Background Information : National Technologies and Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS) has an operational autonomous flight safety system (AFSS) which includes an NTESS-developed Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) and associated software. NTESS’s AFSS was originally developed to support hypersonic mission applications and has flight pedigree and Range Commander’s Council approval (RCC 319 approved). NTESS is seeking commercial partners who are interested in producing versions of the existing AFTU hardware and investing in future flight termination systems to develop a line of products to support the expanding military and commercial launch service industries. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. Opportunity Description : NTESS is seeking a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with a member of industry that has proven experience in the design, development, manufacturing, and qualification of electronic flight avionic hardware for high-consequence commercial and military Department of Defense applications. The objective of this collaboration is to develop a product line based on NTESS’s current version of the Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (AFTU) and NTESS’s experience applying the AFTU to hypersonic flight applications. This opportunity may include development and manufacturing of associated test equipment used for (1) flight qualification and certification testing; and (2) application support in the form of pre-mission validation and verification (V&V) of Mission Data Load configuration and mission rules processing. NTESS would work with the successful respondent to develop these supporting products. NTESS will be hosting a Virtual Industry Briefing Day on December 8th from 12PM-3:30PM (MST) to discuss this Request for Information (RFI). Industry Day will be limited to U.S. Citizens only and companies meeting the Mandatory Requirements below. To register for the Industry Day please email Meg Davidson,
[email protected] no later than December 5th. Additional information will be provided during the registration process. Information Sought : A detailed description of relevant background experience, expertise, and capabilities that could be brought into a collaborative partnership with NTESS is being sought. The following information is being requested. In addition, interested parties may provide additional relevant information as needed. Description of experience, expertise and capabilities in the design, development, manufacturing, and qualification of flight hardware including but not limited to avionics, telemetry, communication, guidance, and flight safety systems Description of experience, expertise, and capabilities in developing software and verification and validation processes for code development Description of experience with ensuring compliance with range safety and/or FAA regulations through appropriate test and qualification of hardware Description of experience with national test ranges flight safety officers Description of experience with designing hardware for low SwaP applications Description of other relevant experience, expertise, and capabilities Description of experience in adopting and scaling prototype technology to full production for mission specific applications Description of past experience working with and delivering on contracts for flight hardware to the Department of Defense Description of past experience partnering with Research and Development organizations such as Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), Universities, National Laboratories, or Government Laboratories to successfully develop and deploy products Instructions to Responders : Interested parties that meet the Mandatory Requirements provided below are invited to respond to this RFI. Responses should be limited to ten (10) pages, not including cover page. Any proprietary information should be properly identified and marked as such. Any information provided in response to this RFI will not be returned. Any and all responses are voluntary, and Sandia will not pay for any information submitted in response to this RFI. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Responses should be emailed to
[email protected] and should include the RFI title and submitting organization’s name in the subject line. Attachment size should not exceed 5MB and only the following document types will be accepted (.doc, .docx, .pdf). Responses should be submitted electronically no later than 5:00 p.m. MDT on December 21, 2022. An email notification will be sent acknowledging successful receipt of the response. Evaluation Criteria : NTESS will evaluate all responses and select prospective parties with which to engage in further discussions based on the following criteria, pursuant to NTESS’s Technology Transfer mission: Mandatory Requirements : U.S. firms seeking a CRADA with NTESS Firms must be able to demonstrate experience in design, development, manufacturing, and qualification of electronic avionic flight hardware Firms must be able to ensure products developed as a result of this partnership are manufactured largely in the United States by U.S. citizens, at U.S.-owned and controlled companies, and must have United States ITAR certification. Compliance with Federal Export Control requirements per the Department of State and Department of Commerce Firms must hold active AS9100B certification Firms capable of providing funds-in contribution to support activities executed by NTESS Firms capable of providing in-kind support in the form of engineering, manufacturing, or testing staff with the ability to acquire a DOE L-Clearance (or DoD equivalent) if necessary. Respondents to this Request for Information that do not meet the Mandatory Requirements will not be given any further consideration by NTESS. Desired Requirements : Demonstrated experience, expertise, and capabilities in developing software and verification and validation processes for code development for safety critical applications Demonstrated experience tailoring Range Commander’s Council (RCC) documents and interfacing with flight safety officers at national test ranges Demonstrated experience designing hardware for low SWaP applications Demonstrated successful partnering and teaming relationships with Research and Development organizations Past Performance and Related Experience : Past performance is a measure of the degree to which a Responder satisfied its customers in the past and complied with Federal, state, and local laws and regulations. NTESS may contact Responder's customers/references to ask whether or not the: 1. Responder was capable, efficient, and effective; 2. Responder's performance conformed to the terms and conditions of its contract; 3. Responder was reasonable and cooperative during performance; and 4. Responder was committed to customer satisfaction. In evaluating past performance, NTESS may utilize any sources of factual information including sources not included in the Responder's response. In order for NTESS to review Responder's Past Performance and Related Experience, the Responder must provide the following information on the two most recent projects of similar size and closely related to this technology development: 1. Contract or Project Number: 2. Date of award: 3. Full Project Title: 4. Project Customer: 5. Project Contact: 6. Project Contact Phone and Address: 7. Initial Contract Schedule: 8. Final Contract Duration: (Explain reasons for durations exceeding original contract schedules). 9. Initial Contract Award Amount: 10. Final Contract Amount: 11. Number of Project Related Safety Incidences: Primary Point of Contact : Megan Davidson Sandia National Laboratories
[email protected] Keywords: flight safety systems, flight termination systems, autonomous flight safety system, range safety