Test, Evaluation, and Support Team 4 (TEST4)

Modification 1

This modification is to notify industry that due to the Government Shutdown the TEST4 Industry Day activities will be rescheduled for a later date.  

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BACKGROUND

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC)/White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for the Test, Evaluation, and Support Team 4 (TEST4) solicitation. NASA/JSC/WSTF is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement, seeking capability statements, and requesting information from industry regarding potential organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) arising from this requirement. This acquisition will be a follow-on procurement to the current NASA/JSC/WSTF Test, Evaluation, and Support Team 3 (TEST3), contract 80JSC022DA003. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement.

NASA/JSC/WSTF 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) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for TEST4. 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.

It is anticipated that NASA/JSC/WSTF will issue a solicitation for test and evaluation support mainly under cost reimbursable with some fixed priced contract features. The TEST4 contract will be a follow-on effort to the current TEST3 contract to support WSTF in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The planned effort is anticipated to be similar in scope to the current TEST3 contract to fulfill requirements for providing propulsion testing; propellants, aerospace fluids, materials, and components testing; hypervelocity impact testing; flight hardware processing; technical services; training; facility maintenance; and construction management. A draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) is provided under this notice as an attachment.

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) Services, and the small business size standard is 1000 employees. The maximum award value is anticipated not to exceed $480 Million over a 5-year period of performance. The value is estimated based off a $90 to $99 Million range per year.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Industry is invited to provide input on the draft PWS. The Government specifically requests comments relative to the following areas:

1. What changes, if any, would you suggest for the proposed draft PWS and why? Include any areas that need clarification or are deemed unnecessary that could be eliminated/modified.
2. Identify any barriers to competition and how they could be mitigated to foster a more competitive environment for this procurement.
3. Provide feedback and rationale on any other topics you would like to address regarding this potential procurement.

CAPABILITY STATEMENT

Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 10 pages in addition to the “TEST4_PWS_Subcontracting_Input” indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort.

Your submission of any information in response to this notice is voluntary and the government assumes no financial responsibility for costs incurred.

Responses shall include the following:

1. Company information

a. Name and address of company and point of contact information.

b. Size of business.

c. Average annual revenue for past three years.

d. Number of employees.

e. If a small business, indicate whether the company is a Small Business (SB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business (HUB Zone), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Serviced-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), HBCU/MSI and/or 8a.

f. Number of years in business.

g. Affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners and potential teaming partners.

2. Capabilities

a. Indicate if you plan to propose as a prime or as a subcontractor

b. Discuss your company’s ability to perform to the PWS elements described in this notice.

c.  Please provide a brief summary of similar work accomplished as compared to this scope.

3. Subcontracting input

NASA is interested in potential prime (either large or small business) contractor feedback related to potential subcontracting opportunities. Interested parties are requested to use the attached template named “TEST4_PWS_Subcontracting_Input” to provide the following information:

a. Suggested percentages of work the company deems appropriate to be subcontracted to either large and/or small businesses.

b. A specific description of the areas of work that are appropriate for small and/or large business subcontracting opportunities and a list of potential subcontractors for each area of work

c. Identify the small business type in the case of potential small business subcontractors.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (OCI)

NASA/JSC/WSTF is requesting information from industry regarding potential organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) arising from the TEST4 acquisition.

The nature of the work anticipated under the TEST4 acquisiton may create the potential for OCI(s) as currently described in FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest. Each interested party should review FAR Subpart 9.5 considering NASA’s anticipation of OCI issues and carefully consider the extent to which an OCI may arise before making the decision to compete for the TEST4 acquisition.

Specifically, NASA anticipates the effort under the TEST4 acquisition will include the following categories of OCI issues depending on the composition of the team selected for the anticipated TEST4 acquisition. This list is not all inclusive:

Impaired Objectivity (An OCI due to impaired objectivity is created when a contractor‘s judgment and objectivity in performing the contract requirements may be impaired due to the fact that the substance of the contractor‘s performance has the potential to affect other interests of the contractor.)

1. TEST4 contractor performing reimbursable work (work performed by TEST4 contractor in support of a commercial partner doing business with NASA under a reimbursable Space Act Agreement) that could lead to an unfair competitive advantage of future work related to a commercial partner.

2. The TEST4 contractor may be in a position to review/analyze or otherwise provide input that favor its own company products, services and capabilities over others.

Creation of biased ground rules (An OCI due to biased ground rules is created when a firm, as part of its performance of a government contract, has in some sense set the ground rules for another government contract by, for example, writing the statement of work or the specifications.)

1. TEST4 contractor providing technical or operational assessments and advice to NASA personnel on specific technologies/methodologies (component and system designs, design requirements, analysis, and model development) that may affect NASA’s preparation of a specification of work, other contractual requirements, or NASA’s evaluation of proposals in a future competitive procurement related to:

• Artemis including Orion, Space Launch System (SLS), Gateway, and Human Landing Systems
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Extravehicular Activities (EVA)
• Commercial crew or cargo providers
• New technology development
• Moon to Mars

2. TEST4 contractor providing support to NASA for design, development, and technical integration operations activities for programs and projects including:

• Generic analysis and trade studies
• Reference mission development
• Operations concepts development
• Spacecraft and payload safety compliance
• Risk management
• Propulsion systems testing
• Material and components compatibility testing

Unequal access to nonpublic information (An OCI due to unequal access to information is created when a contractor has access to nonpublic information which may provide the firm an unfair competitive advantage in a later competition for a government contract.)

