Europa Clipper Launch Services

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

NASA/John F. Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

DESCRIPTION

NASA/Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources in anticipation of a full and open competition for the acquisition of launch services of the Europa Clipper mission.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/KSC 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 the contract.  The Government reserves the right to consider a Small Business, Small Business Disadvantaged, 8(a) Business Development, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), Veteran-owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), HBCU or MI business set-aside based on responses received.

Europa Clipper will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life. The Europa Clipper will explore Europa and investigate its habitability utilizing a set of five remote sensing instruments that cover the spectrum from thermal emission through the ultraviolet, four in-situ fields and particles instruments, a two-channel radar, and a gravity science investigation. Key mission objectives will be to produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing activity, measure the thickness of the icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa's ocean.

The Europa Clipper launch service will include the launch vehicle (LV), ground support facilities and equipment, test hardware and software, and all launch services required to integrate the payload to the launch vehicle and deliver the Spacecraft (SC) to its required orbit to include but not be limited to: program management, mission integration, launch site support, ground and flight system safety, performance assurance, processing, encapsulation, launch operations, and trajectory verification.

Europa Clipper MISSION REQUIREMENTS

Launch Vehicle Performance:
The launch vehicle shall deliver a minimum 6065 kg Europa Clipper spacecraft (SC) with Mars-Earth-Gravity-Assist (MEGA) trajectory characteristics as follows: C3 value of 41.69km2/sec2 and a DLA range of 30-32 degrees.

Launch Period:
Europa Clipper will be launched during a 21-day launch period beginning October 10, 2024 and ending on October 30, 2024.

Europa Clipper Risk Classification:
Europa Clipper is classified as a Class A payload, pursuant to NASA Procedural Requirements 8705.4 Risk Classification for NASA Payloads.  The launch vehicle must meet Category 3 certification requirements per NPD 8610.7D prior to launch. In accordance with NPD 8610.7D, an offerors proposed common launch vehicle configuration shall have a minimum of three (minimum two consecutive) successful flights prior to launch of Europa Clipper.

Public Law 105-303, 51 U.S.C 50131, et. seq., states that the Federal Government shall acquire space transportation services from United States commercial providers whenever such services are required in the course of its activities. Accordingly, this procurement will consider domestic sources only.

Potential offerors shall be AS9100 certified by a registrar accredited by either the International Registrar of Certified Auditors (IRCA) or the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB). Potential offerors shall comply with this requirement by demonstrating that the corporation(s), corporate division(s), subsidiary(ies), joint venture(s), partner(s), and/or any other business entity actually performing launch vehicle manufacture, payload/launch vehicle integration, testing, and launch activities is/are AS9100 certified.

It is not anticipated that a Draft Request for Proposal (DRFP) will be released. The mission draft Launch Service Interface Requirements Document (LSIRD) will be released via Governmentwide point of entry prior to RFP release. Interested parties capable of meeting Europa Clipper’s requirements will be able to request a teleconference with the Government within 5 business days of draft LSIRD release to review the draft LSIRD and submit questions to the Government during the teleconference.

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on beta.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 10 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION SOLICITED

Launch service providers having a launch service capability and ability to meet or exceed all aspects of the effort described herein are requested to submit a capabilities statement package demonstrating the ability to perform a launch service with a common launch vehicle configuration consistent with the requirements listed above.

The cover letter provided with your submission shall include the following information:  Company name and address, company business size and business category (Large, Small, SDB, 8(a) Business Development, EDWOSB, WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone, HBCU, or MSI), point-of-contact name, phone number, fax number, email address, and DUNS number.  The capability statement package shall address, at a minimum, the following:

1. Demonstrated launch service experience in accordance with NPD 8610.7D.  Experience listed shall include contract number, organization supported, indication of whether prime or subcontractor, contract value, Government point of contact with current telephone number, a brief description of how the contract referenced relates to the services described herein; and planned manifest including planned future flights of the common launch vehicle configuration prior to the anticipated Europa Clipper launch date.
2. Explanation of your launch service’s capability including generic vehicle fleet upgrades and mission specific modifications anticipated to meet each of the Europa Clipper mission requirements provided above.
3. Confirmation that the offeror is a domestic launch service provider pursuant to Section 201 of Public Law 105-303 “Commercial Space Act of 1998” and any launch services described are a commercial item as defined in FAR 2.101.
4. Provide the following information regarding the proposed launch vehicle and associated launch services to be offered as a solution to the Europa Clipper launch service:

• Describe the work that you subcontract for launch services or launch vehicle hardware.
• What percentage of the total launch service price is subcontracted to small business categories? Including Small, SDB, 8(a) Business Development, EDWOSB, WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone, HBCU, or MSI
• Identify current small business subcontracting goals you have under other government contracts (including contract number and customer) for similar work for the proposed launch vehicle. In addition, state whether you have been able to meet those goals, and if not, why.
• What small business subcontracting goals do you recommend for Europa Clipper based on current subcontracts in place or industry standards? If there are no small business subcontracting opportunities for the Europa Clipper launch service, please provide rationale.
• Describe any High Technology work and what percentages of the work is to be subcontracted to the socioeconomic categories?

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Jennifer D. O’Neill at Jennifer.l.dorsey@nasa.gov no later than February 8, 2021, no later than 4:00 p.m. pacific time. Please reference “Europa Clipper Launch Service – Capability Statement” in any response. The submission shall be prepared in either PDF or Microsoft Word.

This does not constitute a Request for Proposal, Invitation for Bid, or Request for Quotation, 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.  Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. 

NASA does not intend to post information or questions received in response to this request to any website or public access location. NASA does not plan to respond to the individual submittals to this Sources Sought Synopsis. 

Failure to respond to this notice does not exclude any interested party from future consideration for any proposals which may be announced or solicited by NASA.

POINT OF CONTACT

Name:  Jennifer D. O’Neill

Title:  Contracting Officer

Phone:  321-604-5116

Fax:  321-867-4848

Email:  jennifer.l.dorsey@nasa.gov