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Sources Sought

NASA Landing & Recovery End-to-End mission Validation Event (VALENT) demomstration using commerical ship

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is soliciting information for the purposes of identifying potential prime contractors to provide services for commercial ship support for the execution of the End-to-End mission Validation Event (VALENT). The primary purpose of VALENT is for the Department of Defense (DoD) to validate the time and number of rescue personnel required to perform Flight Crew Rescue and Command Module (CM) Retrieval in the event the CM lands at a site and/or time other than the Nominal End of Mission (NEOM) landing.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Execution of the VALENT training exercise will require coordination and approvals of the DoD, Navy, and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCAFS) Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) Base Operations for commercial ship entry and access to the Trident Turn Basin Submarine Wharf. The NOTU operates the Navy Port at Port Canaveral and permissions to access wharf and pier facilities will be provided by the DoD to support transport of the Crew Module Training Article (CMTA), Ground Support Equipment (GSE), support, hardware, equipment, and personnel to/from the pier to the designated training drop zones.

Locations for VALENT will take place approximately 12 nautical miles for Ascent Abort simulation and 3 nautical miles for Pad Abort simulation in the Atlantic Ocean East of Port Canaveral, Florida off the coast of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

It is anticipated contractors will provide a commercial ship with access for pier-side hoisting operations from the Wharf pier to/from the deck of the ship with the L&R Ops Team Mobile Crane to support VALENT. VALENT will be split into two separate demonstration events covering different Abort Scenarios:

1. Ascent Abort Event #1 (12-nautical miles offshore from Port Canaveral) – Commercial ship to provide access to the deck of the ship for the L&R Ops Team to provide configuration support for the CMTA, inspect hoisting equipment and use support equipment for use on/off the deck of ship as required. For this daylong event, the ship crane will travel to the designate drop zone and hoist open water equipment and the CMTA in/out water for simulation training, standby during simulation testing and return to port the same day.


2. Pad Abort Event #2 (3-nautical miles offshore from Port Canaveral) – Commercial ship to provide access to the deck of the ship for the L&R Ops Team to provide configuration support for the CMTA, inspect hoisting equipment and use support equipment for use on/off the deck of ship as required. For this daylong event, the ship crane will travel to the designate drop zone and hoist open water equipment and the CMTA in/out water for simulation training, standby during testing, and return to port the same day.

This announcement is for informational purposes only to solicit information from potential sources. Since this is a sources sought announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for this requirement. You are requested to provide electronic submittals (20 page maximum including attachments) via e-mail to the primary Point of Contact (POC) for this requirement. The submittal should show your relevant past performance of similar work, specific capability to perform one or more disciplines of work, and subcontractors that would be used to perform the work not self-performed. To facilitate a prompt review by the NASA team, a one (1) page summary shall be included with your capability statement(s), which identifies your company’s specific capabilities that are relevant to the requirement. Companies are also requested to provide their name, address, POC, average annual revenue for the past three years, number of employees, and your Government size/ type classification (Large, Small, Small Disadvantaged, 8(a), Woman-owned, Service Disabled Veteran, HUBZone, etc.) on the summary page. Also include in your capabilities package your DUNS, Cage Code, and System for Award Management expiration date. It is insufficient to provide only general brochures or generic information. This is not a solicitation announcement.

This sources sought announcement is for planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor should it be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The U.S. Government is in no way liable to pay for or reimburse any companies or entities that respond to this announcement. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed.

It is requested that information in response to this RFI be submitted to Mr. Joshua Giraud at the following e-mail address: joshua.giraud@nasa.gov. Any questions concerning the RFI must be in writing via e-mail as telephone calls will not be accepted.

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN November 30, 2023 by 3:00 PM EST.

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