SOURCES SOUGHT
99 -- ACCUMULATOR FOR RESTORE SPACE FLIGHT MODULE
- Notice Date
- 3/2/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 336419
— Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- NASA/John F. Kennedy Space Center, Procurement, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899
- ZIP Code
- 32899
- Solicitation Number
- RFI12AD03
- Response Due
- 3/16/2012
- Archive Date
- 3/2/2013
- Point of Contact
- Andrew Scott Dennis, Contracting Officer, Phone 321-867-6258, Fax 321-867-8671, Email Andrew.S.Dennis@nasa.gov - Edwin Martinez, Contract Specialist, Phone 321-867-1699, Fax 321-867-4848, Email edwin.martinez-2@ksc.nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Andrew Scott Dennis
(Andrew.S.Dennis@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NASA/KSC is hereby soliciting information about potential sources for the design,development, and manufacture of a common designed accumulator to contain/transfer LiquidNitrogen Tetroxide (NTO), or Hydrazine (N2H4), or monomethylhydrazine (MMH). Theaccumulator will be pressurized with Gaseous Helium (GHe) to expel the various fluidsfrom the accumulator. The accumulators will be used to dampen the output of a fluid pumpand transfer fluid to a spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit from the Restore Space FlightModule. The intent of this RFI is to obtain information from industry to assist Kennedy SpaceCenter (KSC) in its acquisition development. NASA is soliciting initial intent ofinterest from all companies with past experience and qualifications in this type ofdesign, fabrication, and qualification/test service. NASA reserves the right to shareall information received in response to this RFI throughout NASA and to use allinformation submitted in response to this RFI in NASAs formulation of a solicitationseeking competitive proposals.However, any submitted competition sensitive data shouldbe clearly marked proprietary and will only be shared with the NASA Restore team members. Although information contained herein represents current program content and acquisitionplanning, it is subject to change. Response to this RFI is requested within the contextof the general approach described in the following paragraphs. Accumulator Overall Description and Preliminary Requirements:1. Liquid volume of NTO, N2H4, and MMH within the range of 1.00 to 1.25 liters.2. Design pressure of 450 pounds per square inch absolute (psia).3. Bellows and accumulator material compatible with NTO, N2H4, and MMH, ensuring thatthere is no iron ferrite leaching over time. Titanium is recommended as a baselinematerial; however the vendor can recommend alternative material(s).4. Internal bellows minimum and maximum hard stops and guides.5. Bellows position sensing with a goal of high accuracy (vendor to define type andrecommended manufacturer).6. Operating temperature 10 to 40 degrees Centigrade (design temperature of 5 to 45 degC)7. Gaseous Helium (GHe) will be the pressurization media. NOTE: that the gas side of theaccumulator will be charged with different working pressures and vented to lowerpressures during the course of normal operations.  8. Accumulator shall have fluid inlet and outlet ports, approximately 1/4 inch diameterand a GHe pressurization port approximately 1/8 inch diameter.Engineering development unit (EDU) shall have female fittings, Society of AutomotiveEngineer (SAE) AS5202.The EDU to be used in initial system test for proof ofoperational concept shall be constructed similar to flight hardware processes, size andmaterials, however will not be certified or qualified to flight standards.Flight production units and first article prototypes to be used for qualification shallhave welded joint media interfaces. The Prototype units used for flight qualificationwill have special end adapters welded to allow for test connection interface.9. Maximum weight of accumulator shall be approximately 3 kilograms.10. The Accumulator shall be designed for approximately 1200 fluid transfer cycles.11. Bellow test specimen shall be fatigue test qualified to 4,800 cycles12. Vendor shall recommend bellows design for high cycle use such as:Convoluted bellows (minimum welds)Edge welded bellowsNote - All welds on pressure containing parts must be 100% Non-Destructive Evaluation(NDE) volumetric inspected or equivalent methods ensuring similar quality such asautomated processes / alternative NDE13. The Accumulator shall have an allowable leak rate of <1 x 10 -9 cc/sec/He, andwill be inspected with a Mass Spectrometer rated to <1 x 10 -10 cc/sec/He or better.14. The Accumulator shall have an operational life of 10 years15. The Accumulator shall be designed for a minimum safety factor 1.5 yield and 2.5ultimate as applied to limit loads. Structural and mechanical verification testingshall be supported by structural analysis to provide confidence that the hardware willnot experience failure or detrimental permanent deformation under test or launchconditions. The factors of safety that shall be applied to limit loads in order tocalculate structural margins. The maximum loads resulting from the analysis define thelimit loads. Units must also be qualification tested to 1.5 x limit loads minimum. Ifqualified by analysis only, positive margin must be shown for factors of safety of 2.0 onyield and 2.6 on ultimate. 16. The Accumulator shall be qualified for launch environment up through a medium classrocket, such as an Atlas V-550 series. (ref ATLAS V Users Guide for further information)http://www.unitedlaunchalliance.com/site/pages/Products_AtlasV.shtml17. The project shall provide schedules and periodic progress reports.Vendor Requirements:The vendor shall submit certified documentation demonstrating their company's corecompetencies (skill, knowledge, expertise, facilities and documentation systems) andhistory for supplying Aerospace in-flight accumulators. The vendor shall comply to therequired to a formal design process, which shall include Preliminary Design Reviews(PDR), and Critical design reviews (CDR). The vendor shall deliver all documentationduring the design (including shop fabrication drawings and materials list for approval),fabrication, qualification / acceptance tests (to the shock vibration, lifecycle,acoustic, and thermal parameters, etc. to be specified later in the performancespecification). Specific Information Solicited:1. Responders to this RFI are encouraged to comment on any of the preliminaryrequirements listed and to express their interest in this proposed acquisition bysubmitting the following information:2. Organization name, address, describe principal activity, primary Point of Contact andbusiness size.3. Cost Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for:Design and development One engineering development unit (EDU) for proof of concept testing delivered by CDR,and two prototype qualifying units, one for vendor qual testing and one for KSC forworst case test conditions using Nitrogen Tetroxide. Note-The EDU requested on a shortfabrication schedule will be based on present readily available manufacturing materialsand processes of the supplier (does not need meet flight standards, certification andqualification).Six production units(two for each of the specified commodities) Estimated total project cost.4. Lead Times Describe lead times required for design development, EDU, prototype andproduction units.5. Experience Describe your experience in developing and producing accumulators forin-flight space vehicles, similar to the requirements as described in this RFI. Pleasestate 'past performance' and verifiable references to past projects, and if existingqualified accumulator(s) produced for other vehicles meet as is or with minormodification, the enclosed requirements.Response Instructions:The requested responses are for information and planning purposes only. NASA does notintend to post information or questions received to any website or public accesslocation. NASA does not plan to respond to the individual responses. Feedback to thisRFI may be utilized in formulating the Governments acquisition strategy and documents. All responses should be provided in Microsoft Word document format, both hard andelectronic media. Font should be Times New Roman, size 12. Responses should not exceed15 pages and should reference RFI12AD03. Please submit responses no later than March16, 1012, to NASA/KSC Procurement Office, ATTN: Andrew S. Dennis, OP-ES ContractingOfficer, Kennedy Space Flight Center, FL 32899. No solicitation exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of thesolicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in the FedBizOpps andon the NASA Acquisition Internet Services (NAIS). It is the potential offerorsresponsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.Please advise if the requirement is considered to be a commercial or commercial-typeproduct. A commercial item is defined in FAR 2.101.This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as acommitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemedfully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement.
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