Partnering Synopsis SHEPARD 29Jan2024_R1 olh sj v3_ljt.pdf

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential partners to participate in a proposal development activity that addresses the technical objectives, development, and demonstration of Scalable High Energy oPtics for Astronomy Returns and Discovery (SHEPARD) in response to an Early Career Initiative (ECI) sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and released on November 13, 2023. The deadline for partnering responses is February 7, 2024.

NASA LaRC is seeking participation with this partnering synopsis from all interested U.S. and non-U.S. organizations, including educational institutions, industry, not-for-profit institutions, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as NASA Centers and other U.S. Government Agencies.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Other Minority Universities (OMUs), small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), veteran-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) are also encouraged to respond. Additionally, in support of the Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, NASA is also looking to advance equity or remove barriers for members of underserved communities to access procurement opportunities. Underserved Communities include Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Participation by non-U.S. organizations is welcome but subject to NASA’s policy of no exchange of funds, in which each government supports its own national participants and associated costs.

The Early Career Initiative is an internal NASA call for space technology development and demonstration proposals that foster the next step in the professional development of early career NASA technologists by providing cutting-edge hands-on space technology hardware development opportunities. This initiative promotes creative joint partnering within highly collaborative work environments between the best and brightest NASA early career innovators and world-class industry, academia, and other government organizations.

Proposing teams will include a core team, including NASA and external partner members and at least half of the core team must consist of NASA early career employees. A NASA early career employee must lead the project (Project Lead) and shall engage an experienced NASA mentor, and a STMD mentor who will be identified after selection of the project. Other roles (e.g., Project Manager, Project Scientist) can be filled by team members from NASA or the external partner. The general approach will be to employ agile systems engineering methods emphasizing working products, collaboration, iterative, hands-on testing, and responsiveness to change rather than formal process and documentation with milestone-based assessments, including a continuation review at the development site and a final presentation to NASA Headquarters. If a project wishes to involve a foreign organization, prior confirmation is needed.

Teams must propose innovative space hardware-focused projects lasting no more than 2 years, with total costs up to $1.0M per year including procurement and labor costs.

NASA LaRC is seeking partners to participate in developing proposals for and collaborating on potential Early Career Initiative (ECI) projects. LaRC is pursuing several topic areas that align with NASA’s space technology priorities and involve a variety of technical areas that could benefit from partnering. Potential partners may respond to a one or more of the technical challenges provided below:

Precision surface finishing of grazing-incidence mirror mandrel: SHEPARD will manufacture grazing-incidence mirrors (cylindrically symmetric mirrors with shallow angles), which allow high energy radiation (EUV, X-ray, gamma-ray) to "graze" reflect internally and focus to a point–enabling high angular resolution imaging. The mirrors’ surface finish is one of the critical elements controlling the X-ray reflective performance of these mirrors. The mirrors’ surface finish is replicated from the mandrel on which it is formed. Partners are sought to provide precision surface machining and finishing on the exterior surface of two mandrels from which the mirrors are replicated. The desired surface roughness average (Ra) is 10 nm or better across the entire external forming surface of each mandrel. Please specify the approach, precision, and accuracy of the surface finish that can be achieved.

Metrology equipment for accurate measurements of mandrel and mirror dimensional geometries: The dimensional accuracy of the mirror's geometry is a critical element to controlling the final performance of these mirrors, and the mandrel is the starting point for establishing the final geometry of the mirror. Partners are sought to deliver high-resolution metrology hardware to LaRC that can provide precision measurements on the exterior surface of the mandrel and/or the internal reflecting surface of the mirrors. Measurement resolution of 100 nm or better is required. Multiple 1D profiles along the mirror and mandrel azimuths are sufficient to characterize the mirror’s performance, but 2D and 3D measurements are also of interest. A small form factor for the measuring device is required to perform accurate measurements of the reflecting surface (the interior of the cylindrical form) of the mirrors. A partner candidate who provides hardware shall also provide guidance and training to the metrology instrument’s users, to ensure that measurements are obtained to the expected specifications. Please specify the approach, precision, and accuracy of the dimensional measurements that can be achieved.

Consultation and/or training of project team members in high-resolution optical metrology, ultra-high precision machining/polishing of metals, flow-form engineering, advanced manufacturing methodologies, or X-ray optics. Please describe the demonstrated experience and expertise the partners can provide that are relevant to the project.

The partner must provide expertise in at least one of the fields described above and must have the personnel and facilities required to perform any necessary software or hardware testing. The ideal partner may also contribute some, but not all, work, or resources to the project in-kind, which should be described within the partner’s proposal submission.

This partnering opportunity does not guarantee selection for award of any contracts or other agreements, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by NASA to pay for the information solicited. It is expected that the partner(s) selected would provide (at no cost to NASA) technical requirements, conceptual designs, technical data, proposal input, project schedules, and cost estimates. If the proposal is subsequently selected, NASA LaRC anticipates issuing contracts or other agreements to the selected partner(s) for the performance of the proposed tasks.

Partner selections will be made by LaRC based on the listed criteria:

(1) Technical Qualifications of the External Partner (30 points): This criterion evaluates the technical expertise/capabilities; and innovativeness of the external partner in leading and/or executing activities related to the topics above; and the resources (skills and time) that would be allocated to the potential proposal development phase.

(2) Management Approach (25 points): This criterion evaluates how the management approach is different from standard NASA practices, evaluates whether it represents a successful approach from another industry or organization and shows understanding of the alternative approach. The criterion will also assess how the management approach applies to your project and the degree to which it increases the probability of successfully executing the work plan. Assessment will also include the practicality and efficiency of the project schedule and requested resources.

(3) Teaming and Workforce Approach (25 points): This criterion evaluates the integration of capabilities across the core team members relative to the work plan.

(4) Agile Approaches Used in the Past (20 points): This criterion evaluates the external partner’s past experience in developing and utilizing agile development principles: using development methods that emphasize working products; collaboration; iterative, hands-on testing; and responsiveness to change rather than formal processes and documentation.

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 5 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. The responses should use 12-point font for each technical area of interest (i.e. offerors responding to one or more of the mission elements may submit up to 5 pages). Responses shall also address each of the evaluation criteria listed above.

Resumes of key personnel and a cover page that clearly identifies the topic area addressed by the response do not count against the total allocated page count. Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in

FAR 2.101.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via e-mail to Octavia Hicks at octavia.l.hicks@nasa.gov and to Samantha Johnson at samantha.a.johnson@nasa.gov no later than 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time on February 7, 2024. All procurement questions should be directed to Octavia Hicks.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.

Respondents will be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant partnering selections for the requirement.

mailto:octavia.l.hicks@nasa.gov mailto:samantha.a.johnson@nasa.gov