Partnership Opportunity Document For NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Flight Systems for Discovery 14 Missions

Partnership Opportunity Document (POD) For NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Systems for Discovery 14 Missions dated November 2017 1.0 Introduction and Scope NASA's GSFC is considering missions to Solar System targets for the upcoming Discovery 14 Announcement of Opportunity (AO). We are seeking partners for spacecraft, navigation, major subsystems and mission operations center for potential science mission proposals to this opportunity. The potential GSFC Discovery missions are designed to meet the science goals of the Discovery program (those outlined in the latest NRC Decadal Survey for Planetary Exploration). GSFC mission teams will be submitting proposals to the Discovery AO currently planned for release in CY 19. The AO will be a two-step process, with the first proposal response primarily focused on the scientific merit and technical feasibility of the proposed mission and its associated scientific investigation. The initial submissions will then be down-selected after formal peer review, and the resultant subset of proposals will be funded to perform Phase A mission concept studies. During Phase A, proposals will be expanded and refined to detail the entire end-to-end mission life cycle concept, with greater attention to engineering implementation, cost, and schedule. This partnership opportunity is issued to select partners to team with GSFC Discovery mission concept teams for Step 1 proposal submittal; to assist in the Phase A concept studies if the mission is down-selected; and to provide a flight-qualified system should the mission be selected for flight by NASA Headquarters. For the portion of this partnership opportunity dealing with the preparation of the Step 1 proposal, there will be no exchange of funds between the teaming partners. Funding may be available for Phase A and subsequent phases should the mission be competitively selected for those additional phases. NASA's GSFC reserves the option to not select any teaming partners under this POD offering on the basis of materials received. 2.0 Mission Overview The likely mission cost cap for the Discovery AO will be ~$450M (FY18), not including launch vehicle or Phase E, so cost is an important issue for the conceptual mission designs. Mission targets could include all planets and small bodies noted in the latest NRC Decadal Survey for Planetary Exploration. More detailed information will be provided to those responding with a Notice of Interest (NOI) to this POD. A Notice of Interest (intentionally not called a notice of intent) does not obligate an organization to provide a POD response. 3.0 Pre-selection Support 3.1 Step 1 Proposal Support SOW: It is expected that the selected respondent will provide support using their own resources to help develop and write the Mission concept proposal in response to the AO in the area of the spacecraft, related subsystems and mission implementation. This will involve meeting with the relevant scientists and the mission engineering team in order to: (1) help define the end-to-end performance requirements, including interfaces to the instruments or spacecraft, depending on the component being proposed; (2) define the flight system architecture; (3) identify study topics; and (4) predict performance and quantify risks. This will include cost estimation for all mission phases. The period of performance for this interval is expected to last until the submission of the initial proposal. 3.2 Phase A Study and Phase A Proposal Support SOW: If the mission is selected for a Phase A study, the proposal team will receive funding to conduct a Phase A study and submit a detailed Concept Study Report (CSR) to NASA. The respondent providing the spacecraft or navigation subsystem for the mission may be allocated a portion of this funding. The respondent will be expected to contribute to designing, documenting, and costing the spacecraft or navigation design, fabrication, integration and testing for inclusion in the final Discovery Concept Study Report (as specified in the AO). The period of performance for this interval is expected to last approximately 15 months after Phase A selection. 3.3 POD Response Instructions for Pre-Selection Support The respondent shall: 1) Demonstrate understanding and flight experience in the design, fabrication, integration and testing of the Planetary science mission spacecraft and flight subsystem: - Identify example target mission the response is intended for, - For each target mission, identify assumed mission and system requirements for the target mission and your team's response to addressing those requirements, - Highlight particularly critical or challenging areas for the design of the spacecraft or system, - Provide a technical summary/description of the proposed hardware including relevant heritage, - Describe what types of capabilities and cost benefits the spacecraft or subsystem provides for the intended target mission. 2) Provide any recommended potential study topics related to the spacecraft or navigation. 