REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) Solar Array
THIS IS *NOT* A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, QUOTATION, OR INVITATION TO BID NOTICE.
The NASA/GSFC Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) Project is considering the purchase of electrostatically and electromagnetically clean solar array panels to support its mission. The MMS design will consist of four identical spacecraft. These spacecraft will fly in a tetrahedron formation in a science region of interest. The MMS spacecraft are spinners, each with eight body-mounted solar panels.
The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential interest in providing electrostatically and electromagnetically clean solar array panels for the Project. This is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirements and to promote competition.
While our intent may be to team with industrial partner(s), we are not bound by this RFI to do so. This is not a Request for Proposal, nor a Request for Quotation, nor an Invitation to Bid. Therefore, this RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract nor will the Government pay for information provided in response to this RFI.
NASA would like to survey the market for new or existing electrostatically and electromagnetically clean solar array panel technologies in order to incorporate this information into the MMS Observatory conceptual design and to obtain answers to several questions in the attached Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) Solar Array Questions document.
To consolidate our planning, responses from industry are requested by Friday, August 8, 2008, in the form of written and illustrated concepts, estimates for development costs and schedule, assumptions used for cost and schedule estimates including interface and design assumptions, and descriptions of capabilities. Responses can be submitted via email. The subject line of the submission should be "RFI for MMS Solar Array Panels,” and attachments should be in Microsoft WORD, POWERPOINT, or PDF format. The email text must give a point-of-contact and provide his/her name, address, telephone/fax numbers, and email address. The information is requested for planning purposes only, subject to FAR Clause 52.215-3, entitled "Solicitation for Information for Planning Purposes."
It is not NASA's intent to publicly disclose vendor proprietary information obtained during this solicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential.
It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.
No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
Technical questions should be directed to: John Lyons at (301) 286-3841 or John.W.Lyons@nasa.gov. Procurement related questions should be directed to: Julie Janus at (301) 286-4931 or Julie.A.Janus@nasa.gov.
Interested offerors shall address the requirements of this RFI in written format as described in the previous paragraphs by electronic mail to: John Lyons at John.W.Lyons@nasa.gov, no later than 5:00 PM EST on Friday, August 8, 2008.
An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B".
The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office 97 format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/GSFC Business Opportunities home page is http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=C&pin=51 . It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet cite 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. Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.
