NASA Posts RFP: Kicks Off 2nd Phase of Commercial Crew Program

CCtCap Phase to be Conducted Under Bureaucratically Onerous FAR Rules

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The next phase of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, called the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability Program (CCtCap), will carry out a certification process devised by NASA and will be done under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) guidelines.

The current phase, which includes funding for Boeing, Sierra Nevada and SpaceX design and development of crew vehicles, was done under much less burdensome Space Act Agreements.

The solicitation or Request for Proposal:

18–COMMERCIAL CREW TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITY CONTRACT – CCTCAP
Solicitation Number: NNK14467515R
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office: Kennedy Space Center
Location: Office of Procurement
Notice Type: Presolicitation

Synopsis (Nov 01, 2013)

NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to compete requirements for Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) Phase 2 of the Commercial Crew Program.

The CCtCap contract is the second phase of a two-phased procurement strategy to develop a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability to achieve safe, reliable and cost effective access to and from the International Space Station (ISS) with a goal of no later than 2017.

The Certification Products Contract (CPC), Phase 1 of the phased acquisition, has been awarded and began certification efforts for the purchase of early lifecycle certification data products related to an end-to-end Crew Transportation System (CTS) for an International Space Station (ISS) Design Reference Mission (DRM).

Phase 1 contract deliverables included Alternate Standards, Hazard Reports, Verification and Validation Plan, and Certification Plan. Phase 2 will build on the results of Phase 1 and is to complete the design, development, test, evaluation, and certification of an integrated CTS capable of transporting NASA crew to and from the ISS.

Phase 2 also includes post certification missions to the ISS (includes ground, launch, on-orbit, and return and recovery operations), and special studies services for risk reduction related to its CTS.

The CCtCap award criteria for Phase 1 contractors will include demonstrated completion of Phase 1 requirements as defined in the RFP. The Government expects that only Phase 1 contractors will be capable of successfully competing for Phase 2. Notwithstanding the expectation that only Phase 1 contractors will be capable of successfully competing for Phase 2, all proposals will be considered.

Any other responsible source may indicate its desire to submit a proposal by responding to this synopsis and by obtaining the solicitation (once released) from the NASA Business Opportunities internet page shown below. In order to contend for a Phase 2 award, however, such prospective offerors that where not awarded a phase 1 contract must demonstrate an integrated design maturity and certification maturity equivalent to that of the Phase 1 contract (CPC) deliverable requirements.

Failure to fully and completely demonstrate the appropriate level of design and certification maturity may render the proposal unacceptable with no further consideration for contract award. The contract type for CCtCap will be Firm Fixed Price.

The CCtCap procurement is a full and open competition acquired using FAR part 15 with the goal for completion of the baseline work no later than 2017 and providing for issuance of IDIQ task orders within an ordering period not to exceed 5 years from the effective date of the contract. All responsible sources may submit an offer to the RFP which shall be considered by the agency.

The CCtCap procurement will not be set-aside for small businesses and will require a small business subcontracting plan.

A draft RFP has been released for CCtCap; issued under NNK14467515R DRAFT. The anticipated release date of the CCtCap RFP is on or about November 19, 2013, with an anticipated due date for proposals on or about January 22, 2014.

After the release of the RFP, NASA/KSC plans to hold a pre-proposal conference on or about December 4, 2013. Details concerning the pre-proposal conference will be provided once the RFP is released. 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 . The NAICS Code and Size Standard are 336414 and 1,000 employees, respectively. The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA Business Opportunities page is http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=76 .

It is the offeror’s responsibility to monitor the Internet site 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).

Prospective offerors shall notify this office of their intent to submit an offer by November 8, 2013. This notification shall be sent via e-mail to the Contracting Officer at e-mail address listed below. A procurement specific website has also been established for CCtCap and can be accessed at: http://commercialcrew.nasa.gov/ (click the Certification-CCtCap tab).

Prospective offerors are also invited to submit written comments or questions via electronic transmission to the Contracting Officer at the following e-mail address [email protected]. When responding, please reference NNK14467515R. All contractual and technical questions must be submitted in writing (e-mail). Verbal questions will not be accepted.
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Source: http://moonandback.com/2013/11/02/nasa-posts-rfp-kicks-off-2nd-phase-of-commercial-crew-program/