STORM XRI Micro Pore Optics

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has a requirement for Micropore Optics to support STORM X-Ray Imager (XRI) instrument. The STORM mission is a magnetospheric imaging mission that observes the Earth’s magnetosphere from a circular orbit with a radius of 30 Earth’s Radii. One of STORM’s prime instruments is the X-ray Imager (XRI). XRI is a wide field-of-view x-ray telescope consisting of a segmented X-ray MicroPore Optic (MPO), and a microchannel plate focal plane. The XRI instrument on the STORM mission is a wide field-of-view x-ray imaging instrument designed to observe the interaction of the solar wind with the earth’s exoatmosphere near the sub solar point of Earth’s magnetosphere. To accomplish this, the XRI requires a wide field-of-view x-ray focusing optic. While focusing x-ray optics have been in wide use since the 1970s, including instruments on the Einstein, ROSAT, ASCA, Chandra, XMM, SWIFT, and NuStar missions, traditional x-ray optics only provide a narrow field-of-view approximately 1/100 of that required by XRI. Starting in the late 1980s a wide field-of-view x-ray focusing optic was developed by the Photonis corporation and the University of Leicester based on a theoretical design proposed in 1979 and realized using Photonis’ proprietary square pore microchannel plate technology. This technology has been used in every wide field-of-view x-ray focusing telescope outside of China. The Photonis micropore optics (MPO) are a standard product and consist of a 4cm x 4cm optic panel slumped to the focal length requirement of the instrument and coated with an x-ray reflective coating. The XRI requires Qty 100 optics panels for the flight instrument organized in a 10 x 10 grid. The scope of work for this procurement includes manufacturing, testing, and delivering flight qualified MPO to be used within the XRI instrument on the STORM mission. NASA/GSFC intends to issue a sole source Contract to acquire the items from Photonis Scientific Detectors. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort electronically via email to the Contract Specialist, Anthony Z. Lyas Jr. at [email protected] not later than 3:00 P.M. (eastern standard time) on February 2, 2022 . Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct this acquisition on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this acquisition on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html