NASA has posted updated information on the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) spacecraft procurement process on SAM.gov. That information supersedes the information posted on the GDC Acquisition Homepage (this webpage), and interested parties should no longer refer to the Homepage for procurement details

All future information about that procurement will be posted on SAM.gov, and all questions about the spacecraft procurement should be directed to the Points of Contact listed there.

The SAM.gov posting may be found at: https://sam.gov/opp/1c5f84b59c304571bfaea969af8203ed/view

On August 19, 2021, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is amending the solicitation for Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Investigations. The GDC solicitation was released as Program Element Appendix (PEA) P of the Third Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity (SALMON-3) Announcement of Opportunity (AO). (Solicitation Number: NNH17ZDA004O-GDC)

This amendment extends the proposal due date to September 22, 2021 and the date of first instrument delivery to December 2025. This shift in the instrument deliveries keeps the time from investigation award to first flight unit delivery unchanged, and does not imply any other changes within the project schedule.

This extension does not permit the submission of new Notices of Intent. The extension does mean that the period for question/comments is extended per the rules given in the solicitation.

Comments and questions may be addressed by E-mail to the GDC Program Scientist Dr. Jared Leisner at jared.s.leisner@nasa.gov (subject line to read "GDC PEA").

Responses to all inquiries will be posted at the Questions and Answers (Q&As) location of the GDC Program Acquisition website at https://lws.larc.nasa.gov/gdc. The period for questions/comments will be extended to match the extension, and will be clarified in the amendment.

On June 2, 2021, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is releasing a solicitation for Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Investigations.

Release Date: June 2, 2021
Mandatory Notice of Intent Due: June 23, 2021
Proposals Due: September 1, 2021

Solicitation Number: NNH17ZDA004O-GDC (Amendment 18 to the SALMON-3 AO: NNH17ZDA004O)

This solicitation is released as a Program Element Appendix (PEA) under the Third Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity (SALMON-3) Announcement of Opportunity (AO), using the Focused Mission of Opportunity (FMO) option.

This solicitation will be open from June 2, 2021, through September 1, 2021. NSPIRES is the official NASA source for the full text of the solicitation, therefore please visit: https://nspires.nasaprs.com/.

GDC is being formulated as a spacecraft constellation of at least six observatories with homogenous science payloads. The mission will focus on high-priority science identified by the GDC Science and Technology Definition Team and refined as part of NASA's pre-Phase A activities.

The PEA solicits science investigations that 1) will address the NASA-identified GDC Science Objectives with investigation team members that will join the GDC science team for Phases A through F, and 2) will deliver flight instruments for integration on the GDC observatories.

A Preproposal Conference will be held via teleconference/WebEx in mid-June, 2021. The forthcoming date, agenda, and logistical information for this session maybe found by searching the Acquisition Homepage: https://lws.larc.nasa.gov/gdc.

This PEA is not soliciting proposals from non-U.S. organizations or institutions; however, contributions from non-U.S. sources are welcome, with restrictions described in the solicitation. Specific categories of organizations and institutions that are welcome to respond include, but are not limited to, educational, industrial, and not-for-profit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Government agencies. Non-U.S. organizations may participate on a no-exchange-of-funds basis.

NASA expects to select a number of investigations to form a complete GDC science payload within the solicitation’s total cost cap. These selections will be made in a one-step process and selected investigations will not enter a competitive Phase A.

The GDC solicitation incorporates a number of changes relative to the draft GDC PEA. All proposers must read the PEA carefully, and all proposals must comply with the requirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the AO.

Mandatory Notices of Intent are required to be submitted via NSPIRES by 11:59 pm Eastern on June 23, 2021 and proposals are due the same hour by September 1, 2021.

Comments and questions may be addressed by E-mail to the GDC Program Scientist Dr. Jared Leisner at jared.s.leisner@nasa.gov (subject line to read "GDC PEA"). Proposers are encouraged to send comments and questions early, so that they may be addressed at the Preproposal Conference.

Responses to all inquiries will be posted at the Questions and Answers (Q&As) location of the GDC Program Acquisition website at https://lws.larc.nasa.gov/gdc. The period for questions/comments will close three weeks before the proposal due date, and the period for responses will close ten days before the proposal due date. Anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is releasing a Draft Mission of Opportunity solicitation for Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) science investigations. This solicitation is intended to be released as a Program Element Appendix (PEA) under the Third Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity (SALMON-3) Announcement of Opportunity (AO), using the Focused Mission of Opportunity (FMO) option.

