A -- Micro-Electric Propulsion (MEP)

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. A - V MICRO-ELECTRIC PROPULSION (MEP), SOL BAA 03-41, DUE 110403, POC JOHN D. EVANS, DARPA/MTO, FAX (703) 248-1808 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting research proposals in the area of Micro-Electric Propulsion (MEP). Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices or systems. Specifically excluded is research which primarily results in evolutionary improvement to the existing state of practice. Space is being used to fulfill an ever increasing range of both civilian and military needs. The wide range of potential missions of interest places considerable burden upon the spacecraft designer to develop and field increasingly high performance and flexible subsystems, including propulsion systems. Further, there is increasingly a desire to deploy small satellites and spacecraft whose missions and requirements may be changed routinely throughout their operational life in support changing national needs. It is the aim of this program to enable a new generation of fast, long-lived, highly flexible, and highly maneuverable 1-100 kg-class satellites/spacecraft by demonstrating flexible, light-weight, high-efficiency, scalable micro-propulsion systems. DARPA is soliciting proposals for the development of novel, high performance, highly flexible micro-thruster and micro-propulsion systems based upon Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) micro-colloidal propulsion technology. However, DARPA will also consider proposals based upon alternate technologies able to satisfy the program goals. These goals are to (1) demonstrate a thruster system capable of varying its specific impulse in real time across a range from 500 sec. to 10,000 sec. utilizing a single propellant, (2) operate said thrusters with electrical thrust efficiencies in excess of 90% over significant portions of this range, (3) demonstrate said thruster with a thruster specific mass less than 0.3 g/Watt, and (4) demonstrate said thruster in a propulsion system capable of delivering total mission delta-Vs for a 100 kg satellite in excess of 10 km/s. Additional information on these technology areas is provided in the Areas of Interest section of the BAA 03-41 Proposer Information Pamphlet referenced below. PROGRAM SCOPE Collaborative efforts/teaming are encouraged. A web site -- http://teaming.sysplan.com/BAA-03-41/ -- has been established to facilitate formation of teaming arrangements between interested parties. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the Department of Defense (DoD) endorses the destination web site or the information and organizations contained therein, nor does DARPA or the DoD exercise any responsibility at the destination. This web site is provided consistent with the stated purpose of this BAA. Cost sharing is not required and is not an evaluation criterion but is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort. The technical POC for this effort is John D. Evans, Ph.D., M.B.A., fax: (703) 248-1808, electronic mail: jevans@darpa.mil. GENERAL INFORMATION Proposers must obtain a pamphlet entitled "BAA 03-41, Micro-Electric Propulsion (MEP), Proposer Information Pamphlet" which provides further information on Micro-Electric Propulsion (MEP), the submission, evaluation, and funding processes, proposal formats, and other general information. This pamphlet may be obtained from the FedBizOpps website: http://www.fedbizopps.gov/, World Wide Web (WWW) at URL http://www.darpa.mil/ or by fax, electronic mail, or mail request to the administrative contact address given below. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. In order to minimize unnecessary effort in proposal preparation and review, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit proposal abstracts in advance of full proposals. An original and seven (7) copies of the proposal abstract and two electronic copies (i.e. two separate disks) of the abstract (in PDF -preferred, MS-Word readable, HTML, or ASCII format each on a single 3.5 inch High Density MS-DOS formatted 1.44 Megabyte (MB) diskette, a single 100 MB Iomega Zip disk, or a CD-ROM) should be submitted. Each disk must be clearly labeled with BAA 03-41, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy __ of 2. The proposal abstract (original and designated number of hard and electronic copies) must be submitted to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (Attn.: BAA 03-41) on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Wednesday, September 17, 2003. Proposal abstracts received after this time and date may not be reviewed. Upon review, DARPA will provide written feedback on the likelihood of a full proposal being selected and the time and date for submission of a full proposal. Proposers not submitting proposal abstracts must submit an original and seven (7) copies of the full proposal and two electronic copies (i.e., two separate disks) of the full proposal (in PDF - preferred, MS-Word readable, HTML, or ASCII format, each on a single 3.5 inch High Density MS-DOS formatted 1.44 Megabyte (MB) diskette, a single 100 MB Iomega Zip disk, or a CD-ROM). Each disk must be clearly labeled with BAA 03-41, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy __ of 2. The full proposal (original and designated number of hard and electronic copies) must be submitted to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (Attn.: BAA 03-41) on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Tuesday, November 4, 2003, in order to be considered during the initial round of selections; however, proposals received after this deadline may be received and evaluated up to one year from date of posting on FedBizOpps. Full proposals submitted after the due date specified in the BAA or due date otherwise specified by DARPA after review of proposal abstracts may be selected contingent upon the availability of funds. This notice, in conjunction with the BAA 03-41 Proposer Information Pamphlet, constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for the same will be disregarded. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal which shall be considered by DARPA. Input on technical aspects of the proposals may be solicited by DARPA from non-Government consultants/experts who are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Non-Government technical consultants/experts will not have access to proposals that are labeled by their offerors as "Government Only". Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in Micro-Electric Propulsion. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal abstract or full proposal to this BAA, should be directed to one of the administrative addresses below; e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for correspondence regarding BAA 03-41. Proposals and proposal abstracts may not be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded. DARPA encourages use of the WWW for retrieving the Proposer Information Pamphlet and any other related information that may subsequently be provided. EVALUATION CRITERIA Evaluation of proposal abstracts and full proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each proposal using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance: (l) overall scientific and technical merit; (2) potential contribution and relevance to the DARPA mission; (3) plans and capability to accomplish technology transition; (4) offeror's capabilities and related experience; and (5) cost realism. Note: cost realism will only be significant in proposals which have significantly under or over-estimated the cost to complete their effort. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Fax: (703) 351-8616 (Addressed to: DARPA/MTO, BAA 03-41), Electronic Mail: BAA03-41@darpa.mil Mail: DARPA/MTO, ATTN: BAA 03-41 3701 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203-1714 This announcement and the Proposer Information Pamphlet may be retrieved via the WWW at URL http://www.darpa.mil/ in the solicitations area.