Space Weather Next L1 Series Suprathermal Ion Sensor (STIS)

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 Suprathermal Ion Sensor (STIS).

The L1 Series Suprathermal Ion Sensor is an ion spectrometer device that measures ions across a broad range of energies to characterize solar ejecta including Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) and interplanetary shocks. In particular, the Suprathermal Ion Sensor is a low energy charged particle detector that is capable of measuring the ion flux population as a function of energy. This ion population with energies higher than that of the bulk plasma are produced by local solar acceleration as well as acceleration from a CME shock front. Analysis of these spectra can aid in estimating the arrival time and strength of CMEs shocks.

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).

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 a full and open competition. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 336414 and the Size Standard is 1,300 employees.

It is anticipated that this competitive procurement will result in a Cost-Plus­Fixed-Fee (CPFF) hardware contract for a quantity of two instruments.

NASA will NOT be releasing a Draft RFP for this requirement but has provided a preview of the technical documents as attachments to this pre-solicitation notice for comments and questions; the anticipated release of the Final RFP is on or about December 20, 2023, 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). 

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 Kevin Cook at kevin.j.cook@nasa.gov no later than 15 days from posting date. Telephone questions will not be accepted.

This synopsis shall serve as the pre-solicitation notice to the subject effort if an RFP is released.