Orbital Debris Engineering Model Data Source Integration and Model Updates

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), is hereby issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to invite Industry comments and capability statements related to the availability of systems and architectures for data source integration and model updates of the NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM). Industry comments and capability statements should be documented utilizing the instructions found below in the "Specific Comments Sought" section. Information in this RFI regarding potential future requirements is being provided as notional information to interested parties to invite their comments or suggestions. The Government intends to consider all timely responses to this RFI before finalizing its procurement strategy. Your responses to this RFI will not be posted, and questions submitted in response to this RFI will not be answered. An RFI is not a solicitation and no proposals are being solicited at this time. Do not submit any proprietary data in response to the RFI. Information with proprietary markings will not be read or considered. An RFI does not obligate the Government to issue a request for proposal in the future. Any future solicitation based on the requirements described in this RFI will be published in FedBizOps. OVERVIEW The Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) is a measurements-based model of the orbital debris populations in low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). As such, it uses a number of different data sources including radar, optical, in situ (surfaces returned from orbit), and laboratory data sources as statistical samples of the orbital debris environment. These data sources are then used in conjunction with historical launch data, cataloged objects tracked by the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), and models that describe the evolution of the orbital debris environment to statistically build the debris populations for the environment model. ORDEM is currently constructed using the historical launch data, SSN catalog, measurement data from radar, optical, in situ, and laboratory data sources, and models that describe the evolution of the orbital debris environment over time. To support the next generation of the model, candidate architectures for integrating the measurement data sources to derive debris populations, building and testing of the model, and options for delivery of the model to the user community are being sought. Specific items that the government seeks to address are described in the "Specific Comments Sought" section. SPECIFIC COMMENTS SOUGHT NASA is interested in capabilities of Industry to integrate data sources collected from the orbital debris environment, build and test the ORDEM environment model, and options to deliver the model to end users. In providing comments or capability statements in this section, please address as many of the identified aspects in this section as possible - any additional information that the responder considers important may be included as well. The Government specifically requests comments and capability statements relative to the following items: 1. Architectures for Integration of Orbital Debris Environment Priors and Measurement Data Sources a. Please describe a system architecture for integrating statistical priors from historical launch data and the SSN catalog with sources of statistically collected measurement data, to generate a model of the orbital debris environment, cf., https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/modeling/engrmodeling.html for an overview of the current ORDEM model i. Inputs to the model should include ground-based radar and optical observations of the orbital debris environment, historical launch information and the SSN catalog, measurements made from space-based sensors, and laboratory test data. ii. Outputs from the model are predictions of the orbital debris environment, defined as debris object flux, in the units of object counts per meter-squared per year, which may be further decomposed by object size, density, shape, and other debris characteristics, as well as the orbital elements of the debris. iii. A minimum of two output representations should be described, including the flux observed by a spacecraft in its local coordinate system, and a telescope/radar mode flux as observed by a ground-based observatory. b. Please include a proposed implementation for the architecture, and any open source or proprietary hardware and software requirements. c. Please include details on any data format, file type, or protocol that are needed by the proposed implementation, and include details showing how the data flow in the system. d. Please describe how data are inspected for quality and the metrics used by the system for these inspections. e. Please include how data outliers are identified and handled, and how the data cleaning process will be incorporated into the system. f. Please include information on previous experience and tools used for data cleaning and preparation of data for use in a statistical model. g. Please provide information on past performance and experience in building measurement-based statistical models. h. Please provide information on past performance and experience with orbital mechanics applications and modeling. 2. Model Build and Test a. Describe the type of statistical model that will be used to derive debris populations from measurement data, to model the orbital debris environment. b. Describe any specialized, open-source, or proprietary software that will be used for this operation. c. Include details on how the model will be tested and validated, and any frameworks used for this operation. d. Include details on how the building and testing steps will be integrated into the overall architecture and any proposed frameworks to connect these processes within the overall system. e. Please include details on the release process for the model. f. Please provide information on past performance and experience building statistical models, and testing and validating these models. 3. Model Distribution and User Interaction a. Please describe options for either cloud/web-based or standalone model-based software for the user community. b. Please describe the proposed user interface for interacting with the model, and any open source or proprietary frameworks that will be used to construct the user interface. i. The proposed user interface should have at a minimum a mode that enables a user to predict debris flux exposure of a spacecraft in its local coordinate system, and a mode for predicting the observed orbital debris flux from a ground-based observatory. c. Please describe the output generated by the model, and how the user accesses and interacts with model output. d. Please describe the release cycle of the proposed model distribution platform, and how model changes are distributed to users. e. Please include details of how user feedback, bug reporting, and feature requests are handled. f. Please provide information on past performance and experience distributing model-based software to end users. 4. Organization Type and Size a. Name and address of firm; b. Size of business; c. Average annual revenue for past 3 years and number of employees; d. Ownership; e.g. large, Small Business (SB), SDB, 8(a), WOSB, VOSB, SD-VOSB, HUBZone, HBCU/MI; COMMENTS RELATED TO THE RFI All comments and responses related to this RFI shall be submitted via e-mail directly to the Contracting Officer, Sophia Mo at sophia.mo@nasa.gov no later than 4:00 p.m. CST on March 6, 2019 to be considered timely.