NASA intends to solicit science investigations that will deliver flight instruments for integration on the GDC observatories and furnish investigation team members that will join the GDC science team for Phases A through F.

GDC is being formulated as a spacecraft constellation of at least six observatories with homogenous science payloads. The mission will focus on high-priority science identified by the GDC Science and Technology Definition Team and refined as part of NASA's pre-Phase A activities.

Submitters are responsible for fully adhering to the draft PEA's requirements and restrictions. However, NASA highlights the following (non-exhaustive) list of differences between GDC and previous FMOs (all Section numbers are references to the draft PEA):

• Science
  • Investigation objectives are restricted to a NASA-identified subset of the GDC Science Objectives [Section 2.4].
  • Investigations are restricted to instruments that provide the capability to measure at least one GDC Physical Parameter [Section 2.4].
  • Investigations may not propose to deliver instrument suites [Section 1.1].
• Technology
  • Investigations must deliver identical instrument flight units for accommodation on each GDC observatory.
    • Note: Through an earlier RFI, NASA solicited teaming interest from organizations with expertise in the production of identical flight units in a cost-effective and resource-effective manner.
• Proposal Submission
  • Investigations must provide an instrument accommodation worksheet that will be used by NASA both inside and outside of the evaluation process [Section 5.3.1].
• Proposal Evaluation and Selection
  • Evaluation of an investigation-provided conflict of interest avoidance and mitigation plan [Section 4.2.1].
    • Note: The GDC Program Library contains a document listing the NASA contracts and cooperative agreement that contributed to developing the requirements in the GDC draft PEA.
  • Evaluation of the following aspects of investigations in GDC-specific criteria [Section 7.1]:
    • Inter- and cross-calibration plans; and
    • Instrument manufacturing plan.
  • Prioritization in selection for investigations that:
    • Provide cost-effective, resource-efficient instruments with minimal accommodation issues [Sections 2.6, 7.2.1]; and
    • Provide the capability to measure the primary GDC Physical Parameters [Section 2.4].

The draft PEA text can be found on NSPIRES via this link, or by directing a browser to (https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/) and searching Solicitations for "Draft Geospace Dynamics Constellation" or "NNH21ZDA009J". Proposers are encouraged to read the Draft GDC PEA and provide feedback for NASA's consideration as the PEA is finalized. The comment period for the Draft GDC PEA ends on March 26, 2021.

NASA has not approved the issuance of the GDC PEA and this notification does not obligate NASA to issue the PEA and solicit proposals. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this Draft GDC PEA are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk.

The time frame for the solicitation is intended to be:

Release of community announcement	January 12, 2021
Release of draft PEA	March 5, 2021
Comment period closes	March 26, 2021
Release of final PEA	Mid-April 2021 (target)
Notice of Intent deadline (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time)	~3 weeks after final PEA release
Proposal deadline (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time)	~3 months after final PEA release

Further information will be posted on the GDC Acquisition Homepage at http://lws.larc.nasa.gov/gdc as it becomes available. Questions will be answered on the Questions & Answers tab of the Acquisition Homepage. Individuals are strongly encouraged to consult that FAQ document in case desired clarification has already been provided.

Questions not yet addressed and other comments on the draft PEA may be addressed to Dr. Jared Leisner, GDC Program Scientist, at jared.s.leisner@nasa.gov with the subject line "GDC draft PEA".

In order to assist the community in its planning for a Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission, NASA is releasing its current strategy for the mission's major acquisitions. In this announcement, we summarize those acquisitions, provide major details that would assist community planning, and enumerate the relationships of these procurements to each other.

It is emphasized that this announcement is NOT a Request for Proposal, nor is it an Invitation for Bid. This announcement is subject to revision or cancellation at any time and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract or to release an Announcement of Opportunity. Please do not request a copy of the solicitation, as no solicitation exists at this time. When a solicitation is issued, it will be made available through NSPIRES (https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/). It is the responsibility of Offerors and interested parties to monitor the internet sites for the release of the solicitation and amendments, if any, and they will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the documents. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for potential acquisitions can be found at https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf.

Any questions about GDC or its acquisition strategy should be directed to Jared Leisner (jared.s.leisner@nasa.gov).

