Request For Information: Low-Density (lightweight) Ablators

NASA/ARC is hereby soliciting information about potential sources to provide the materials, manufacturing and services described below. NASA is seeking low density ablator materials for use in various spacecraft. The environments the ablators will be exposed to are low with heatfluxes of < 40W/cm2. Current ablator materials have been adequate for current missions to date, but the areal mass is too high for some future potential. It is NASA's goal to source, procure, and/or participate in the development of current or new ablator materials under 0.5 g/cm3. In addition to the low-density requirement, the materials must also be robust enough, in terms of thermal performance and mechanical strength requirements, to withstand planned mission load requirements. Candidate lightweight ablator information sought includes: 1. Composition: broadly define the constituents, resin system and reinforcements. A detailed ingredients list is not required but would be preferred. 2. Sustainability: Is availability of all constituents used in the production of the ablator available for the foreseeable future? If a constituent becomes difficult to obtain, a suitable alternative must be proven, through testing and analysis, to perform at least equal in performance in all aspects, to what it is intended to replace. 3. Availability: Is the proposed candidate material currently available, under development, or in the planning stages? If not currently available, when will it become available? 4. Manufacturing Capability: What are the current capabilities of the manufacturing facility where the proposed ablator material is to be produced? Is this limited by processing hardware, or a material physical limitation? What are the largest dimensions the material can be produced? If limited, can the facility be adapted to produce larger specimens? What is the rate of production capability for a given unit volume? If limited, can the production capacity be increased? 5. QA/QC Considerations: Is the manufacturing facility ISO certified? Is there a quality management team as part of the manufacturing process? What measures are in place to ensure a consistent, quality product? Are there acceptance tests? Do you currently produce flight hardware? Are you a supplier to space hardware prime contractors? 6. Thermal/Mechanical Properties: Has the proposed ablator material been thoroughly tested to determine thermal and mechanical properties? If so, over what temperature range? Is a property database available and can it be provided? Has the proposed material been tested in an aerothermal environment, or thermal arc-jet facility to ensure proven performance and capabilities? If so, what range of heat fluxes and pressures have been tested? Are test reports available and can they be provided? 7. ITAR: Is there a system or process in place to manage International Traffic in Arms Regulations should this become a consideration? How secure is the facility to ensure compliance to these regulations? 8. Integration: Because this is one of the more difficult and time-consuming aspects of spacecraft development, it is desired to know the characteristics of the material with respect to handling and integration into a carrier structure. Describe the conformability, flexibility or rigidity, machinability, gap filler requirements if applicable, coefficient of expansion, methods of attachment to the substructure, etc. Please provide any relevant information on installation approaches developed or proven. Additional Information: If available, provide any study results or current capabilities you have but are not mentioned in the RFI description data that you think pertinent to advancing the state of the art in lightweight ablators. In addition to the information requested above, describe the extent to which existing proven manufacturing approaches can be leveraged to minimize technical and schedule risk to a space program. Guidelines for RFI Response: Interested parties may submit questions by email to the identified POC. Pertinent information from questions and answers about this RFI will be shared with all interested parties, without disclosing the identity of the source of the question. Written responses shall: - Not exceed 20 pages. - Use an Arial font text with a size not less than 11 point. - Address all requested information listed above (Numbered 1-8) to the fullest extent possible. - Be legible, including any figures, exhibits and diagrams which are not subject to the page limit. - Provide a Point of Contact to address questions from NASA. Responses must also include the following information: 1) Company name, address, point(s) of contact, phone number, e-mail, and website address; number of years in business; affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential sub) or subcontractors (if potential prime). 2) Indicate whether your company is a Large business, Small business, Small Disadvantaged Business, 8(a) set-aside small business, HUBZone small business, Woman-owned small business, Veteran-owned small business, HBCU/MI, Service-Disabled Veteran-owned small business for relevant NAICS codes. 3) Please provide a description of your company's manufacturing facilities and personnel, and examples of previous work performed for Government or private customers that is similar to this current NASA requirement, if not discussed above in items 1 - 8. NASA/ARC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including Small, Small Disadvantaged (SDB), 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Veteran Owned (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SD-VOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition. If a solicitation is released, the Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses hereto. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Vendors having the capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to submit appropriate documentation, literature, photographs/ brochures, and references. Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101. Following this initial feedback, NASA may conduct one-on-one meetings with potential contractors. These meetings will allow for exchange of information and will provide an opportunity for potential offerors to provide feedback on the Government's requirements and its acquisition approach. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled and protected accordingly. As applicable, NASA may provide Proprietary information to its support service contractors who are under an obligation to keep third-party Proprietary information in confidence. By submitting a response to this RFI, the responder is deemed to have consented to release of Proprietary information to such NASA support service contractors. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Thank you in advance for any and all participation in this Request for Information.