NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is seeking partners interested in developingcompetitive proposals in response to NASA Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) or otheragency proposal calls. ARC is interested in partners that can perform scienceinvestigations and research activities, and develop and demonstrate new technologies. Information is also sought on potential partners that, in addition to performingsubstantial research, can provide hardware, equipment or instrumentation necessary toimplement that proposed science investigation, research activity or technologydemonstration missions. NASA selects and procures scientific investigations (missions)through the NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) Process. A single PrincipalInvestigator (PI), Principle Technologist (PT), or Project Manager (PM) leads a missioninvestigation team. The PI, PT, or PM may be from any category of Government ornon-Government institution, including educational institutions, industry or nonprofitorganizations, or from one of the NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),other federally funded research and development centers, or other U.S. Governmentagencies. The mission team may be formed from any combination of these institutions. ARCmay respond to an AO or other agency call in either a lead or support role.This synopsis/special notice may be posted annually, and may be updated more frequentlyas information becomes available regarding ARC's specific interests. ARC is currently considering responding at a minimum to the announcements identifiedbelow:Announcement of Opportunities from NASAs Science Mission Directorate. A full descriptionof all of the different calls for proposals, from Astrophysics, Heliophysics and EarthScience and Planetary Science can all be found at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external ,called Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES). Additional informationis available at http://science.nasa.gov/researchers .Earth Ventures Instrument Program - http://essp.larc.nasa.gov/EV-I/ Explorer Program - http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Discovery Program - http://discovery.nasa.gov/missions.cfml Franklin Program - http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/468389main_Sponberg_forum_Small_Spacecraft_v7.pdf Edison Program - http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/468389main_Sponberg_forum_Small_Spacecraft_v7.pdf Office of Chief Technologist Programs, including Early Stage Innovation, Game ChangingTechnology and Crosscutting Capability Demos http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/home/index.html .POCs at ARC regarding these opportunities and partnering with Ames please contact:Anthony Strawa (Technical questions)
[email protected], (650) 604-3437 or KathleenGiffin (650) 604-2752
[email protected] Notice Response Instructions Potential partners are encouraged to submit written questions to the identified POC inwriting. Pertinent information from questions and answers will be shared with allinterested parties, without disclosing the identity of the sources of the questions.Written responses shall: 1. Not exceed 10 pages per Mission proposal (MP).2. Use an Arial font text with a size not smaller than 12 point. 3. Include all information requested in this notice.4. Provide a Point of Contact to address questions from NASA.Potential partners may submit their responses by email to the POCs listed above at anytime. However, ARC reserves the right to complete its evaluation of responses for eachplanned annoucement in a time frame necessary to support timely submission of the ARCproposal. An electronic (PDF format) copy on CD must be submitted
[email protected] reserves the right to hold optional oral presentations or written email exchangeswith potential proposal partners to obtain additional information prior to selection.All responders to this notice should be aware that NASA support service contractors mayhave access to their submittals. All information received in response to this noticethat is marked Proprietary will be handled and protected accordingly. NASA supportservice contractors are under an obligation to keep third-party proprietary informationin confidence. By submitting a response to this notice, the responder is deemed to haveconsented to release of proprietary information to such NASA support service contractors. Responses to this notice will not be returned.This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as acommitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.All responders shall identify which announcement(s) is appropriate for their capability,however responses will be considered for partnering for any of the opportunities listedabove or any future opportunity. Responses to this notice will serve as the basis forselection of proposal partners. Submitted responses will be maintained for possiblefuture opportunities.Information to be addressed by a responder is listed below: Launch Vehicle1. Identify the Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost.2. Address launch vehicle capabilities and launch site services the responder has tooffer.3. Identify particularly critical or challenging areas overcome in previous work.4. Discuss current capabilities for Integration and Test (I&T).5. Identify responders support facilities for the launch vehicle.6. Indicate the resources (skills and time) that would be allocated to the potentialproposal development phase.Spacecraft or bus or subsystems1. Address spacecraft, bus, and/or subsystem mission element capabilities