Planned Procurements

As part of GDC formulation efforts, NASA is planning the following four independent but related procurements. These procurements will assemble the GDC science payload, complete the GDC science team, and select the spacecraft provider. In chronological order of solicitation release date, those procurements are:

1. Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs): This solicitation will solicit IDSs to join the GDC science team for only Phase A-D activities (with the intention for a second IDS call, closer to launch, for Phase E-F activities; Phase A-D IDSs would be eligible for the second IDS call). IDSs will participate in GDC science team activities as well as execute their own proposed tasks to support GDC and community preparation for the GDC mission. Due to the exclusive natures of the role and responsibilities, NASA does not expect that the IDSs would include individuals with membership in a team selected to provide an instrument to the GDC mission (see GDC investigations, instruments below). The information about this procurement will be released on NASA's NSPIRES website.
   1. Solicitation, draft: February 2021 (no later than)
   2. Solicitation, final: March 2021 (target)
2. GDC investigations, instruments: This solicitation will select teams to join the GDC science team for Phases A-F, deliver instruments for the GDC observatories, and execute the GDC science operations. Due to the exclusive nature of the roles and responsibilities, NASA does not expect that these teams would include individuals with membership in a selected GDC IDS team (see Interdisciplinary Scientists above). This solicitation will be released as a Focused Mission of Opportunity (FMO) via NASA's Stand-Alone Mission of Opportunity-3 (SALMON-3) AO. Information about this procurement will be released on NASA's NSPIRES website, and relevant information will be available via NASA's Science Office for Mission Assessment (SOMA) website.
   1. Solicitation, draft: February 2021 (target)
   2. Solicitation, final: April 2021 (target)
3. Spacecraft study: This procurement will contract spacecraft providers to conduct focused studies on potential spacecraft designs applicable to the GDC observatories and conducting related assessments. These results will be used to improve the technical and programmatic requirements for use in future procurements (for example, see Spacecraft procurement below). Information about this procurement has been and will continue to be released through beta.Sam.
   1. Solicitation, draft: 4 December 2020
   2. Solicitation, final: Q1 2021
4. Spacecraft procurement: This procurement will select the GDC spacecraft based upon the scientific and technical needs identified through NASA (pre-)formulation activities (for example, see Spacecraft study above) and by the selected GDC instruments (see GDC investigations, instruments above). Information about this procurement will be released through beta.Sam.
   1. Solicitation, draft: NET Q3 2021
   2. Solicitation, final: Q1 2022

Interdisciplinary Scientists

NASA intends to assemble an excellent team for GDC and to maximize opportunities for community involvement in the mission. To that end, NASA expects to release a solicitation for Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) to join the GDC science team. Due to the IDSs' role and responsibilities, NASA does not expect that the IDSs would include individuals that are involved in a proposal to any proposal to a GDC mission investigation solicitation (e.g., SALMON-3 PEA).

These IDSs will join the science team for Phase A-D activities and focus on tasks relevant to the mission development and for preparation of Phase E activities. NASA expects that a second solicitation would be released closer to launch to add IDSs to the science team for prime science operations. This arrangement is to follow solicitation best practices and to ensure that the IDS program maximizes both the community involvement in and access to the GDC science team and the incorporation of innovative and emerging science capabilities and research to the mission for Phase E.

IDSs will join the GDC science team and work with individuals selected to provide a GDC instrument. These tasks include, but are not necessarily limited to:

1. Refining the GDC design reference mission to maximize the science return of selected mission investigations (and the accompanying instruments).
2. Identifying on-orbit measurement validation needs and developing related requirements for ground-based observations.
3. Identifying additional data sets for production and defining data archiving best practices to maximize the usefulness and usability of the GDC mission science data to the science community.
4. Developing modeling capabilities that would enable or enhance GDC research, encompassing but not limited to those identified in the GDC Science and Technology Definition Team Final Report.
5. Developing analysis techniques and tools that would enable or enhance GDC research.

In addition to the above tasks specified in a proposal, the IDSs will participate in the discussion of cross-investigation coordinations, science trade-offs, and other science team activities. All software developed by an IDS team will be required to be released under a permissive (or less restrictive) open source license.

GDC Investigations, Instruments

NASA's GDC pre-formulation activities built upon the GDC Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT) Final Report. NASA intends to solicit investigations as a Focused Mission of Opportunity via NASA's Stand-Alone Mission of Opportunity (SALMON-3) AO, based on that STDT report and subsequent pre-formulation activities.

