Purchase of COTS CCDs in support of the ESIS-2 Sounding Rocket Mission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center (NASA/NSSC) has issued a Special Notice for a sole source procurement of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) to support the ESIS-2 Sounding Rocket Mission. Specifically, the agency intends to award a contract directly to Teledyne Digital Imaging US, Inc. for three back-illuminated CCD sensors required for camera development at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The procurement is being conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 12 and 13 for commercial items, with a NAICS code of 334511 for Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing. The Special Notice was posted on January 15, 2025, with a response deadline of January 21, 2025.

The primary objective of this Special Notice is to acquire three Teledyne e2v Model CCD230-42-1-E98 Grade 1 sensors, which are critical for the Extreme ultraviolet Snapshot Imaging Spectrograph (ESIS) mission. Contractors interested in the opportunity may submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing to procurement specialist Shanna Patterson by 7 a.m. Central Standard Time on January 21, 2025. NASA has determined Teledyne as the sole provider due to the unique compatibility of their CCDs with existing mission requirements, software, and hardware designs. While other organizations may submit qualifications, the government retains full discretion on whether to proceed competitively. The performance period is six weeks from the date of award, with work to be completed at the vendor's facility in Chelmsford, UK. The justification for sole source procurement is based on the potential significant cost and time implications of using alternative vendors, which could require years of additional development and hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.