Space weather Observations at L1 (SOL) Series X-ray Irradiance Sensor (XRIS)

Pre-Solicitation Notice for Space weather Observations at Lagrange 1 (SOL) X-ray Irradiance Sensor (XRIS)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to issue a Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Space weather Observations at Lagrange 1 (SOL) X-Ray Irradiance Sensor (XRIS) instrument.

SOL is a high priority joint undertaking by NASA and NOAA. Two SOL Observatories will provide NOAA with the continuity of solar wind data, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) imagery, and the second observatory will provide X-ray irradiance data from the XRIS instrument.

The X-ray Irradiance Sensor (XRIS) instrument will be used to measure the energy power from solar radiation per unit area to detect changes in solar activity, like solar flares, and help predict solar energetic particle events that can penetrate the Earth’s magnetic field. The instrument will monitor X-ray flares that can cause changes in the Earth’s ionosphere such as strong radio bursts that may interfere with radio frequencies and cause problems for satellite communication and navigation systems. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are sometimes associated with solar flares which can lead to geomagnetic storms.

SOL will procure one (1) flight and one (1) spare XRIS instrument that will provide NOAA with the continuity and resilience of space weather observations for the X-ray irradiance. The X-ray irradiance measurement is a high availability (HAP) product, which is one of the National Weather Service’s highest priorities for space weather observations. The continuation of these observations is essential for space weather predictions and the creation of actionable warnings for the protection of critical infrastructure that includes different sectors in the nation like aviation, commerce, energy, space exploration, and defense. XRIS will fly on the second observatory, SOL-B, which is targeted to launch in October 2032.

The contract scope includes those tasks necessary to design, analyze, develop, and fabricate one (1) flight and one (1) spare XRIS instrument. The Statement of Work defines the tasks necessary to integrate, test, calibrate, evaluate, support launch, perform on-orbit check-out of the X-Ray Irradiance Sensors, supply and maintain the instrument Ground Support Equipment (GSE), Ground Processing Algorithms, and support the Mission Operations Center (MOC) at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) through mission hand over to NOAA.

The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12.

This procurement will be conducted as a full and open competition.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and Size Standard are 336414 and 1,330, respectively.

It is anticipated that this competitive procurement will result in a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) hardware contract with severable funding for two (2) X-Ray Irradiance Sensors: one (1) flight and one (1) spare.

The overall period of performance of the contract is anticipated to be from the date of contract award through January 2034 (fifteen (15) months after launch of the second mission, which is anticipated to be October 2032) for a total of approximately 8 years. The period of performance for the contract includes operational handover to NOAA of the final instrument. The handover to NOAA will happen after successful launch, post launch evaluation, calibration, data validation, and on-orbit anomaly investigations. The first flight model shall be delivered by June 2029 and the second by December 2029.

The Draft RFP will be posted for information and planning purposes. No proposal is requested, and no contract will be awarded as a result of the Draft RFP. Potential Offerors are invited to comment on all aspects of the solicitation including the requirements, proposal instructions, and evaluation approach. If your comments include recommendations for revisions, you must provide your rationale for such revisions. The timeline for comments to the Draft RFP will be specified in the Draft RFP Cover Letter.

This synopsis shall serve as the pre-solicitation notice for the Draft RFP.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf

It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any).

Prospective offerors are encouraged to notify this office of their intent to submit an offer.

All contractual and technical questions must be submitted electronically via email to Suzanne Sierra at suzanne.k.sierra@nasa.gov no later than 15 days from posting date. Telephone questions will not be accepted.

Amendment 1 (2025_06_10):
It is now anticipated that this competitive procurement will result in a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) hardware contract with severable funding for two (2) X-Ray Irradiance Sensors: one (1) flight instrument and one (1) spare. The following notional XRIS timeline is provided for planning purposes only:

• Draft RFP Release: Calendar Year (CY) 2025, Quarter (Q) 3
• RFP Release: CY 2025, Q4
• Contract Award: CY 2026, Q2