Request for Information for Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destination Crew Certification Requirements and Industry Day

This is Modification 1 to the original synopsis which extends the RSVP due date for the Informational Briefing to Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 4:00CT.

                                                                                    ***End of Modification***

This is a Request for Information (RFI) and Informational Briefing and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will take action on this matter. This RFI and Informational Briefing are not limited to U.S. industries.

Background:

NASA investment in resources to communicate with the private sector may aid in the development and demonstration of safe, reliable, and cost-effective space destination capabilities. In a multiphase strategy, the Commercial Low-earth Orbit (LEO) Development Program (CLDP) would help to spur the development of new LEO space destinations and supporting systems (which includes the end-to-end services such as the on-orbit destination, visiting vehicles, and supporting launch vehicles and ground systems) from the commercial industry, creating a new way of achieving U.S. human space flight in LEO where NASA is one of many customers to commercial industry. See link here: https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/low-earth-orbit-economy/ . As NASA retires the International Space Station (ISS), the ability of private industry to take on the task of providing routine utilization of LEO space is of vital importance.

NASA is currently developing requirements for a Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) capability that would be able to support NASA astronauts and other spaceflight participants safely in LEO on a commercially owned and operated space system.

Purpose:

The purpose of this RFI is for NASA to seek feedback from all interested parties on its planned “Commercial LEO Destination Crew Certification Requirements” (Attachment 1) and the NASA White Paper (Attachment 2) that discusses the assumptions NASA is considering with regards to the utilization of these CLD systems. The requirements and assumptions will eventually support NASA’s purchase of contracted services. This RFI will provide an opportunity for industry participants to provide feedback to CLDP’s approach to certification as well as an opportunity to challenge and clarify the assumptions presented in the White Paper (Attachment 2).

NASA requests your feedback on the following:

1. “Commercial LEO Destination Crew Certification Requirements”: (Attachment 1)

     a. Technical Feasibility

     b. Cost Impact of implementing the approached outlined in Attachment 1

2. White Paper: (Attachment 2)

     a. Technical Feasibility

     b. Cost Impact of implementing the assumptions outlined in Attachment 2

NASA may use the results of this RFI in the development of the “Commercial LEO Destination Crew Certification Requirements.”

Submission Instructions and Points of Contact:

Electronic submission, no more than 20 single-sided pages via MS Word or PDF, should be sent via email to both kelly.l.rubio@nasa.gov and thomas.e.martin@nasa.gov with the subject line: “RFI Feedback on CLD Crew Certification Requirements – INSERT COMPANY NAME”, no later than June 6, 2022, 4:00 pm Central Time.

NASA reserves the right to share all information received in response to this RFI within the CLD Program and other NASA program stakeholders, and to use all information submitted in response to this RFI in the formulation of the “Commercial LEO Destination Crew Certification Requirements” as well as other technical documentation.

If it is necessary to submit competition sensitive data, or company proprietary information in your response to this RFI that data should be clearly segregated and marked as sensitive appropriately.

This RFI is for informational purposes and not to be construed as a commitment or obligation on the part of the Government.

Informational Briefing:

NASA is planning to conduct a virtual Informational Briefing on Thursday, May 12, 2022, from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Central Time via MS Teams. Interested Parties are invited to attend. An MS Teams invitation will be sent by Kelly L. Rubio, Contracting Officer, to all participants that have RSVP’d.

RSVP:

Please RSVP for the Informational Briefing no later than 4:00 pm Central time on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, with the following information:

1. Company Name, or Individual Name
2. Company Point of Contact: name, position/title, email address and phone number

The RSVP should be submitted to kelly.l.rubio@nasa.gov with the subject line: “RSVP to CLDP Informational Briefing – INSERT COMPANY NAME”.

QUESTIONS:

NASA encourages interested parties to submit questions in advance of the Informational Briefing with the subject “CLD CCR RFI Questions” to both kelly.l.rubio@nasa.gov and thomas.e.martin@nasa.gov no later than 4:00 pm Central time on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. All questions received by the deadline will be addressed at the Informational Briefing. Do not include company proprietary information or sensitive business information in your questions.

Also, NASA will address questions asked at the Informational Briefing during a Question and Answer period.

You may continue to submit questions regarding the RFI until the closing due date of June 6, 2022 at 4:00 pm Central time and should be submitted via email to both kelly.l.rubio@nasa.gov and thomas.e.martin@nasa.gov  with the subject line: “CLD CCR RFI Questions.”

All questions submitted in advance of the Informational Briefing, at the Informational Briefing, and throughout the entirety of the RFI period will be published in a subsequent modification to this synopsis via sam.gov. Answers to all questions are not considered official until published via sam.gov.

For any general questions related to the RFI and or the Informational Briefing please contact the Contracting Officer Kelly L. Rubio at kelly.l.rubio@nasa.gov . 

Thank you for your interest in Commercial LEO Destinations.