The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is planning to re-compete the contract requirements for the current Safety

and Mission Assurance Support Services Contract (SMASSC). The potential contract will require the review of work performed by other contractors, International Space Station (ISS) Program, International Partners (IPs), and other NASA organizations. In addition, the potential contract will apply to future Programs and Projects. The major part of this future effort will be located at JSC in Houston, Texas. However, resident support is required at the JSC field office at the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), New Mexico. Contractor services may be required at other locations, NASA contractor, subcontractor, or vendor facilities as requirements warrant. The SMASSC currently provides programmatic support to the International Space Station (ISSP), Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), and the Extravehicular Project Office through safety, reliability, availability, maintainability, supportability, quality engineering, quality assurance, software assurance, risk management, and technology assurance disciplines. Real time support to the ISSP is provided in the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) by the S&MA office. In addition, SMASSC provides assurance engineering support to the development of all JSC Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). The SMASSC provides pressure systems technical expertise and manages the pressure systems certification program for both the JSC and the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). SMASSC also provides WSTF with expertise in the areas of materials and process engineering, and system safety. The contract name for the follow-on for the above scope is the Safety and Mission Assurance Engineering Contract (SMAEC). The disciplines described below are applied across all of the Programs supported by the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. The potential SMAEC contract will require the prime contractor to be able to provide all of the skills associated with the following disciplines. 1. Safety Engineering: Application of the systematic, forwardlooking identification and control of hazards throughout the life cycle of an activity, a system, a function, a project, or a program. 2. Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Supportability: Assessment of inherent system design features that include: establishing reliability requirements, selecting measures for the design definition and review, performing quantitative and qualitative reliability analyses and assessments to verify design characteristics, testing and certifying the design, identifying limited-life items, and participating in problem resolution and recurrence control. 3. Quality Engineering: Evaluation of the design, manufacturing, testing, and refurbishment of space flight hardware and software to ensure delivery of products in accordance with functional, performance, and design requirements. 4. Quality Assurance: Inspection and surveillance activities performed during production, testing, and operations to reduce the overall risk to a project's cost, schedule, and mission success. Inspectors are required for various assembly, testing, and inspection methods. Surveillance Specialists are required to continually monitor and verify status of contracted processes and products to ensure specified requirements are met. 5. Software Assurance: Assessment of software to determine if it meets quality, reliability, and safety requirements, as well as technical and performance requirements. Assessment of processes used to develop software with assessment of the analyses and tests performed for verification. 6. Risk Management: Assessment of and recommendations for a disciplined and documented approach to ensure risk is identified, evaluated, managed, and mitigated throughout the life cycle. 7. Technology Assurance: Analysis and evaluation of a broad range of new and emerging tools, techniques, and processes to complement long-range projects and programs. Additional functions required for this potential contract include: 1. Independent Assessment and Integrated Supplier Assurance Management: Evaluation and status of technical and process issues and concerns; evaluation

of government suppliers. 2. Assurance Methodologies, and Special Processes: Electrical Electronic Electrometric (EEE) Parts, Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP). 3. Website and database development and maintenance. 4. S&MA engineering discipline training development. 5. The S&MA Directorate also provides the JSC Receiving Inspection and Test Facility (RITF). It is certified and A2LA accredited by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation and compliant with ISO 90022000. The current capabilities include mechanical, chemical and electrical testing. The facility specializes in fastener testing, wire/cable certification and electronic component evaluation. The facility also provides "hands on" training to NASA/contractor engineers, technicians, and inspectors in the areas of Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Solder, SMT, Crimping, Conformal Coating, and Fiber Optic Terminations. The NAICS code for the proposed acquisition is 541330 and the small business size standard is $4.5 million. The maximum award value for the SMAEC contract is anticipated to be $150 Million over a 5 year period of performance. The pertinent contract information for the current SMASSC contract in which many aspects of the SMAEC Statement of Work are currently detailed is as follows: Current Contractor: SAIC Contract Number: NNJ06JE86C Estimated Contract Value: $365.1 million Contract Expiration Date: The current contract's period of performance ends April 30,2013. The intent of this Sources Sought Synopsis/Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit comments from industry and capability statements from qualified sources, including Large Businesses (LB), Small Businesses (SBs), Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) 8(a),HUB Zones, Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs), Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs),Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MIs). Interested offerors/vendors having the required specialized capabilities to meet the above requirements should submit a capability statement that demonstrates the firms capability to perform the major disciplines described above. In addition, industry is also invited to provide inputs in the following areas: 1. Identify barriers to competition that could be mitigated to foster a more competitive environment for this procurement. 2. Contract Type and Performance: Please provide your view regarding what type of contract provides the best approach for this type of work. How should the risks versus rewards be shared by the Government and contractor? How does the proposed contract type incentivize the contractor to perform high quality work at a reasonable price? Discuss your views specific to this contract regarding incentive fees, award fee, award term and/or other appropriate incentives for contractor performance in terms of: 1) fixed price requirements; 2) cost type requirements. 3. Suggest any portions of this procurement for which fixed price contracting could be utilized. Discuss your rationale for each and your thoughts on the feasibility of each. 4. NASA is considering ways to increase the use of excess capacity by external customers as a potential means of reducing long-term costs. Discuss any changes that NASA might need in processes, procedures, and operating standards to successfully attract more external customers. What industry standards should NASA adopt? What special terms or conditions would NASA need to accept? Discuss ideas and incentives to encourage the contractor s efforts to find additional external customers for excess capacity in the Receiving Inspection and Test Facility (RITF) as well as excess capacity of other areas of technical expertise as identified in the disciplines described above.5. Small Business Subcontracting Goals: Suggest what you would consider to be reasonable small business subcontracting goals if the Government were to compete this potential contract on a full-and-open basis. State these suggested goals as a percentage of total contract value and show how separate goals for SDB, HubZone, WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, andHBCU/MI would comprise

the overall suggested small subcontracting goal. Of the disciplines and potential functions listed above, which would you suggest be subcontracted to small businesses? Responses must include the following: 1. Name and address of firm. 2. Size of business; average annual revenue for past 3 years and number of employees. 3. Whether the firm is large, SB, SDB, HubZone, WOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, and HBCU/MI. 4. Number of years in business. 5. Affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners. 6. Indicate if the firm is interested in this potential requirement as a prime contractor or subcontractor. 7. List of customers covering the past five years (highlight relevant work performed, contract numbers, contract type, dollar value of each procurement; and point of contact -address and phone number). This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement. In accordance with FAR 15.201 (e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government is under no obligation to issue a solicitation or to award any contract on the basis of this RFI. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. The Government intends to review the responses submitted by industry. The information received will not be released in its submitted form, but may be used to refine requirements and develop the best approach for any follow-on contract strategy. Therefore the information may be recognizable. Please do not submit proprietary information. Data that is submitted as part of the Industry s response that is marked proprietary will not be reviewed. In order to facilitate teaming arrangements, NASA intends to release the names, addresses, and points of contact of all respondents on the NASA website for this acquisition, unless specifically requested not to do so by the respondent. All responses shall be submitted via e-mail to the Contract Specialist, Christina Hibbs (e-mail address: Christina.A.Hibbs@nasa.gov) no later than 4:00 p.m. CDT on February 22,2012. Please reference NNJ12424577L in any response. A website for this contemplated acquisition has been developed and can be found athttp://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/smaec/ Interested parties are responsible for checking this website for further information and updates. Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.