Research on Methods and Business Processes for Commercial Global Delivery Directly from Space for Department of Defense (DoD) Cargo

Active

Contract Opportunity

The purpose of this amendment is to correct the e-mail organizational mailbox for submitting responses to this Source Sought notice. The correct organizational mailbox address is stated in the body of this Description and has been corrected in the Contact Information block.

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United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is seeking United States-incorporated/based non-Federal partners (“Collaborators”) in industry or academia to consider for entry into Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) as described in 15 USC 3710a to produce collaborative studies illustrating potential future capabilities for USTRANSCOM.

These collaborative studies will examine and demonstrate technical methods, including vehicle and decelerator designs/capacities and business processes for use of emerging commercially-developed and operated methods of global cargo delivery from or through space. Mission flight profiles may include direct terrestrial point-to-point sorties or may include an on-orbit indefinite holding phase as a space-based prepositioning capability. Combinations of these capabilities may provide DoD an on-demand “downmass” delivery option independent of launch method, not constrained to any specific launch provider.

USTRANSCOM seeks partnerships with developers of integrated downmass delivery systems, not designers solely of subsystems or enabling technologies, to focus on mature systems made for delivery by a variety of rocket launch providers. Subsystem designers may be involved through their existing partnerships with system integrators, but not directly with USTRANSCOM.

Those companies developing cargo “downmass” capabilities who are already in partnership under USTRANSCOM CRADAs do not need to respond to this notice. Others who may have provided white papers to a prior USTRANSCOM industry call on this topic but not selected for initial partnerships may reference those white papers and attach them to an update.

Small businesses are encouraged to respond to this announcement. Potential Collaborators may team with other qualified non-federal parties.

This is not a solicitation for a procurement contract, nor should this announcement be construed as implying any future solicitation by USTRANSCOM or any other government agency in this area. The purpose of the research is to reveal the uses, limitations, constraints, and additional research and development requirements for industry capabilities as applied to global DoD logistics delivery.

Interested parties may respond with white papers by 28 February 2025 by 0000 (12:00 midnight, U.S. Central time) by unclassified e-mail to transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil by submitting an UNCLASSIFIED written white paper in format described below. Hardcopy submittal is not allowed.

USTRANSCOM plans a virtual 1-hour industry day 19 February 2025 at 1300 USA central DST time for organizations planning to submit white papers, to describe USTRANSCOM objectives for research and to field questions from participants. Interested parties should send a request for the Teams link to transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil by 17 February 2025 and include any questions for government to answer during the Industry Day (for all participants to hear). .

Potential topics for collaboration follow which may be tailored by each collaborator by discussion with USTRANSCOM. Details of the actual exploration, resource commitments, schedules, research deliverables (technical findings), and work to be assigned to the Parties in the agreement will be determined by discussions after initial whitepaper selection.

Your proposal to enter into a CRADA should include a brief description of the following challenges you recommend addressing and the expected research outcomes for each. It should also describe what Government data, access to facilities, or subject matter expertise should be added to the collaboration with your organization to make the research productive.

Information, processes and technologies you propose for teamed research may include, but are not limited to:

1. Description of downmass capabilities you are developing, including mass and volume capacities, environmental controls for cargo, and methods of containerizing and protecting cargo exposed to space environments.


2. Decelerator and cargo compartment designs and adaptability for transport by rocket; designs and methods of transitioning from spacedrop- to airdrop-suitable altitudes for minimizing damage on Earth touchdown.


3. Potential designs for customer-loaded containers which can be transported by traditional transportation modes to the point of launch without delay for inspection, reloading on arrival at the launch site.


4. Expected environmental conditions to which cargo will be subjected during the flight profile from space to terrestrial delivery point.

E. Business processes for USTRANSCOM to order a delivery including a downmass segment, e.g., tendering cargo to a single 3rd party logistics provider at cargo origin or launch location which integrates the launch and downmass systems (providing end-to-end delivery as a service), or alternately requiring Government integration and acquisition of the lift services needed from cargo origin to destination.

F. Methods of rapidly clearing international/treaty approval requirements.

G. Other topics recommended by the submitter.

Collaborative work may include studies, simulations, or field trials/tests or demonstrations of systems and subsystems as necessary to develop the concepts to demonstrate value to USTRANSCOM.

USTRANSCOM may provide (determined by discussions):

• Desirable design and performance capabilities as currently known.


• Representative cargo movement requirements and desired timelines.


• Access to Government facilities for live demonstration and development.


• Current DoD cargo containerization and packaging standards.


• Access to Government subject matter experts.

Specific study outputs, use of field trials and tests, and any development and demonstration goals will be determined during discussions with Collaborators prior to CRADA signatures and refined as necessary during the life of the CRADAs.