NASA intends to solicit only investigations that

1. address the highest-priority science objectives identified by the STDT report (see Science/Science objectives, below, for that list of objectives and other requirements on proposed investigation science objectives), and
2. deliver spaceflight instrumentation that provides measurement capabilities identified as necessary for the completion of the above science objectives (see Science/Science measurements and Science/Solicited spaceflight instruments, below, for that and other requirements on proposed instruments).

Proposals that do not meet these requirements will not be eligible for selection and may be returned without review.
 

GDC will be a cost-capped mission. This solicitation will be released with the intention to acquire cost-effective, resource-efficient mission implementation. NASA expects for proposals to balance instrument performance with resource requirements (including budget) so that mission science can be maximized via increased number of observatories and/or observatory capabilities (see Cost/Cost cap, below).

NASA intends for the accommodation study (see Proposal Evaluation/Instrument accommodation study, below) and selection process to explicitly include these considerations.

Below are a categorized series of science and technical requirements that define the planning framework for the acquisition of GDC investigations.

Science

Science objectives: Proposals to this solicitation must include only investigations that address the GDC Science Objectives 1.1-1.3, 2.1-2.3, and/or 2.6 (see the GDC report, Chapter 2, for detailed information on these Objectives; the exact Objectives to be addressed by an investigation are determined by the proposer). Proposals that include investigation objectives that do not address the above list of GDC Science Objectives will not be solicited; proposals that argue a capability for science beyond the above GDC Science Objectives will not receive a more favorable evaluation. (NASA's pre-formulation identified key sub-objectives for the above GDC Science Objectives, and that list will be released with the draft solicitation.)

• All proposals must demonstrate that their investigation objectives can be completed with the current GDC design reference mission. (The design reference mission will be refined during Phase A based on the selected investigations.)
• Proposal Threshold Investigations may not require more than four observatories.

Science measurements: NASA will release with the draft solicitation a Proposal Information Package that contains a table of measurements that flow from the GDC Science Objectives; this table is based on the GDC STDT report (Table 2.5), with small modifications made during NASA's pre-formulation work.

• Real-time data: In addition to providing measurements for full completion of the GDC Science Objectives, NASA recognizes the potential for GDC to contribute to national (pre-)operational space weather needs through the acquisition of real-time data. Every proposal will need to plan for the delivery of real-time space weather data from its instrument. The real-time data requirements will be finalized as part of Phase A/B efforts, but based on previous missions' real-time transmissions and (pre-)operational needs, it is expected that the GDC observatories will have the following real-time data constraints:
  1. Accept data from each instrument at a cadence of 1 packet every 10 seconds
  2. Transmit data with a latency of no more than 5 minutes
  3. Average data rate of 400 bits per second

Open source: All software developed as part of a GDC investigation will be required to be released under a permissive (or less restrictive) open source license.

Solicited spaceflight instruments: NASA will only solicit investigations with instruments that meet the following numbered set of requirements. (This set of requirements flow from a mission formulation strategy to reduce risk; protect the preponderance of science prioritized by the GDC STDT; maximize flexibility in finding a cost-effective, resource-efficient implementation; and maximize opportunities for community competition and involvement.)

1. Investigations must include a single instrument type and may not include an instrument suite. NASA will follow community standards for the identification of instrument suites, and proposals will need to convincingly show adherence to this requirement (as appropriate and necessary for each proposal).
2. Each instrument must be capable of providing at least one measurement identified as relevant to the GDC Science Objectives (see Science objectives and Science measurements, both above). Investigations that include an instrument that is not capable of providing at least one of these measurements are not solicited.
3. NASA recognizes that multiple instrument types are capable of acquiring the same science measurements and expresses no preference in instrument type. While NASA pre-formulation efforts used a notional payload as part of its technical feasibility study, the final spacecraft solution will be solicited based upon the actual instruments selected through this solicitation.
4. Investigations must deliver one flight unit for integration on each GDC observatory (see Number of spacecraft, below).

Number of spacecraft: The final spacecraft solution will be determined after the selection of the GDC science payload. Based upon NASA pre-formulation activities, the constellation is planned to be comprised of six observatories; however, those analyses have also suggested that a seventh or eighth observatory may be feasible within project resources. Further, to aid NASA in its search of a more cost-effective spacecraft solution, proposals will include the cost of and delivery schedule for flight units for an additional four observatories.

