10-Kilowatt Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) Power Conversion System (PCS) Prototype for Fission Surface Power

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Glenn Research Center (GRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for 10-Kilowatt Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) Power Conversion System (PCS) Prototype for Fission Surface Power.

The primary purpose of this acquisition is to design, manufacture, and test a CBC PCS unit to inform the requirements for a spaceflight fission power system. These activities are intended to increase confidence in the vendor’s ability to produce a CBC PCS. The secondary goal is to provide test hardware which can be used to investigate the long-term behavior of these systems and support testing of alternative hardware configurations, including power management and distribution elements.

The basic requirements for the CBC PCU are a nominal turbine inlet temperature of 1100-1200 K, a nominal water coolant supply temperature of approximately 375 K, and a nominal alternator power output at these temperatures of 10 kW electrical. The system should utilize technologies compatible with a notional 10-year mission life as part of a fission space power system, however the delivered test article will not be required to have such stringent life requirements. The contractor is expected to deliver a complete electrically-heated CBC PCS test loop along with the necessary instrumentation for operation and performance verification, as well as a gas management system to supply the required working fluid and the electronics necessary to control the alternator and the heater. Upon delivery, the system will be integrated with NASA data acquisition and cooling water supply for further testing and technology development. The period of performance for hardware delivery shall be 18 months.

NASA GRC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for 10-Kilowatt CBC PCS Prototype for Fission Surface Power. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.

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 3 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort including being able to meet the Government’s schedule.

NASA also seeks inputs on the feasibility of the 18-month timeline from a manufacturing standpoint. Particularly, whether it is feasible to manufacture/procure the major custom-designed components (particularly the turbo-alternator-compressor (TAC) and heat exchangers) within the timeline requested. This input does not go towards the page limit referenced above.

The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial product or commercial service using FAR Part 12.

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Linda M Nabors, linda.m.nabors@nasa.gov no later than 5:00 PM EDT on June 2, 2025. Please reference 80GRC025R7013 in any response. 

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 not be notified of the results of the evaluation.