Custom annealed copper heat straps

NASA's National Shared Services Center (NSSC) has issued a Special Notice for the procurement of custom annealed copper heat straps under federal contract opportunity bf7253bbb0d242f0895336680829be15. The procurement is set aside for total small business participation and falls under NAICS code 334516 for Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. NASA intends to issue a sole source contract to BlueFors Cryocooler Technologies LLC, having determined they are the sole provider of these specialized heat straps required for a Mercury cryostat system. The heat straps will be fabricated using Copper 101 materials with copper brackets connected by copper braid, designed to provide thermal conductivity between a Cryomech cryocooler and instrument cold plates. Performance will take place at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The primary objective of this Special Notice is to announce NASA's intent to proceed with sole source procurement while providing an opportunity for other qualified organizations to demonstrate their capabilities. Interested contractors must submit written capabilities and qualifications by 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on July 2, 2025, with oral communications not being acceptable. The government will evaluate all submissions solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement, though this decision remains at NASA's discretion under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i). The project involves a 16-week performance period for fabricating custom copper heat straps that require precise machining, welding, and annealing processes to meet the technical specifications outlined in the detailed engineering drawings. Only organizations capable of producing these highly specialized thermal management components for cryogenic applications should consider responding to this capability statement request.