NASA Launch Services II 2016 On-Ramp

The NASA Launch Services (NLS) II Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on September 4, 2009, and remains open for a period of ten years from the effective date through the use of an innovative on-ramp provision found in Section C, Clause 2.0. To date, the RFP has resulted in the award of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contracts to United Launch Services, LLC., Orbital Sciences Corporation, Space Exploration Technologies, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Each August during the life of the solicitation, or at any other time established via synopsis, the Government will accept proposals from new launch service providers for IDIQ contracts and proposals from existing IDIQ contractors for additional launch services. Launch services proposed under the NLS II solicitation shall only include launch vehicles capable of being certified to risk mitigation Category 2 and 3 in accordance with NASA Policy Directive 8610.7D Launch Services Risk Mitigation Policy for NASA-Owned and/or NASA-Sponsored Payloads/Missions. These launch services, at a minimum, shall be capable of delivering a 250kg payload to orbit at an altitude of 200km and a launch inclination of 28.5 degrees. Based on NASA's knowledge of the current U.S. domestic launch service marketplace, it is not anticipated that any new or existing offerors will have a launch vehicle to on-ramp during the 2016 NLS on-ramp period. Based on this, NASA does not anticipate releasing a solicitation revision to request proposals for a 2016 on-ramp. However, should a new or existing offeror have a launch vehicle they intended to on-ramp in 2016, the offeror should be aware of the following: The NLS II ordering period is through June 2020. To be considered for award of an NLS II Launch Services Task Order, the contractor would have to achieve a first successful launch by the first quarter of GFY20; this would allow time for proposal submission if a launch service solicitation was issued with an award planned to occur prior to the expiration of the NLS II ordering period. The offeror would also have to have an adequate number of launches to be able to achieve Category 2 and/or 3 certification in accordance with NASA Policy Directive 8610.7D Launch Services Risk Mitigation Policy for NASA-Owned and/or NASA-Sponsored Payloads/Missions. Should NASA decide to release an RFP revision for the 2016 on-ramp, it is anticipated that proposals will be due on or around August 1, 2016. An ombudsman has been appointed. See NASA Specific Note "B". This acquisition is restricted to domestic sources. Minimum contract requirements will be set forth in Attachment E3, Paragraph 1.0 of the NLS II RFP if released. Specifically, in addition to the launch vehicle requirements described above, offerors must be domestic launch service providers and must be ISO 9001/2008 certified by the time of proposal submission. It is requested that any interested party notify NASA in writing no later than June 30, 2016, of your intent to submit a proposal during this on-ramp period as well as a description of the launch vehicle configuration(s) you intend to propose and current flight manifest. If no viable responses are received, NASA will not conduct a 2016 NLS on-ramp.