DAVINCI Seals

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO PROPOSALS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for the capability and cost to develop and supply metal static face seals for a spherical experiment probe that will land on Venus. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) GSFC is seeking capability statements and cost information from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of small businesses. The seals must be capable of maintaining a vacuum of 10-7 torr with a leak rate of 10-9 std cm3/sec on the inside of the probe while withstanding 465C and 120 atmospheres pressure for two hours on the outside of the probe. The face seals should be of the Conflat (CF) style or a variation suitable for the environment, and they will interface with flanges on titanium pressure shells. There will be one development effort for a 50mm diameter seal, and another effort for a 735mm diameter seal. O-ring and C-seal styles are not being considered for this RFI. NASA expects the development effort to include the tasks below but will consider other paths proposed by the vendor that result in successful seal development. Phase A: Small seal development Seal delivery in January/February 2024 timeframe Provide cost and lead time for the design, fabrication, and initial testing of a 50mm diameter face seal for a Ti-6Al-4V titanium flange. Select appropriate gasket material(s) such as OFHC copper, annealed Grade 1 Titanium, or other metal, and suitable geometry for the flanges. The vendor may consider fabricating a small titanium test canister with capability to pump down to vacuum and monitor internal pressure and seal capability. Initial testing shall include room temperature leak checking. If the vendor has adequate test facilities, additional high temperature and/or pressure testing is preferable. Vendor to provide a minimum of 5 seals to NASA along with appropriate documentation. NASA will ship a small titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) test canister to the vendor for high temperature and pressure testing or the vendor may propose and fabricate its own canister. The vendor shall machine the flange and mating part for the 50mm seal design. Testing will occur at Goddard's facility at 465C and 120 atmospheres pressure, or the vendor may propose another test facility. Vendor may participate or witness if desired. Provide past performance information on related seal development including customer references and contract/task numbers, if available. Phase B: Large seal development Seal delivery in July/August 2024 timeframe Provide cost and lead time for the design, fabrication, and initial testing of an approximately 735 mm diameter face seal for a titanium flange (alloy Ti-6Al-2SN-4Zr-2Mo). Development may include initial seal testing of gaskets on full-sized Titanium flanges. The vendor may consider fabricating a titanium test assembly with capability to pump down to vacuum and monitor internal pressure and seal capability. Initial testing shall include room temperature leak checking. If the vendor has adequate test facilities, additional high temperature and/or pressure testing is preferable. NASA will ship the Descent Sphere Engineering Development Unit (DS-EDU) components to the vendor. The vendor shall machine the flange and mating parts for the two approximately 735mm diameter main seal interfaces then ship back to NASA and provide a minimum of 8 seals along with appropriate documentation. The DS EDU will undergo temperature testing at 465C then high pressure testing at commercial facilities selected and funded by Goddard. Vendor may participate if desired. Additional Notes The vendor may propose to skip development of the 50 mm seal described in Phase A and proceed to develop the 735mm diameter main seal in Phase B if they believe they have the expertise to be successful. If vendor is unable to perform the machining of Goddard's 735mm titanium flanges or find a suitable subcontractor, Goddard will consider doing it on-site in their facilities given appropriate drawings and consultation. Titanium material for Phase A and B may be furnished to vendor by Goddard, if desired, given sufficient advanced notice. Variations on CF-style seal geometry may be proposed including other proprietary designs that include features appropriate to withstand the high external pressure. O-ring and C-seal styles are not being considered for this RFI. NASA will initiate a procurement to put the work under contract. Standard Federal Acquisition Rules apply including quality assurance documentation and the right to inspect the facility and deliverables. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Vendors having the capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to submit appropriate documentation, literature, references and cost information as requested above. Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101. All responses, comments and/or questions shall be submitted electronically via email to Amy Aqueche at Amy.A.Aqueche@nasa.gov and David Robinson at David.W.Robinson@nasa.gov no later than November 28, 2023 at 5:00pm EST. Please reference RFI number 24DAVINCI_Seals_GJE in any response. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement.