Development of Science Mission Spacecraft Bus

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Development of Science Mission Spacecraft Bus In anticipation of an upcoming NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in 2019, NASA MSFC is seeking information from interested parties regarding development of a science mission Spacecraft bus. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), the information requested is for planning purposes only and is not intended to bind the Government; is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement; nor will the Government pay for information solicited. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal. However, this RFI serves as the first step in the competitive process described in the NASA FAR Supplement under paragraph 1872.306 for selecting an industrial partner as a team member. Please note, at this juncture, no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOps. It is the potential respondent's responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. This RFI is subject to FAR 52.215-3. Description of Anticipated Requirements: NASA envisions a teaming arrangement where the partner will 1) participate in mission concept and proposal development activities with the mission proposal team 2) develop and deliver a complete Spacecraft bus and associated ground support equipment; 3) integrate science instruments with the Spacecraft bus, and perform integrated observatory testing and verification; and 4) provide spacecraft mission operations systems and support. Information obtained through this RFI will be used by NASA to evaluate available Spacecraft capabilities for potential use on a Cubesat (12U) mission to a cis-Lunar destination. Interested parties should contact Robyn Crabtree at (MSFC-PS51) robyn.v.crabtree@nasa.gov (256-961-7442) for the details of the spacecraft bus, integration, and mission services required. The response to this RFI shall be in the form of a PDF document, limited to 15 pages and contain the following information: 1. Name of submitter and contact information (institutional affiliation, phone number, email address) 2. Statement of capabilities and qualifications that address the respondent's ability to provide a Spacecraft which meets requirements 3. Discussion of experience in mission formulation and engineering trade studies which have guided or altered initial mission, payload, or Spacecraft bus requirements 4. Discussion of experience delivering similar Spacecraft to NASA or other space flight missions, including any projected Spacecraft flight heritage applicable to this mission 5. Discussion of experience integrating with the Near Earth Network (NEN) or commercial equivalent services for similar space flight missions 6. Discussion of experience operating similar spacecraft or other space flight missions, including any projected spacecraft flight heritage applicable to this mission 7. Notional description of projected Spacecraft mass, volume, power, data rate, deployment, and payload accommodations (including volume) specifications 8. Notional cost and schedule for delivery of (a) a spacecraft bus for the subject mission; (b) integration of multi-detector instrument into the spacecraft bus; and (c) spacecraft mission operations for subject mission Note that NASA cannot reimburse the industrial partner for the costs for managing any subsequent proposal development. The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified sources that are interested in pursuing this type of arrangement. Potential partners will be identified from the responses received from this request. NASA intends to select a single industrial partner for participation in each proposal based on these inputs. Responses from all interested parties, including non-U.S. organizations, are solicited. Recognizing that any collaboration between NASA and a non-U.S. organization must be consistent with NASA's no-exchange-of-funds policy where each nation is responsible for its own activities, any non-U.S. response should identify the source of funding and discuss the status of funding commitments. It is not NASAs intent to publicly disclose proprietary information obtained through this RFI. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as Proprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential. Respondents may not be notified of the results.