xEVAS Request for Proposal Cover Letter.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center 2101 NASA Parkway Houston, Texas 77058-3696

Reply to the attn of: BL-21-082

TO: All Prospective Offerors

FROM: Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contracting Officer

SUBJECT: Request for Proposal (RFP), Solicitation No. 80JSC021R0006, for the xEVAS Acquisition

You are invited to submit a proposal in response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) xEVAS solicitation. The principle purpose of this contract is to procure an “EVA as a Service” solution to provide NASA EVA capability for the International Space Station (ISS), Artemis and Advanced program missions.

The contractor(s) will be responsible for leveraging Government and/or commercial investments to provide an EVA system (spacesuit, associated hardware and services) for a successful demonstration in a relevant environment and certification for first use by NASA crew members.

Additionally, the contractor(s) will be awarded task order(s) to provide recurring EVA services for ISS and/or lunar missions, including, but not limited to: use of certified suits by NASA crew members in EVAs; mission planning; support to ground operations (fitting, training, etc.); and support to real-time EVA operations.

NASA will conduct this acquisition as full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System code for this acquisition is 336414, Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing and the small business size standard is 1,250 employees.

This competitive acquisition will result in an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity contract with the ability to issue Firm-Fixed-Price task orders. The contract will have an ordering period of 10 years from the contract effective date.

The anticipated contract award and effective date is April 15, 2022. The contract will be performed onsite at NASA JSC and offsite at the contractor’s facilities.

The Government reserves the right to select for award multiple, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation.

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Changes from Draft RFP

Potential offerors should pay close attention to all solicitation instructions; however, the following requirements list is summarized to assist in proposal development. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and the solicitation terms and conditions and provisions in Sections L and M take precedence:

1. The Government will make available existing Installation-Accountable Government Property for onsite contract performance and Government Furnished Property for offsite use at the Contractor’s facility as described in the RFP.

2. Offerors are notified the Government is making available limited amounts of the items in the table below to be permanently provided to the successful contractor(s), at their request. Such requests shall be made through the submission of a Government Task Agreement request for one or more of these items. Contact the JSC Point of Contact (POC), Ron Diftler, at myron.a.diftler@nasa.gov for additional information.

Item Description Part Number Quantity Arde Tank Steel N/A raw material for est. 100 Exploration

Extra-Vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) tanks xEMU Oxygen (CO2)Sensors SVSK1031142-2 2 qualification and 2 flight Aluminum blocks for class III Hard Upper Torsos (HUTs)

N/A raw material for est. 10 xEMU HUTs

TECOM Antennas N/A 5 Makrolon N/A 100 sheets CO2 sensor long lead parts Various 253 unique parts/items

In the event of multiple awards in which the total contractor requests exceed the total quantity available, the Government reserves the right to determine and make equitable distribution to the requesting parties.

3. Required offeror fill-ins are denoted within the solicitation as “TBP” and marked in green highlight. Items marked “TBD” will be filled in after award.

4. NASA JSC appreciates the comments received in response to the release of the Draft RFP. These comments resulted in improvements to the quality and content of the overall RFP. NASA believes the changes made since the Draft RFP have created a balance between commercial Industry practices and Government requirements, providing an acceptable and flexible solution to all parties. Offerors should review the RFP in its entirety, as its content has changed from the Draft RFP version. The following list identifies some areas where significant changes or clarifications have been made from the Draft RFP to this Final RFP that may not have been addressed in the Draft RFP questions and responses.

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• Requirements for certified cost and pricing data have been removed. Clauses requiring data other than certified cost and pricing data have been added.

• Clarified that the xEVAS contract is exempt from Cost Accounting Standards as it meets the requirements of 48 Code of Federal Regulations § 9903.201-1(b)(15).

• A price redetermination clause (Clause H.30) has been included in the solicitation that applies to prices in the Schedule B “Out Year NTEs” tables.

• Replaced clause “NASA FAR Supplement (NFS)1852.228-76, Cross-Waiver of Liability for ISS Activities” with “Cross-Waiver of Liability for ISS and Gateway Activities (Deviated)”

• Revisions to the Performance Work Statement (Section C of the solicitation), Data Requirements Description (Attachment J-01), and the Systems Requirements Document (Attachment J-02).

o The Systems Requirements Document (SRD) has been converted and updated to a narrative form and restructured, however maintains requirement numbers as defined in the draft RFP for traceability. In addition, NASA’s expected verification methods and program applicability have been added to Section 4. NASA-STD-3001 Volumes 1 and 2, previously included and applicable in its entirety in xEVAS DRD- ENG-01, has been tailored to include only those requirements applicable to the xEVAS Contract (refer to Appendix C of the SRD).

o The Performance Work Statement and Data Requirements Description have been updated to require a crewed vacuum chamber test demonstration at the Critical Design Review milestone of the demonstration CLIN A.

o The Performance Work Statement and Data Requirements Description have been updated to include requirements for the development and production of in-suit nutrition and associated data deliverables, as well as options in how in-suit nutrition may be sourced.

o The Performance Work Statement and Data Requirements Description have been updated to include requirements for the development and delivery of Failure Modes and Effects Analyses.

o Mission Unique Capabilities (Sub-CLIN C) for additional EVA suited training runs and additional EVA hardware training have been updated with a smaller number of “events” per order of the capability.

• Among other changes, Attachment J-08, Work Plans, has been updated to add references to Attachment J-11, Milestone Review Plan and to remove the “TBP”s in the “Payment Amount” column.

• Key Service Capabilities, previously listed in Attachment L-05, has been moved to Attachment J-25 and Offerors are required to fill-in “TBP”s.

• To be consistent with Clause H.26, Identification and Representation of Data with Restrictive or Limiting Marking, Provision K.7, Identification and Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software (Pre-Award), has been added as a replacement to the provision at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.227-15.

• The method by which the price factor will be evaluated has been clarified.

• Several of the elements of the mission suitability factor instructions have been clarified.

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• Multiple corrections to errors, omissions, or incorrect references.

• Versions of the solicitation and Performance Work Statement with bar marks to denote changes from the draft releases of the documents is provided (see Note 8 below).

This list is not intended to cover all changes nor describe all RFP requirements. Offerors should carefully review the RFP in its entirety.

5. Three version of the solicitation are provided for the convenience of potential offerors.

The Adobe PDF version including “FINAL” in the title shall serve as the official version of the solicitation. A “clean” (i.e. without mark-ups) version is provided in the files’ native format for ease of use by the offerors. A marked-up version is provided in Adobe PDF which tracks all changes with a change bar on the side of the document.

6. Questions and answers regarding the Draft RFP have been posted on SAM.gov at https://sam.gov/opp/b411a8e7a29b477286b01fd7db7830d2/review. The information provided in this cover letter and the Question and answers to the Draft RFP is not intended to be construed differently from the information in the RFP. Should any conflict in interpretation of these documents appear, the information in the RFP shall take precedence.

xEVAS Source Evaluation Board

Below is a list of the Source Selection Authority (SSA) and voting members, along with their associated NASA center’s organizational codes, for the Source Evaluation Board (SEB). The names provided are for informational purposes only and other than the CO, Chris Gaspard, these individuals shall not be contacted regarding this acquisition. The Government may change personnel associated with this acquisition at its discretion.

SSA

Vanessa E. Wyche, JSC/AA, Center Director

Voting Members Mark D. Wiese, KSC/DS, SEB Chairperson Christian C. Gaspard, JSC/BL, CO Michael S. Boggs, JSC/OA Stephanie M. Flint, JSC/XX Stephen P. Gawenis, JSC/OE Anne C. McClain, JSC/CB Richard D. Watson, JSC/EC

Pre-Proposal Conference Information

NASA JSC plans to conduct a Pre-Proposal Conference (PPC) for the xEVAS solicitation. The presentation for the PPC will be held via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Central Time.

https://sam.gov/opp/b411a8e7a29b477286b01fd7db7830d2/review

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The xEVAS PPC is open to firms that are interested in pursuing an xEVAS contract. To RSVP for the xEVAS PPC, please email Chris Gaspard at cgaspard@nasa.gov by 1:30 p.m. (Central) on October 4, 2021. Your email must include the following:

• Subject Line: 80JSC021R0006 Pre-Proposal Conference RSVP

• Company Name and Address

• Company POCs names, telephone numbers, and email addresses

A Question and Answer (Q&A) session will follow the PPC presentation. Following the presentation and the Q&A session, please email any additional questions to Chris Gaspard cgaspard@nasa.gov. The Government will officially respond to all questions submitted no later than 1:30 p.m. (Central) on October 13, 2021, by posting responses to www.sam.gov and the xEVAS website after the PPC. The Government will not respond to questions that are marked as containing confidential, proprietary, competition sensitive, or business information.

xEVAS Procurement Library

A procurement library for this solicitation is included with the solicitation on sam.gov.

