Helix-MC

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center (NASA/NSSC) has issued a Special Notice for the HELIX-MC system service contract. The notice indicates NASA's intent to potentially issue a sole source contract to Thermo Electron North America LLC, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, for continued maintenance of the HELIX-MC instrument. The contract will support work to be performed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Mid-Atlantic Noble Gas Research Laboratory (MNGRL), specifically in Building 34, Room C135. This procurement falls under NAICS code 334516 for Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing and will be conducted using commercial item procedures. The opportunity represents a continuation of an existing service arrangement that has been in place for the past decade.

Contractors interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing by January 2, 2025, at 1:00 PM Central Standard Time. The government will evaluate submitted responses to determine whether to conduct the procurement competitively, though the final determination remains at their discretion. The service contract involves maintaining the HELIX-MC instrument, which is critical for planetary sample analysis, and includes priority response features such as 50% faster onsite response time and 30-40% reduced downtime. The contract also offers 35% remote issue resolution capability and priority access to over 2,000 field service professionals with an average of 18 years of experience. Oral communications are not permitted in response to this notice, and all submissions must be in written format. While the notice suggests a potential sole source procurement, the government remains open to evaluating alternative capabilities from interested contractors.