Unsteady Pressure Measurement Transducers

NASA/Langley Research Center (LaRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for unsteady pressure measurement transducers to support the Plume Surface Interactions (PSI) Lunar Measurement System (PLUMES) project. The Lunar Lander Base Instrumentation (LLBI) subsystem is part of the Plume Surface Interactions (PSI) Lunar Measurement System (PLUMES). PLUMES will fly on a future Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) provider and collect data that will aid in the advancement of technologies to help identify how rocket engine plumes interact with the lunar regolith at the landing site and the lander during the final stages of descent and landing to ensure safer landings for future exploration missions. The data will be used to support advanced modeling that will aid engineers in evaluating the risk of different engine configurations on planetary surfaces and ultimately aid in lander designs for specific missions and landing locations. Each vehicle that lands on the lunar surface provides a unique opportunity to study the atmospheric environment between the lander vehicle base and the lunar surface. LLBI will instrument the base and potentially portions of the landing legs with both pressure and thermal instrumentation. NASA is anticipating installing three unsteady pressure transducers on the commercial lunar lander; two (2) will be installed on the base and one (1) on a lander leg. These will be paired with low frequency transducers that will cover 0 - 200Hz pressure changes. The high frequency pressures changes will range from 200Hz to 10kHz. Results of recent analyses indicate that the sensor shall be capable of measuring pressure ( 200Pascals peak-to-peak) centered around a mean pressure between 300 - 350 pascals. Before flight, each pressure transducer will be required to undergo a rigorous environmental test campaign consisting of static acceleration, random vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, and a final calibration. These transducers need to be rugged and provide high frequency response as well as high accuracy. The transducers must also withstand high overpressure, accelerations and flight vibration, and a wide temperature range while providing low-level errors. Additional nominal specification requirements are contained in the attached document Section 4 and Section 5, Nominal Specifications for the PLUMES Space Qualified Unsteady Pressure Sensors. NASA encourages each respondent to thoroughly review Section 4 and Section 5 of the attached document prior to responding to the RFI. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (LaRC) 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 Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Lunar Measurement System (PLUMES). 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. The anticipated NAICS code for this effort is 334519 and the Product Service Code (PSC) is AR15. 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 PLUMES requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than eight (8) pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. The eight (8) page limit does not include diagrams, pictures or figures. Existing documents that describe suitable existing products or proposed products are acceptable as attachments to your response. Attachments should not exceed twenty-five (25) pages.The capability statement shall include the following: General explanation of how the proposed transducer functions and what makes this transducer novel. List of constraints for the transducer. If the constraint is not met, clearly note the deviation. List of specifications of the transducer and details on how each design goal is met. This could be a table with if/how the transducers meet the design goal. If the transducers do not meet the design goal, please list the deviation or workaround. Method for vibration mitigation (i.e. mechanical mount, post processing of data) An explanation on how the sensor will be tested to ensure all the performance parameters are met. This should include but is not limited to, test setup, methods, and supporting equipment used to perform these tests. NASA LaRC will need to reproduce some portions of testing to ensure the sensor continues to perform as expected throughout qualification of the sensor. Testing will include shock, vibration, EMI, and general performance over the operating temperature of the sensor. The anticipated NAICS code for this effort is 334519 and the PSC is AR15. Please provide any feedback or recommendations you have regarding the anticipated NAICS code and PSC for the PLUMES requirement. Provide your organizations contact information including, but not limited to the following for Market Research purposes: Point of Contact Name, Email and Phone Number CAGE code Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Business Size for anticipated NAICS code Advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101. A rough order of magnitude per sensor. All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Ashley Korahaes at contact@example.gov, along with Nick Trombetta at contact@example.gov, and Michael Wilson at contact@example.gov. Responses are due no later than March 15, 2023 at 4:30PM EST. Please reference PLUMES RFI 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.