Multiple federal agencies may participate on behalf of or in partnership with USTRANSCOM, including but not limited to agencies of United States Space Force, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC, U.S. Army), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Federal Laboratories, and other agencies of the Federal Government, as USTRANSCOM deems appropriate.

Supporting information, discussions, demonstrations, and other collaborative activities should remain at the UNCLASSIFIED level. If classified information exchange is proposed by the Collaborator, Collaborator personnel must be appropriately cleared at the outset of the CRADA, at no cost to the government, and possess a contractor Facility Clearance.

CRADAs are defined in 15 USC 3710a(d), in part, as “any agreement between one or more federal laboratories and one or more non-federal parties under which the Government, through its laboratories, provides personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property or other resources with or without reimbursement (but not funds to non-Federal parties) and the non-Federal parties provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property, or other resources toward the conduct of specified research or development efforts which are consistent with the missions of the laboratory; except that such term does not include a procurement contract…” More info on USTRANSCOM’s use of CRADAs is found at http://www.ustranscom.mil/dbw/orta.cfm.

CRADAs resulting from this announcement are forecast to be in effect for approximately 2 years, although duration can be tailored to suit the parties’ needs before or even after work begins, by mutual agreement.

USTRANSCOM and other designated Government agencies selected by USTRANSCOM will evaluate potential Collaborators’ white papers (submittal instructions follow). Based on response to the RFI’s requested response elements and Government interest and capacity to enter into such agreements, USTRANSCOM will choose one, multiple, or zero white papers as basis for additional discussion, and so notify the respondents.

Initial selection of white papers and subsequent discussions do not guarantee selection of any Collaborator by USTRANSCOM to actually enter into a CRADA.

After initial white paper selection, the government will conduct discussions separately with each selected Collaborator, seeking to reach mutual agreement on objectives, duration, intellectual property, and resources to be applied by the parties in the proposed CRADA-based experiments.

No funding is available from the government to cover white paper preparation or submittal costs, or to cover discussions, facility visits or any other Collaborator costs of preparation for or participation in a CRADA.

The USTRANSCOM template CRADA is available at the USTRANSCOM Technology Transfer webpage http://www.ustranscom.mil/dbw/orta.cfm so potential Collaborators may understand its terms. The Collaborator(s) and USTRANSCOM will draft and seek to finalize specific CRADA objectives and language collaboratively via discussions/mutual agreement after white paper selection.

Please use the following format:

• Microsoft Word or .pdf format of not more than 8 pages in length, on standard 8½ by 11-inch page, with 1-inch margins at top, bottom, left and right, in Times New Roman font of not less than 12-point size, with no more than 6 lines per inch.

• Pages numbered sequentially in the bottom footer including company name and identification of proprietary information as appropriate on each page.

• Clearly marked/identified proprietary information, photos, or diagrams. Proprietary information or trade secrets do not have to be disclosed in this response, if the general technique can be otherwise described.

Include the following elements (within the 8-page limit):

• Title (no separate title page needed).

• Company or organizational name and U.S. state of incorporation, and incorporation of any parent entity. Companies with foreign ownership or parentage must identify the U.S. state of incorporation of the U.S. entity.

• Brief description of approach to collaboration on your selection of topics A through G listed above; additional topics you recommend for collaborative study; brief description of what information or resources your company is willing to provide to the research USTRANSCOM for each topic.

• Resources to be supplied by the Collaborator during the CRADA (examples: access to information on proven technologies and techniques for demonstration and evaluation for utility; equipment and prototypes; access to facilities, personnel expertise, information systems, proprietary techniques, hardware, software, materials, etc.).

• Resources requested from USTRANSCOM (examples: personnel skillsets, data, access to selected environments, access to facilities including test/demo facilities, etc.; no DoD-provided funding is permitted).

• Identify all proprietary information with appropriate markings or citations.

• Include points of contact (name, point of contact, address, e-mail, and phone) for notification of selection/non-selection and follow-on discussions/visits (if chosen).

USTRANSCOM and other government entities participating in white paper review and actual collaborative work under CRADAs may include in-house support contractors. Non-disclosure agreements will be signed as required by the Parties to incorporate these participants. The USTRANSCOM Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) technical advisor (coordinator of USTRANSCOM Technology Transfer activities including CRADAs) is a member of LMI Consulting.

White papers not selected for further discussion will be archived by the government and appropriately protected.

Points of Contact: Mr. Mark Surina, LMI Consulting, alternate LCDR Adam Alleman, USTRANSCOM Office of Research and Technology Applications, USTRANSCOM TCJ5-XF (ORTA), 508 Scott Drive, Scott AFB IL 62225-5357, e-mail: transcom.scott.tcj5j4.mbx.orta@mail.mil.

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