Space Weather Next L1 Series Project Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS)

Update 12.13.2023: The pre-solicitation notice has been amended to include a new attachment. In response to the pre-solicitaiton notice, industry provided comment/questions. The attachment provides answers/responses to those questions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Space Weather Next Program. This new procurement is for the Space Weather Next L1 Series Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) instrument. The Solar Wind Plasma Sensor is used to measure solar wind, a super-sonic flow of hot plasma from the Sun and provide early warning of changes which affect the geomagnetic environment. The measurements are used to characterize coronal mass ejections (CMEs), corotating interaction regions (CIRs), interplanetary shocks and high-speed flows associated with coronal holes. In particular, the Solar Wind Plasma Sensor measurements include the bulk ion velocity, ion temperature and density and derived dynamic pressure. The contract scope includes the tasks and deliverables necessary to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, verify, evaluate, support launch, supply and maintain the instrument Ground Support Equipment (GSE), and support Mission Operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF). It is anticipated that this competitive procurement will result in a Cost-PlusFixed-Fee (CPFF) hardware contract for a quantity of two instruments. The overall period of performance of the contract is anticipated to be from the date of contract award through January 2034 for a total of approximately 9 years. The anticipated period of performance for the contract is from contract award through fifteen (15) months (TBR) after launch of the second mission. This includes post-delivery support for Observatory level integration, launch, post launch evaluation, calibration, data validation, operational handover to NOAA of the instruments, and on-orbit anomaly investigations. The first flight unit shall be delivered by March 2027 and the second by June 2029. The anticipated contract award date is July 2024. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. This procurement will be conducted as full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and Size Standard are 336414 and 1,330, respectively. This synopsis shall serve as the pre-solicitation notice for the Final RFP. NASA will not be releasing a Draft RFP for this requirement but has provided a preview of the draft technical documents as attachments to this pre-solicitation notice for comments and questions; the anticipated release of the Final RFP is December 20, 2024, with an anticipated offer due date of on or about February 5, 2024. The model contract terms and conditions, and evaluation criteria will be provided with the Final RFP. When the Final RFP is issued, all responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at : https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf If a solicitation is released, then it and any additional documents will be available on www.Sam.gov. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Prospective offerors are encouraged to notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. All contractual and technical questions must be submitted electronically via email to Charis Murray at charis.m.murray@nasa.gov no later than 15 days from Posting date. Telephone questions will not be accepted.