PERATON INC. at National Aeronautics and Space Administration

THE EXPLORATION AND SPACE COMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS DIVISION (ESC) IS A NATIONAL RESOURCE LOCATED AT GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (GSFC) WHICH ENABLES SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY AND SPACE EXPLORATION BY PROVIDING INNOVATIVE AND MISSION-EFFECTIVE SPACE COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION SOLUTIONS TO A LARGE COMMUNITY OF DIVERSE CUSTOMERS. ESC MANAGES OPERATIONAL GEOSTATIONARY COMMUNICATIONS RELAY SATELLITES AND GROUND SYSTEMS FOR THE SPACE COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION (SCAN) PROGRAM AT NASA HEADQUARTERS. TODAY, SCAN NETWORK SYSTEMS CONSIST OF THE SPACE NETWORK (SN), THE NEAR EARTH NETWORK (NEN), AND THE DEEP SPACE NETWORK (DSN). THE DAY-TO-DAY MANAGEMENT OF THESE THREE NETWORKS IS CURRENTLY NOT FULLY CONSISTENT. IT IS THE INTENTION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO UNIFY THE SN AND NEN WHERE PRACTICABLE UNDER THIS CONTRACT USING INTEGRATED, COMMON MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND NETWORK SOLUTIONS.

NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER'S (GSFC) GOAL FOR THE SPACE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS SERVICES CONTRACT (SCNS) IS TO ENABLE MISSION SUCCESS FOR EVERY CUSTOMER USING SCNS SERVICES. KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE SCNS CONTRACT ARE TO DECREASE COST AND MAINTAIN OR IMPROVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY, WHILE MAINTAINING AN ACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF RISK AND PROVIDING FOR SAFE OPERATION OF THE MISSIONS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL IMPLEMENT A SAFETY, HEALTH, AND MISSION ASSURANCE PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT, MINIMIZES PROGRAM RISK, AND MAXIMIZES NASA MISSION SUCCESS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR ACHIEVING THE REQUIRED RESULTS. CORE REQUIREMENT FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT, QUALITY ASSURANCE, ETC. ARE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT IDIQ TASK ORDERS. THE SPACE NETWORK (SN) IS COMPRISED OF A FLEET OF ON-ORBIT TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITES (TDRS) AND ASSOCIATED GROUND SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. THE NATURE OF THE SN ARCHITECTURE, I.E., EXTREMELY LARGE CAPITAL INVESTMENT, CONTRACTOR OPERATED FACILITIES, CONTINUOUS 24X7 REQUIREMENTS, ETC., LENDS ITSELF TO A CORE REQUIREMENTS APPROACH. THE GROUND NETWORK (GN) CONSISTS OF AN ORBITAL TRACKING NETWORK AND THE SATELLITE LASER RANGING NETWORK. THE NATURE OF THE GROUND NETWORK ARCHITECTURE, I.E., DIVERSE MIX OF COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ASSETS, EVOLVING GEOGRAPHIC AND TECHNICAL CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS, AND LEGACY SYSTEMS, ETC. LENDS ITSELF TO AN IDIQ APPROACH. OTHER ACTIVITIES, I.E., VERY LONG BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY NETWORK OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE (O&M), ELECTRONIC SYSTEM TEST LABORATORY, REQUIREMENTS DEVELOPMENT, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, ETC. ARE BEST SUITED TO AN IDIQ APPROACH IN THE RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENT THAT NASA OPERATES IN.