TEMPO Ext Host Ops JOFOC.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Langley Research Center (LaRC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For Extended Host Operation Commercial Services for the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Mission

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) Langley Research Center (LaRC).

The procuring agency is NASA, and the contracting activity is NASA Langley Research Center.

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 contract with SES Space and Defense, Inc. (“SES”) for extended host operations in support of the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Mission. This is a follow-on to the host operations support acquired through an Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) with the United States Space Force (USSF) and procured as part of the larger commercial services provided under the USSF IDIQ contract FA8814-14- D-0003 Delivery Order FA8814-19-F-0001 “Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS)” with a Period of Performance ending 18 June 2026. Extensions under the existing contract are no longer supported by USSF. The nature of the work to be performed under this contract is limited to the on-orbit host commercial services operations support.

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):

The TEMPO Mission extension was authorized by an out-of-cycle Senior Review process and decision memorandum through NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) to continue operations through the next official Senior Review anticipated in September 2026. The base effort under this contract will provide host commercial services operations support for an operating TEMPO Instrument for a period of 7.5 months, through January 31, 2027 to allow execution of the Senior Review directives. A total of five option periods provides up to 52.5 additional months of extended host commercial services operations support and 4.5 months for decommissioning and closeout for the TEMPO Mission, pending additional direction from a subsequent Senior Review anticipated in late Fiscal Year 2029. SES is part of this effort, providing the following specific work tasks under this contract:

1. Operating the host geostationary spacecraft (IS-40e) at 91W longitude including supporting the power, thermal, and data interfaces with the TEMPO Instrument.

2. Passing commands to the TEMPO Instrument from another Government contractor.

3. Relaying TEMPO scientific and housekeeping data from the TEMPO Instrument on-orbit to another Government contractor data processing facility.

4. Monitoring host spacecraft health and status for any anomalies that may impact the

TEMPO Instrument or TEMPO operations and ensuring the safety of the TEMPO Instrument during host spacecraft anomalies.

NASA LaRC intends to issue a firm-fixed price contract for commercial services, with a 7.5 month base effort and five option CLINs to cover a total period of performance of five years.

The base effort is valued at $874,191. The total dollar value of all options is $7,383,114.

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)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.103-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, based on the justification outlined below.

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)(1) is described below.

TEMPO hosted payload services are currently provided by SES using its Intelsat 40E geostationary communications satellite under the USSF HoPS contract FA8814-14-D-0003, Delivery Order FA8814-19-F-0001. The HoPS contract scope provides for the procurement of hosted payload missions which includes a fully-functioning on-orbit hosted payload space and ground system for Government-furnished payloads on commercial platforms. In addition to the space and ground systems, the HoPS contract includes related on-orbit support for data transfer from the hosted payload to the Government end-user. As SES is providing hosted payload services for TEMPO as a commercial service under the HoPS contract, SES retains intellectual property rights to the Intelsat 40E commercial satellite and the ground stations under the contract. SES fully owns and operates both the host satellite to which the TEMPO Instrument is integrated and operating on in-orbit, and the ground stations that the commands and data pass through to the host spacecraft. No other company is involved with providing these services as no other company is permitted to send commands to the host spacecraft nor intercept and decode the data downlink.

The previous commercial services contract contained requirements for the host contractor to receive command loads intended for the TEMPO instrument from the TEMPO Instrument Operations Center and ultimately deliver command loads to the TEMPO Instrument on the host spacecraft with no restrictions on implementation within the commercial services. The host contractor chose to incorporate the command loads into the existing encrypted spacecraft command link using proprietary compression and authentication, passing the command load through an SES-owned ground station in Castle Rock, CO and up to the spacecraft using an antenna focused on the ground station. The data downlink is modulated and integrated directly into a downlink spot beam focused on a different SES ground station in Riverside, CA where it is demodulated, parsed, and sent to the TEMPO Instrument Operations Center. The host satellite and associated ground stations have a primary mission to provide commercial communication services to North America and will remain under SES ownership.

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 5.101(a) and, if not, which exception under 5.101(b) applies:

The original commercial services were provided under USSF IDIQ contract FA8814-14-D- 0003 Delivery Order FA8814-19-F-0001 following a competitive selection. A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) will be published in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.101(a). This posting will inform potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to SES.

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 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. In accordance with RFO 15.4, price analysis will be the primary method utilized to determine price reasonableness for this commercial service acquisition under RFO Part 12.

Although the requirements were solicited on a sole source basis, NASA will employ multiple pricing techniques, including comparison to historical acquisitions of similar scope, and evaluation against the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). This review will also include a comparison to the value of contract options previously awarded under Delivery Order FA8814-19-F-0001, which has already been evaluated and determined to be fair and reasonable.

Given the absence of competition, NASA will also request limited cost information to support its analysis of significant cost drivers and to validate the proposed labor mix and level of effort. This review does not constitute a full cost analysis under RFO 15.4, but will be performed solely to supplement the price analysis and support the overall determination of price reasonableness.

As certified cost or pricing data will not be required for this commercial service acquisition, price analysis will remain the primary basis for determining price reasonableness. Based on a combination of these techniques, NASA shall make the determination that the proposed price 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):

Market research was conducted in advance of the original competitive selection (RFP FA8814-19-R-0001) that led to USSF IDIQ contract FA8814-14-D-0003 Delivery Order FA8814-19-F-0001. Further market research was not conducted because SES is the only company permitted to continue providing the necessary commercial services as described in Section 5, above.

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

None.

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

N/A.

10. 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:

The TEMPO Instrument is integrated on the host satellite that is owned and operated by SES.

It will not be possible to remove the barrier limiting SES to be the only company with the ability to send commands to the host spacecraft nor intercept and decode the data downlink.