3) Identify the pertinent missions for which the respondent has provided support for proposal writing in the area of spacecraft design, fabrication, integration and testing: - Provide data on scope of the spacecraft design, the role played in the proposal process, and the portions of the proposal written or provided assistance in writing, and provide a customer reference POC. 4.0 Development Support SOW: At the end of Phase A another down-select occurs. If the mission is selected for development and launch, the respondent will be responsible for the design, development, and test of the spacecraft or navigation system. The respondent is responsible for: identifying the spacecraft or subsystem requirements and providing all aspects of the spacecraft or navigation system. The period of performance for this interval is expected to last approximately 46-64 months. The date will depend upon selection timelines and budget allocations. POD Response Instructions for Development Support The respondent shall: 1) Describe your team's experience in similar spacecraft applications. 2) Identify available design and modeling capabilities required to support development of the spacecraft. 3) Identify fabrication and testing facilities that will be required to support development and test of the spacecraft. 4) Identify missions successfully supported in this capacity. - Provide information on recent similar spacecraft designed and delivered, and how that experience is applicable to the mission. Basic information on scope of work, and how well the fielded spacecraft met the requirements (cost and technical, and how well they met the proposed schedules). 5) Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate and timeline for the scope of the design, fabrication, and testing of the spacecraft. This ROM will not be considered a binding commitment, but will serve as a consideration during the partnership evaluation. Due to the rigid cost cap for Discovery missions, the cost range for the spacecraft will be an important consideration. The respondent is invited to comment on the reasonableness of the placeholder cost. 5.0 General Instructions for POD Response For purposes of this partnership opportunity, the point of contact is Mike Adams michael.l.adams@nasa.gov, 301-286-2010. Potential respondents are asked to contact the GSFC Discovery team as soon as possible (within 5 working days) after release of this document with a Notice Of Interest (intentionally not called notice of intent). This contact does not create an obligation to respond to the POD, but allows GSFC Discovery teams to disseminate more details on the parameters of the missions being considered and provide answers to questions from potential partners. All Notice of Interest respondents will receive further details on the missions that will facilitate a focused response. These details will be proprietary and competition sensitive and not to be shared outside the teams' necessary to prepare a full response. All questions and answers will be sent to those who respond to the Notice of Interest, while the source of the questions shall be held confidential. Questions and answers that contain information unique to a respondent's proprietary approach will not be shared if they are identified as such. The parameters and question answers provided to all Notice of Interest responders are vital to focused responses. Notices of Interest shall be sent to the above noted contact via email with - Notice of Interest' in the subject line, a simple sentence or two expressing interest and specifying which mission (or target destination), and an email address to which to send further information. Responses to the Partnership Opportunity Document (POD) shall: 1) Be in a presentation format (.pdf viewgraphs) that shall not exceed 30 pages. The font size for the text shall be no smaller than 12 point. 2) Address all requirements noted in Sections 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0 of this document. Responses will be treated as proprietary information and controlled as such by GSFC. Final presentation packages must be received by 5 pm ET, November 17, 2017. Packages are to be delivered via email to the above noted contact 6.0 Selection Criteria for Awarding Partnership Opportunity Selection criteria will be consistent with the desire to encourage cost effective partnerships between the Government and Industry. The information requested in Section 3.3 & 4 will allow the evaluators to determine how well the respondents systems match and enable one or more of the potential Discovery missions. Experience in Discovery AO proposals and Discovery mission development phases are essential for selection. Selection Criteria Proposal/Pre-selection Support (30 points) - Experience (and Team skills) and past performance in proposal phases - Identification and description of key critical areas - Understanding and addressing general requirements and needs for the proposed system on the target mission for which it is intended - Recommended trade studies Development Support (70 points) - Reasonableness of cost and schedule estimates - Experience and past performance in development phases - Experience and heritage with respect to similar planetary space flight hardware - Experience developing and implementing similar space flight hardware is a minimum requirement - Completeness of identification of functions by mission phase - Cost control measures - Mass, power, communication, and thermal control the spacecraft can provide to potential payloads - Ability to survive and operate in target environment