REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) Separation System
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 separation system hardware to support its launch configuration. The launch configuration is a stack of four (4) identical satellites. The MMS project will need three (3) full Inter-satellite Separation Systems, one (1) additional passive half, and one (1) form and fit mass simulator of an active half to be mounted on the upper spacecraft in the stack. Additionally the MMS project will require Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) for use in installation and deployment testing. Preliminary design concepts (phase A) are attached for your reference (Attachment A).
The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential interest in providing the Separation System for the Project. This is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement 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 separation systems in order to incorporate this information into the MMS Observatory conceptual design and survey the marketplace for possible vendors. To that end we request answers to the questions found in Attachment B to this RFI entitled “Separation System Questions”.
To consolidate our planning, responses from industry are requested by Monday, January 14, 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 Separation System,” 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: Kenneth Harris at (301) 286-5233 or Kenneth.F.Harris@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: Kenneth Harris at Kenneth.F.Harris@nasa.gov, no later than 5:00 PM EST on Monday, January 14, 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.