• Planned six observatories: Flight units delivered for integration on these observatories must be delivered on schedule and within the proposed budget.
• Potential seventh and eighth observatories: Flight units that would be delivered for integration on these observatories, if they are added to the GDC mission, must be delivered on schedule and must follow budgeting rules to be released in the draft solicitation.
• Informational ninth through twelfth observatories: For planning purposes, proposals will include the schedule and budget for flight units that could be integrated on these observatories. This schedule will be outside of the mission timeline stated in the draft solicitation.

Team Size: NASA requires that each proposal include a science team sufficient to complete the proposed investigation. There will be no direct constraint on team size, but it is understood that the payload cost cap (see Cost cap, below) will indirectly constrain the team size. Further, NASA intends to select Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) to participate in the GDC science team during Phase E-F; these IDS teams (in total) are expected to be equivalent in size to the science team of one of the investigations selected through this solicitation.

Technology

Mission lifetime: Proposed instruments must be designed for a lifetime of three years and carry sufficient consumables for five years.

Instrument resource requirements: NASA will not constrain individual instrument resource requirements (e.g., mass, power, volume, data rate), but the entire science payload will be constrained.

Instrument fabrication: The size of and schedule for a GDC mission may present challenges for all instrument providers to meet. Therefore, NASA released a Request for Information (RFI) for organizations that have instrument mass-production capabilities and were interested in partnering with potential instrument providers. NASA strongly encourages potential proposers to consider the most effective instrument development approach, including partnerships with those or other organizations. The list of RFI respondents may be found on SOMA's GDC Teaming Interest webpage.

• Due to the crucial nature of the instrument fabrication process to a constellation mission, NASA will be emphasizing this aspect in the evaluation process. See Instrument evaluation in the Proposal Evaluation section of this announcement.

Deployables: NASA expects for the spacecraft to furnish at least one ~1.2-meter boom for the purpose of instrument deployment away from the spacecraft. Investigations are responsible for providing any other deployable that is inherent to the function of the proposed instrument.

Management and Schedule

Mission milestones: Based on GDC pre-formulation activities, NASA is planning the following mission milestones for proposals to meet:

• Instrument deliveries: Investigations will be expected to deliver instruments for integration onto the GDC observatories starting in January 2025 at a rate of one per month.
• Launch readiness date: September 2027

Cost

Cost cap: NASA will not impose a cost cap per investigation but will impose a cost cap on the entire science complement (given below). NASA reminds interested parties of its intent to acquire a complete payload of cost-effective, resource-efficient instruments, and that funds not committed to the science complement would be available to maximize mission science via increased number of observatories and/or observatory capabilities.

• Phase A-D: $132M (FY21$)
• Phase E-F: $60M (FY21$)

Proposal Evaluation

Instrument accommodation study: To inform the selection of a science payload that would not unnecessarily increase project risk or cost via accommodation requirements and impacts, NASA will conduct an instrument accommodation study after the evaluation against the criteria described in the SALMON-3 AO, Section 7.2, and before the Selection Official identifies the proposals for selection. This study will be conducted using an instrument accommodation worksheet submitted by the proposer (see Instrument accommodation worksheet, below).

Instrument evaluation: Based on lessons learned from previous constellation missions and from the GDC STDT report, NASA expects to pay particular attention to:

1. Instrument manufacturing plan, including but not limited to a) repeatable quality and performance standards, b) management of any subcontracted manufacturer, and c) the ability to capture and apply lessons learned to the effective production of subsequent flight units; and
2. Instrument inter- and cross-calibration needs.

Proposal Submission

Instrument accommodation worksheet: In order to better facilitate the execution of an instrument accommodation study to inform NASA’s selection process (see Instrument accommodation study, above), proposals will be required to include an instrument accommodation worksheet. This worksheet will be based on a NASA-provided template and will be provided separately from the proposal for NASA’s use; this worksheet will also be included as part of the proposal and will not count against the proposal’s page limit.

• This worksheet may be used by NASA to guide the enveloping of potential payload resource requirements for public release in preparation for the spacecraft procurement. These requirements would be aggregated and anonymized before release.

Electronic submission: Proposals will be submitted via NSPIRES, as described in the SALMON-3 AO, Requirement 109. Proposals and accompanying documents will be submitted via the NASA Large File Transfer system rather than via CD-ROMs, superseding SALMON-3 AO, Requirement 110.