Individuals requesting access to the export controlled scientific and technical information within the procurement library must provide the following information to the CO by e-mail through an authorized manager of their company’s Security or Human Resources Offices. That authorized individual shall verify that the information provided to NASA is correct, complete, and accurate.

Companies are responsible for ensuring their compliance with all U. S. export regulations:

1) Full Company Name

2) Company Address

3) Is this a corporation, business association, partnership, society, trust, or any other entity, organization or group that is incorporated to do business in the United States?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

4) CAGE Code

5) Company Security or Human Resources Point of contact(s) providing/verifying information about the individual requesting access

a. Name and Title

b. Phone Number

c. e-mail

6) List the names of all individuals requesting access to the export controlled data including:

a. Name

b. The individual named above is [ ] or is not [ ] a U. S. person as defined in Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 120.15

c. If the individual is not a U.S. person what is their citizenship? _________

ALTERNATE 6b: Citizenship: Specify Citizenship [ ] Non-U. S. Persons must list any other countries to which individual claims citizenship http://www.sam.gov/

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List Place of Birth: _______________

All foreign nationals from designated countries covered by a Programmatic Technology Transfer Control Plan (P-TTCP) or requiring access to export controlled information are required to have an Individual Technology Transfer Control Plan with a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Foreign nationals from non-designated countries requiring access to export-controlled information covered by a P-TTCP are required to comply with the International Partner or Foreign National Certification contained in the P-TTCP.

Additional Instructions

Offerors are encouraged to refer to FAR Provision 52.215-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS–COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION, in particular paragraph (f)(4) which discusses the Government’s right to award a contract without discussions.

Offerors are required to have a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code that matches the corporate address submitted with its proposal.

Interested parties should note that the Government will request delivery of proposals through NASA’s Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Box platform. Provision L.13 of the solicitation includes instructions for submission of proposals through this system, however, potential offerors are advised to test the system prior to the delivery date to ensure there will be no perturbations that would result in a late proposal that would be excluded from evaluation, pursuant to FAR 52.215-1(c)(3).

Documents related to this acquisition, including this letter, the solicitation, attachments, exhibits, any amendments and links to online reference/technical/bidders library will be attainable electronically from the World Wide Web through the Government-wide point of entry website at www.sam.gov. Potential Offerors are requested to periodically monitor the websites for updates.

NFS clause 1852.215-84, OMBUDSMAN, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html.

This RFP does not commit NASA JSC to pay any proposal preparation costs, nor does it obligate NASA JSC to procure or contract for these services. This request is not an authorization to proceed, and does not authorize payment for any charges incurred by the offeror for performing any of the work called for in this solicitation.

An initial proposal submitted in response to this solicitation shall be due no later than 1:30 p.m.

(Central) on December 1, 2021; however, the Past Performance Volume (Volume III) is due no later than 1:30 p.m. (Central) on November 1, 2021. An alternate proposal is required by all Offerors that is due on February 15, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. (Central). See Provision L.18.1 for additional instructions. Offerors are notified that NASA is seeking legislative authority to incrementally fund the “contract guaranteed minimum amount” of the xEVAS contract(s).

Should NASA receive such authorization, the requirement for an alternate proposal will be eliminated via amendment to the solicitation.

http://www.sam.gov/ http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html

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Proposals that arrive after the prescribed time for receipt of proposals will be considered late and treated in accordance with FAR 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors - Competitive Acquisitions.

Offerors are instructed to coordinate all proposal deliveries with the xEVAS Contracting Officer.

In accordance with NFS 1815.201(f), a “Blackout Notice” has been issued to NASA personnel.

All inquiries/communications pertaining to this acquisition shall be directed only to the CO listed below. During the blackout period, limited communications are allowed between industry and NASA for the potential use of NASA facilities, equipment, and services the Offeror requests for its xEVAS effort. In order to protect the integrity of this competitive process, Offerors must use the NASA points of contact identified in Attachment L-07, NASA Center Partnership Office Points of Contact, to discuss the use of Government resources under a Government Task Agreement to ensure that any communications regarding such agreements are limited to providing information regarding the specific work requested by the Offeror. The work must be requested by the Offeror; NASA will not suggest or offer work other than the work requested by the Offeror. NASA's communications with Offerors will not include any assistance in preparing the Offeror's proposal, advice or opinions on the Offeror's proposed design solution or approach for performing the work, or any information regarding the competition or its technical requirements.

All questions regarding this RFP should be submitted in writing, electronically to Chris Gaspard, CO, at cgaspard@nasa.gov on or before October 13, 2021. Offerors are encouraged to submit questions as soon as possible for consideration.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Christian C. Gaspard Contracting Officer