s EFSS Box no later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time (CT), July 10, 2026. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Appendix E, Amendment 01, Section 4.2.1, Electronic Submission of Proposals – Proposal Marking and Delivery Through NASA’s EFSS Box

First sentence of the second paragraph:

Proposals must be received no later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time on July 7, 2026.

First sentence of the second paragraph revised:

Proposals must be received no later than 10:00 a.m.

Central Time on July 10, 2026.

Appendix E, Section 4.2.1, Electronic Submission of Proposals

Second paragraph:

The link for proposal submissions can be accessed here:

https://nasagov.box.com/s/sp39ho1qu99guzpy 5m55zkqj5lrd18xc

Second paragraph revised:

The link for proposal submissions can be accessed here:

https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/638211ee580d4c399ae76 d8b203f01e3 https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/638211ee580d4c399ae76d8b203f01e3 https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/638211ee580d4c399ae76d8b203f01e3