1. Leadership and organizational management structure under the anticipated TEST4 contract could result in OCI concerns depending upon teaming relationships and other NASA contracts currently held or sought by potential TEST4 contractors.

2. Access to Government Sensitive Information such as pre-decisional information associated with on-going or future NASA projects that may result in future competitive procurements and thus resulting in having access to source selection sensitive information.

3. The TEST4 contractor may have access to proprietary, business confidential, or financial data from another company (e.g. Associate Contractor, Subcontractor, Space Act Agreement Participant, etc.) that is in support of NASA.

A link to the NASA’s Guide on OCI is listed: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/guides/OCI_Guide.pdf  

You are requested to provide electronic responses via e-mail to the Contracting Officer listed at the end of this synopsis. Interested parties are requested to address the following questions:

1.   What type(s) of OCI issues would your company or potential team identify, if any, should you choose to propose on the TEST4 acquistion?

2.   What strategies would you anticipate proposing to mitigate the OCI issues that you identified (if any)? Please provide strategy details, previous examples/experience with other contracts with NASA or other agencies, etc.

3.   Are there any other types of potential OCI issues with the proposed TEST4 contract that were not identified in this RFI (assuming any were identified)?

4.   Does your company foresee any OCI issues associated with the TEST4 effort that would cause you to decide not to propose on the potential TEST4 Request For Proposal (RFP)?

NASA will review any responses received regarding potential OCI and each offeror’s proposed OCI mitigation strategy. NASA will respond to each company who submits a mitigation strategy. NASA’s response is not intended to serve as a confirmation that, in fact, all potential OCI have been identified, an OCI will ultimately exist, or that an interested party is capable of successfully eliminating or mitigating an identified OCI. NASA’s response is also not intended to encourage or discourage any interested party from responding to an RFP issued for TEST4 in the future. Furthermore, NASA’s response in no way alters or interprets FAR 9.5 as it applies to a final Performance Work Statement (PWS) or a final proposal submission, should an interested party elect to submit a proposal to an RFP for TEST4. Subsequent initial OCI submission and NASA’s response, NASA will not consider further OCI information as it relates to this RFI.

The documents on the NASA TEST4 acquisition website https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/jsc-procurement/test4/ are for information and planning purposes, to allow industry the opportunity to comment, and to promote competition only. NASA will not affirmatively release any information received in response to this RFI to the public, but may use information received in developing the best approach for a acquisition strategy, and therefore such information may be recognizable to the interested party who submitted it. Any information submitted in response to this RFI that is marked as “Confidential Commercial or Financial Information” will be considered as voluntarily submitted in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

TECHNICAL LIBRARY

The first batch of the Technical Library has been published in this post. All documents are controlled.

To request access to the TEST4 Technical Library, individuals must provide a completed “TEST4_Technical_Library_Request_Form” to contact@example.gov. When responding, reference “TEST4 Sources Sought Technical Library Access” in the subject line. 

The submitting individual shall verify that the information provided to NASA is correct, complete, and accurate. Vendors are responsible for ensuring their compliance with all U.S. export regulations per the TEST4 Technical Library Request Form. Please note that once the request form is submitted, you must have a log-in for sam.gov and once logged-in you must click the request access button in the attachments/links section of the announcement. If approved, you will be granted access to all TEST4 Technical Library zip documents.

Please email any questions regarding this posting to contact@example.gov.

INDUSTRY DAY, SITE TOUR AND ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS

NASA/JSC/WSTF plans to conduct an in-person Industry Day, site tour and one-on-one meetings for the TEST4 follow-on contract. NASA/JSC/WSTF is soliciting firms to attend this event on November 3-4, 2025 in Las Cruces, NM. Further details are forthcoming in a separate SAM.gov posting. 

Attendance of the NASA/JSC/WSTF TEST4 Industry Day is neither required nor a prerequisite for proposal submission and will not be considered during the evaluation process.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Regenia Goldsmith and John Leppala to contact@example.gov no later than 4:00 PM MST on October 24, 2025. Please reference “TEST4 Sources Sought Input” 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 deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. 

NASA intends to publicize a listing of respondents to facilitate teaming arrangements. Should your firm desire not to be included in this listing, clearly indicate this desire in your response.

All questions should be directed to the point of contact identified below. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), Exchanges With Industry Before Receipt of Proposal, responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by NASA to form a binding contract. NASA is under no obligation to issue a solicitation or to award any contract based on this Sources Sought Synopsis. NASA will not pay for any information solicited under this Sources Sought Synopsis. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. It is the interested party’s responsibility to monitor this website for the release of any subsequent solicitation or synopsis.