Helmet, Neck Ring and Extravehicular Visor Assembly (EVVA)

NASA/Johnson Space Center has a requirement for a Helmet, Neck Ring and Extravehicular Visor Assembly (EVVA) to support the Pressure Garment System (PGS) for the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). This is a continuation of a design created for the prototype PGS Z-2.5 which was the proving ground to move to the Design Verification Test (DVT) phase. This includes design updates, production, updates to tooling, test equipment, test facilities, analysis tools, and labor required to iterate the Z-2.5 design, fabricate units, and conduct a series of tests for DVT requirements. The helmet is an integral part of the space suit pressure vessel. It is a "Criticality-1" piece of safety hardware that means failure to meet its requirements could mean catastrophic consequences of losing a crew member or the space suit hardware. NASA/JSC intends to purchase from Air-Lock, Incorporated. Airlock Inc. has developed a proprietary polymer forming process to form optically clear, tight-tolerance, and highly complex helmet shapes from ultra-clear polycarbonate and polysulfone material that can withstand the impact and kick load requirements in the extreme temperature environments of space. Airlock Inc. has developed this polymer forming process for the Apollo spacesuit helmet and have continued to use it to manufacture and deliver flight helmets and EVVAs for the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit currently used on the International Space Station (ISS). Selection of any other vendor would require redesign, redevelopment of manufacturing process, tooling, and infrastructure to fabricate a consistent and high quality product. If awarded to any other source, it would result in substantial duplication of cost and schedule impacts to the Government that are not expected to be recovered through competition. The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to Elizabeth Tapia at elizabeth.d.tapia@nasa.gov no later than 4:30 p.m. mountain time on May 2, 2019. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html .