Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters anticipates a release of a solicitation, entitled "Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies" as an Appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement (NRA), titled "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion - 2019 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2019)," on or about January 15, 2019. Once the Appendix is posted, complete details (to include due dates) can be accessed via the following steps:

1. Open the NSPIRES homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/
2. Select "Solicitations"
3. Select "Open Solicitations"
4. Select "Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies 80HQTR19NOA01-19STMD_001"
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) continues to embrace public-private partnerships to achieve its strategic goals for expanding capabilities and opportunities in space. A key aspect of NASA's strategy is to stimulate the commercial space industry and commercial capabilities through public-private partnerships to deliver technologies and capabilities needed for future NASA, other government agency, and commercial missions. With the recent increase of U.S. private sector companies interested in space applications, NASA is seeking commercial space technologies that are at a "tipping point" in their development cycle. The anticipated definition to be used for the purpose of this Appendix is that a space technology is at a "tipping point" if:

• an investment in a ground demonstration or flight demonstration will result in:
o a significant advancement of the technology's maturation, and
o a significant improvement in the offerors' ability to successfully bring the space technology to market, and
• there is clear evidence of previous investments in maturing the technology (e.g., venture capital, corporate investment, etc.) indicating a pre-existing plan to commercialize the technology, and
• the technology is at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of at least 4 at time of proposal submission.

This Appendix is seeking U.S. for-profit industry led proposals to advance "tipping point" space technologies, executed through firm-fixed-price contracts with milestone payments. See Appendix section 3.0 for the full list of eligibility requirements/ restrictions. The award instrument will be a firm-fixed-price contract with milestone payments tied to technical achievement. All awards will require an Industry Contribution of at least 25% (10% for U.S. for-profit entities that have 500 or less employees) of the Total Project Cost and must be met during the potential awarded contract period of performance. It is anticipated that firm-fixed-price contracts will be awarded.

This release anticipates soliciting tipping point technologies from the following Topics. This list should be considered preliminary and is subject to change prior to solicitation release.

Cryogenic Propellant Conversion and Management: Demonstrate systems for converting and liquifying hydrogen and oxygen from water, capable of scaling to tens of metric tons per month, operating with little to no human involvement in space or on the lunar surface; Demonstrate technologies enabling autonomous transfer and storage of cryogenic hydrogen, capable of scaling to tens of metric tons, with negligible losses for at least a year in space and on the lunar surface.

Sustainable Energy Generation, Storage, and Transfer: Demonstrate technologies to enable continuous power throughout the lunar day and night and capable of scaling to tens of kilowatts for long-term surface operations and thermal management systems to maintain lunar surface system operating temperatures within desired bounds throughout the lunar day/night cycle.

Efficient and Affordable Propulsion Systems: Fully integrated system level solutions are sought exhibiting power, size, and mass characteristics suitable for small spacecraft applications in the 60kg to 200kg range. Propulsion systems that have modularity or that can support combining multiple thrusters for utilization on a broader range of spacecraft sizes, including CubeSats or larger ESPA class spacecraft, would also be of interest. While the emphasis is on small spacecraft below 200kg, this does not preclude interest in propulsion systems for larger spacecraft that can be launched as secondary payloads, if there are identified commercial needs for such systems.

Other Capabilities needed for Exploration: NASA is interested in Tipping Point proposals to enable the following capabilities for the Exploration Campaign and commercial space:

• Autonomous Operations
• Rover Mobility
• Precision Landing
• Advanced Avionics (e.g., radiation hardened; affordable)

Proposed efforts to this Appendix must be led by a United States of America (U.S.) for-profit entity. A "U.S. for-profit entity" is a commercial firm or business incorporated and operates in the United States. See section 3.0 of the Appendix for full list of eligibility requirements/restrictions.

This release will utilize a two-step proposal submission and evaluation process. The initial step will be a short mandatory preliminary proposal. Those offerors submitting the most highly rated mandatory preliminary proposals will be invited to submit a final proposal.

All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES by an authorized organizational representative (AOR). Detailed submission instructions are provided in the SpaceTech-REDDI-2019 NRA and the Appendix. Potential proposers and their proposing organizations are urged to familiarize themselves with the submission system, ensure they are registered in NSPIRES, and submit the required proposal materials well in advance of the deadline.

All questions and comments, once the solicitation is released, must be submitted in writing to HQ-STMD-TippingPointAppendix@nasaprs.com. Responses to inquiries will be answered by email and may also be included in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document located on the NSPIRES page associated with the Appendix; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.

The Appendix and any documents related to this procurement will be available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ by selecting "Solicitations," then selecting "Open Solicitations," and, finally selecting "Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies."

It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet site for the release of the Appendix and amendments (if any).

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