Space Nuclear Activities for Propulsion & Power Innovation (SNAPPI)

NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources on how to best establish science and engineering partnerships, contracts, and student training programs that will support space nuclear propulsion technology development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/MSFC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), and members of the underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity And Support For Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for Space Nuclear Activities for Power & Propulsion Innovation (SNAPPI). The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received. Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) are technologies that have been investigated under various government technology development programs since the 1960s. The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) has reinitiated work in these areas under the Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Project managed by MSFC. The Agency is actively reaching out to industry, universities, and other government agencies to develop partnerships, memoranda of understanding, and teaming arrangements with subject matter experts who can support continued space nuclear propulsion technology maturation. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to seek feedback on existing technical task management capabilities which NASA could use to support its space nuclear propulsion technology development activities. Project Background The NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Project has been operating under various project titles since 2016. The project is currently funded under the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate and it is managed by NASA/MSFC. The focus of the project's technology maturation work is development of Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) and Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) capabilities that will enable human access throughout the solar system. Challenges associated with the SNP technology development work include: Design and fabrication of nuclear propulsion components that are capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, exposure to corrosive environments, and high power density operations. The need for nuclear propulsion systems to remain operable for up to tens of years without the possibility of maintenance. Minimizing mass and maximizing power production per unit mass of the engine system. Ensuring safety of astronauts and people during launch operations. Development of modeling and simulation capabilities that accurately predict performance characteristics of nuclear propulsion systems. Access to teams of subject matter experts with a wide range of technical capabilities will be needed to develop solutions to these challenges. Advanced training programs will also be needed to educate the next generation of scientists and engineers to improve and optimize current system designs and operational procedures. NASA will need to make investments in many areas of technology advancement in the near to mid-term and many of these areas are not fully defined. Establishment of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract with a contract management organization is being considered to improve NASA's ability to access the diverse expertise needed to continue space nuclear propulsion technology maturation. The contract would be used for efficiently establishing task orders and subcontracts with industry, universities, and other government organizations. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than five (5) single-sided pages, including any attachments, and please use a minimum font size of 12 in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. One (1) additional page will be allowed for the responses to the Executive Order (EO) 13985 questions. The required contents of the capability package include: An overview of the organization submitting the response Responses to all the questions to industry presented below Responses to the EO 13985 questions presented below Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101. Questions to Industry If NASA were to issue an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract designed to expedite space nuclear propulsion technology maturation subcontracting, would your firm be interested in competing? Does your firm have experience with developing and issuing contracts and task agreements that support US government technology development, including contracting with domestic universities? Does your firm have experience with task order management, developing partnerships, and creating networks of space nuclear propulsion subject matter experts? Does your firm have experience working with NASA centers and DOE national laboratories on technology development projects? Does your firm have experience with planning and executing space nuclear research and development experiments, including implementing a nuclear safety program in accordance with all applicable government agency requirements? Does your firm have experience with building and/or managing space nuclear research and development facilities? Does your firm have experience with building and managing science, technology, engineering, or math programs designed to educate students in topics related to space nuclear propulsion? Does your firm have the capability to hold security clearances, establish secure computation capabilities, and operate secure communication facilities that comply with Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and NASA security requirements? Additionally, in support of the Executive Order (EO) 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, NASA is seeking to advance equity or remove barriers for members of underserved communities related to this requirement. As defined in the EO, Underserved Communities refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of "equity." Equity means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. NASA seeks input in the following areas: 1. To support the requirements identified in this request for information (RFI)/sources sought notification, what barriers or opportunities exist to engage subject matter experts from industry and academia and how can those barriers be overcome? How can underserved communities be leveraged? 2. To support the requirements identified in this RFI, what barriers or opportunities exist to partner with subcontractors that employ members of underserved communities, as defined above? 3. What other recommendations would you make to enhance diversity and inclusion? 4. What should be considered to encourage full participation and contribution of organizations and individuals (e.g., outreach efforts and innovative partnerships) in performance of this requirement? All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Maranda McCord at maranda.b.mccord@nasa.gov no later than 29 July 2024 3:00 PM CST. Please reference 24-52-PS50 or Space Nuclear Activities for Power & Propulsion Innovation (SNAPPI) in any response. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only 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.