SOLICITATION NOTICE
66 -- NEUTRON DETECTOR
- Notice Date
- 4/2/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 334511
— Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
- ZIP Code
- 35812
- Solicitation Number
- 4200057179
- Response Due
- 4/30/2004
- Archive Date
- 4/2/2005
- Point of Contact
- Belinda F Triplett, Contract Specialist, Phone (256) 544-3907, Fax (256) 544-8656, Email belinda.f.triplett@nasa.gov - Glen A. Alexander, Contract Specialist, Phone (256) 544-3797, Fax (256) 544-8656, Email glen.a.alexander@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Belinda F Triplett
(belinda.f.triplett@nasa.gov)
- Description
- NASA/MSFC has a requirement for a neutron detector. This detector is for a high-altitude balloon borne instrument that measures the flux and energy of neutrons in the energy range from thermal ( 1 eV) to energies of 500 MeV from an exposure platform provided by the DSTB facility. The instrument must operate in the high altitude balloon environment at >120,000 ft. It must derive its power and communicate with the DSTB facility. The instrument must measure data on long duration balloon flights. The instrument must be calibrated. The instrument will become property of NASA. Services to be provided include those necessary to design, fabricate, test, calibrate and document the final instrument. Technical support is to be provided to demonstrate the operation of the instrument, provide scientific evaluation of its performance, and integrate the instrument on to the DSTB platform or suitable GSE setup. The instrument is based on the designs and development of the instrument from Richard Maurer at APL (ref.1). The required completion date is May 2005 with an estimated lead-time for fabrication of 12 months and 3 months to complete the calibration and integration on to the DSTB. Deliverables under this procurement included: 1) Instrument Design 2) Instrument Hardware including detector and support electronics and operational software 3) Demonstration and verification of the scientific performance of the instrument at delivery to NSSTC 4) Support integration onto the DSTB including mechanical, power and communication bus 5) Shielding design specifications 6) Data analysis from laboratory testing and calibrations and results of instrument performance including energy response, charged particle rejection efficiency, and neutron detection efficiency. NASA/MSFC intends to purchase the item from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at John Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland pursuant to FAR 13.106, for the acquisition of supplies and services determined to be reasonably available from only one source. Competition is impractical for the following reasons: The APL at John Hopkins University has the necessary scientific and technical experience conducting scientific investigations with the neutron measurements to assure the instruments delivered to NASA will operate in the specialized environment of high altitude balloon flights and perform to levels suitable for scientific research. They have conducted scientific measurements for NASA on high altitude balloon flights previously and performed measurements at particle accelerators. The measurements technique and instruments development required in this procurement were previously developed and tested under a NRA award. There is no single source with the demonstrated experience to meet all measurement requirements under this procurement action including: identifying the necessary adaptations to the current instrument design for the prescribed environment, fully characterized the instruments using a neutron source, performing a calibration of the instrument components and performing the data analysis to document the performance. The proposed instrumentation design, fabrication, evaluation, calibration and integration must be completed prior to May 2005 to meet the schedule for the DSTB Facility. There is insufficient time to complete the contents of this procurement in a piecemeal fashion using multiple sources and facilities. A delivery later than May 2005 will adversely impact the DSTB schedule that must meet a launch window of opportunity in Antarctica during the local summertime when balloon flight operations are conducted. The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. Questions regarding this acquisition must be submitted in writing (e-mail is preferred belinda.f.triplett@nasa.gov) not later than April 23, 2004. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. CST on April 30, 2004. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. An Ombudsman has been appointed. See NASA Specific Note ?B?. Any reference notes may be viewed at the following URL(s) linked below.
- Web Link
-
Click here for the latest information about this notice
(http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=62#109689)
- Record
- SN00559354-W 20040404/040402212631 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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