2025 Service Contract for Thermo Scientific, Talos F200-S

NASA's Shared Services Center has issued a Special Notice for a 2025 service contract to maintain a Thermo Scientific Talos F200-S Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope located at NASA Glenn Research Center. The agency intends to issue a sole source contract to FEI Company of Hillsboro, Oregon, citing that they are the sole provider of maintenance services for this specific equipment under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) authority. This procurement falls under NAICS code 811210 for Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance and will utilize commercial acquisition procedures under FAR Parts 12 and 13. The notice serves as a market research tool to determine whether competitive bidding should be pursued instead of the planned sole source award.

The primary purpose of this Special Notice is to provide other contractors an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities and qualifications to perform maintenance services on the specialized electron microscope equipment before NASA proceeds with the sole source contract. Interested organizations must submit written responses detailing their capabilities by 4:00 p.m. Central Time on August 11, 2025, with oral communications explicitly prohibited. The maintenance contract requires comprehensive services including annual preventive maintenance, unlimited emergency service visits, technical support, and repairs performed by factory-trained engineers to maintain original manufacturer performance specifications. NASA will evaluate submissions solely to determine whether to conduct the procurement competitively, though the decision to maintain the sole source approach remains entirely at the government's discretion. The contract excludes coverage for consumables, third-party software updates, and basic maintenance items that government personnel may perform independently.