theresponder has to offer.2. Identify particularly critical or challenging areas overcome in previous work.3. Identify spacecraft, bus, and/or subsystem relevance and compliance to theapplicable mission class (class A, B, C, or D)4. Discuss current capabilities for Integration and Test (I&T) flow of thespacecraft, bus and/or subsystem(s).5. Identify ROM schedules and costs for spacecraft, bus and/or subsystemdevelopment.6. List the skills available to support a spacecraft or subsystem(s) through allmission phases.7. Identify responders support facilities for a spacecraft and/or subsystem(s) e.g.fabrication, I&T, storage. Etc.8. Indicate the resources (skills and time) that would be allocated to the potentialproposal development phase.Payload, instrumentation or subsystems1. Address payload, instrumentation and/or subsystem(s) mission element capabilitiesthe responder has to offer.2. Identify particularly critical or challenging areas overcome in previous work.3. Identify payload, instrumentation, and/or subsystem relevance and compliance tothe applicable mission class (class A, B, C, or D)4. Discuss current capabilities for Integration and Test (I&T) flow for thepayload(s), instrumentation, or subsystem(s).5. Identify ROM schedules and costs for payload, instrument and/or subsystemdevelopment.6. List the skills available to support a payload through all mission phases.7. Identify responders support facilities for payload(s) e.g. fabrication, I&T,storage. Etc.8. Indicate the resources (skills and time) that would be allocated to the potentialproposal development phase.Scientific concepts1. Provide a research topic or mission concepts related to the particular AO ofinterest and why the topic is relevant to the AO.2. Provide a concept of operations for the mission.3. Identify existing or proposed partners, their role, the role of the respondersorganization, and the role of NASA Ames in the proposed mission.4. Identify the Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost for the mission concept.5. Address mission element capabilities the responder has to offer.6. Indicate the resources (skills and time) that would be allocated to the potentialproposal development phase.The criteria for evaluation are listed below:ARC will evaluate the responses based on alignment with the Agencys goals, compliancewith the announcement requirements, feasibility and suitability of the concept and itsmatch to Ames capabilities.In addition to the information requested above, the following areas are considered highlyimportant in the evaluation of responses to this notice: Ability to work as part of a government-industry team that may include otherindustrial partners, academia, and/or foreign partners. Innovative technical and partnering approaches that could be used to minimizecost without increasing overall mission risk. Demonstrated track record of developing low-cost spacecraft on-time in aschedule-constrained environment and at the agreed upon cost. History of delivering payloads with proven technical and cost performance. Also, if applicable- Depth of experience in spacecraft bus and/or payloadmanagement/development, including but not limited to: systems engineering, bus and/orpayload fabrication and test, subcontract management, quality management, safetymanagement, materials and processes/contamination control, payload integration and testsupport, observatory functional and environmental testing, shipment to the launch site,launch vehicle integration support, preparations for and the conduct of launch and earlyorbit checkout operations, on-orbit operation support, and sustaining engineering supportincluding flight software maintenance.Responses should include the following: Name and address of company or organization;Point of contact address, website or email address, and phone number; Which type ofpartnership the responder is interested (Science Investigations or Research Ideas orTechnology Demonstration); Answers to the relevant questions listed above; and a list ofrelevant partners/customers over the past five years, highlighting work performed.If responder is a commercial firm, responses should also include: Size of business andnumber of employees; Average annual revenue for past 3 years; Ownership -whether they arelarge, small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), HUBZone, and/or woman-owned and whether thecompany is U.S. or internationally-owned; Number of years in business; and Affiliateinformation: parent company (US or international), joint venture partners potentialteaming partners (prime contractor (if potential sub) or subcontractors (if potentialprime); list of customers covering the past five years (highlight relevant work performedand point of contact and phone number.No solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of a solicitation. If asolicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA AcquisitionInternet Service. It is the responders responsibility to monitor these sites for therelease of any solicitation or synopsis. Information about major upcoming ARC procurementactionsare available at http://ec.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eis/admin/admin.cgi?center=ARC Acronyms List AO -- Announcement of Opportunity, ARC -- Ames Research Center, I & T Integration andTest, NASA -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, PI Principal Investigator, POC -- Point of Contact, ROM -- Rough Order of MagnitudePoints of ContactTechnical:A.W. StrawaTitle: Director, New Opportunities CenterPhone:
[email protected] GiffinTitle: Program Analyst, Strategic Management and AnalysisPhone:
[email protected]