REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Explorer Mission Instrument Main Electronics Box (MEB)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Explorer Mission Instrument Main Electronics Box (MEB) THIS IS *NOT* A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, QUOTATION, OR INVITATION TO BID NOTICE. A NASA/GSFC Explorer proposal is baselining the use of a Main Electronics Box (MEB) for the science instruments. The MEB is notionally composed of: (a) a computer, (b) possibly an additional memory card if needed, (c) RS422, 1553, and possibly Spacewire I/O channels and ethernet, (d) TEC drivers, (e) some switched DC-DC power converters for local power, (f) a backplane for the cards to plug into, (g) 2-3 empty slots for some custom electronics cards (that are supplied by the GSFC team), and (h) a box. A detailed draft specification for the MEB is available upon request from the technical POC listed below. The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential interest in providing the MEB for the Project. This is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement and to promote competition. While our intent may be to team with industrial partner(s), we are not bound by this RFI to do so. This is not a Request for Proposal, nor a Request for Quotation, nor an Invitation to Bid. Therefore, this RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract nor will the Government pay for information provided in response to this RFI. NASA would like to survey existing MEBs available in the market in order to incorporate this information into the project conceptual design and to obtain answers to these questions: 1. What MEBs does your company have existing or available with minimal change that would meet the draft specification? 2. Are there any key drivers within the draft specification that are overly restrictive and/or missing that should be added, deleted, and/or changed? NASA is flexible on many of the requirements identified in the specification and would appreciate your inputs regarding requirements in the draft specification that could be changed to simplify the requirements. The driving requirements include: 1. A computer, memory, house-keeping acquisition, and i/o communications for a space-based instrument controller (near-earth orbit of 600 km for a 3 year duration) 2. A CPU with at least 100 MIPS (and at least 100 MFLOPS) and at least 1GB of memory 3. At least 8 RS422 communications ports 4. Power control for ~30 volts and ~400 Watts 5. Housekeeping collection of ~50 voltages, currents, and temperatures 3. What is a rough estimate of the price to design, integrate, and functional test a MEB (including all deliverables listed in specification)? Please include an additional line item prices for environmental testing (4 cycles thermal vac, vibe). Should this proposal is selected for implementation and if NASA decides to compete this requirement, the competitive procurement process is expected to begin in 2019. To consolidate our planning, responses from industry are requested in two weeks, in the form of written and illustrated concepts, estimates for development costs and schedule, assumptions used for cost and schedule estimates including interface and design, and descriptions of capabilities. Responses can be submitted via email. The subject line of the submission should be "MEB for Explorer Proposal," and attachments should be in PDF format. The email text must give a point-of-contact and provide his/her name, address, telephone/fax numbers, and email address. The information is requested for planning purposes only, subject to FAR Clause 52.215-3, entitled "Solicitation for Information for Planning Purposes." It is not NASA's intent to publicly disclose vendor proprietary information obtained during this solicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential. It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. 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. Technical questions and requests for the detailed draft specifications should be directed to: Mark Beckman at (301) 286-7181 or mark.beckman@nasa.gov. Procurement related questions should be directed to: Julie Janus at (301) 286-4931 or Julie.A.Janus@nasa.gov. Interested offerors shall address the requirements of this RFI in written format as described in the previous paragraphs by electronic mail to: Mark Beckman at mark.beckman@nasa.gov, no later than 5:00 PM EST on Friday, August 19, 2016.