EVOLVING LAUNCH VEHICLE INTEGRATED SUPPORT 4 (ELVIS 4)

05/02/2025 - Update

In preparation for communicating the ELVIS 4 requirements, a preliminary schedule is now available.

For planning purposes, the Contracting Officer anticipates:

Estimated Release of the Draft Performance Work Statement: May 2025

Estimated Release of the Draft Solicitation: August 2025

Estimated Release of the Solicitation: Late October 2025

Estimated Proposal Due Date: December 2025

Estimated Contract Award: July 30, 2026

Contract Start: October 1, 2026

This preliminary schedule is provided for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. As of this date, no solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized on https://sam.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for release of any solicitation or synopsis.

The Contracting Officer encourages interested firms to register on the Interested Vendors List available with this notice. Reference to the Interested Vendors List is neither an endorsement nor representative of a preference, by NASA, for any of the listed companies.

The Contracting Officer intends to update this notice to announce future industry engagement opportunities with the ELVIS 4 Requirements Development Team/Source Evaluation Board (e.g. one-on-one meetings, site visits, presolicitation or preproposal conferences).

03/04/2025 - Sources Sought

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for the acquisition of engineering and technical support services to enable NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) to provide end-to-end launch services for NASA and NASA sponsored missions under a contemplated Evolving Launch Vehicle Integrated Support 4 (ELVIS 4) contract. The ELVIS 4 contract will succeed the current KSC Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support 3 contract, with performance commencing no earlier than October 2026.

The primary work locations under this effort are at KSC, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), California. Work may also occur at alternate launch sites including, but are not limited to, Boca Chica, Texas; Kodiak Island, Alaska; and Wallops Island, Virginia. Work locations also include commercial launch providers’ locations or other locations as new commercial launch providers are identified.

NASA is seeking capabilities from all categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or Small Business and HBCU/MSI subcontracting goals for this requirement. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SDVOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received.

SECTION 2: ELVIS 4 REQUIREMENTS

The complete ELVIS 4 requirements under the performance work statement are to be defined. Requirements contemplated include but are not limited to the following, which are based on the best information available at the time of publication and is subject to revision:

1. NASA LSP Safety, Reliability and Quality Engineering and Resident Office Support. Provide payload and launch vehicle processing insight including production and manufacturing assessments through factory floor and hardware walkdowns. Perform launch vehicle production nonconformance data analysis and trending. Review and perform engineering assessments of launch vehicle acceptance testing and launch vehicle hardware operations. Perform engineering assessments of prime launch vehicle providers and their suppliers and assess launch vehicle fleet crossover concerns. Track and evaluate launch vehicle quality management systems and supplier audit findings. Perform system safety, safety requirement development, and mishap/contingency planning. Perform reliability engineering services to determine probability of mission success.
2. Launch Site Support Engineering. Develop and provide engineering, facility and payload processing requirements to the NASA Launch Site Integration Manager for all payload ground processing mission activities at the NASA-provided payload processing facilities, the Eastern and Western Ranges, and other launch sites. Examples of the facility and payload processing requirements include satellite fueling, contamination control measures, specialized magnetic and electromagnetic protection requirements, specialized facility and protection requirements when processing payloads containing nuclear material, and other payload operational needs.
3. Communications and Telemetry (C&T). Provide development, engineering, operations, sustainment, and maintenance of NASA LSP communications and telemetry systems to support launch and test operations in all phases from mission planning to spacecraft arrival through the end of launch campaign. C&T systems include, but are not limited to, real-time voice, video, data, timing, and network connectivity for all systems and include all associated hardware and software to operate and maintain optimal system operations. Development and engineering include hardware and software design and support for modern digital transformations such as Voice-Over-IP, Video-Over-IP, high resolution video (4K, 8K, etc.), Telemetry-Over-IP, high speed data transport (10GbE, 40GbE, and beyond), virtualization, and infrastructure to support new launch vehicle providers.
4. Information Technology (IT). Develop, maintain, operate, integrate, and secure highly available IT tools that provide for the management, preparation, publication, control, and dissemination of information and data required by the contract for mission lifecycle and program strategic goals. To secure highly available IT tools it is required to follow the IT Security guiding model of Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (CIA) triad using NIST 800-53 Rev 5 controls, which includes servers and workstations for mission analysis and development of software including, but not limited to, SharePoint development and administration, net framework with a SQL backend databases, and custom web applications.
5. Launch Vehicle Insight. Perform engineering and analyses for the NASA LSP. Review and evaluate commercial launch provider and spacecraft customer tasks and products to enable NASA LSP to provide approval of mission specific items and readiness for NASA missions. Examples of launch vehicle products include but are not limited to: trajectory designs, coupled loads analyses, integrated thermal analyses and electromagnetic interference/compatibility assessments. The scope also includes fleet insight, evaluating, providing technical assessment, and reviewing the launch provider vehicle systems design, analyses, manufacturing, verification, validation, assembly, integration, testing, checkout, anomaly resolution, and launch preparations for compliance with applicable requirements and processes.

SECTION 3: STRATEGY FEEDBACK

Provide feedback with supporting rationale for the items discussed below. The feedback may be used as research information to support the ELVIS 4 contract requirements or acquisition strategy development and is excluded from the page limitation identified in Section 3.

1. Contract type: Identify and describe the contract type or types considered appropriate for the ELVIS 4 contract that minimizes resources and administrative burden on both the contractor and Government, and possible contract incentives to motivate exceptional performance.
2. Period of Performance: Performance under the ELVIS 4 contract will commence no earlier than October 2026, with a potential contract length of approximately 5 to 10 years, although currently not approved beyond 5 years. To support NASA’s decision on the period of performance, provide a recommend period of performance for the ELVIS 4 contract, including the benefits or risks of a period of performance greater than 5 years. Identify the recommended base and option period(s) with rationale. What advantages and disadvantages (investments and impediments) does a greater than 5-year contract provide?
3. Small business utilization. Provide feedback related to possible small business subcontracting opportunities, given the possibility this action may be competed on an unrestricted basis. What challenges and opportunities should NASA consider to maximize opportunities for small business concerns? If applicable, this feedback would be used as research to support the analysis and development of subcontracting goals.

SECTION 4: INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT

The ELVIS 4 Requirements Development Team (RDT) intends to hold various industry engagement opportunities throughout the acquisition process. At this time, the ELVIS 4 Requirements Development Team (RDT) contemplates one-on-one meetings with industry following receipt of capability statements. The purpose of the one-on-one meetings is to provide respondents an opportunity to elaborate on any capabilities expressed in their respective capability statements and any recommendations or strategies provided in response to Section 4, Strategy Feedback, of the sources sought notice, to enhance the RDT’s understanding of industry capabilities and feedback. Meetings will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, the week of March 31, 2025, via conference call or Microsoft Teams. Meetings will not exceed 30 minutes in length. Respondents interested in meeting with the RDT are requested to provide in its capability statement the names, company affiliation, and titles of those who will attend (to include your respective contract manager(s) or contract administrator(s)). Note: All other interested parties may contact the contracting officer at the aforementioned address to schedule time to meet with the RDT to provide comments or feedback regarding strategy feedback or capabilities. Industry is further encouraged to revisit this notice for announcement of any additional engagement opportunities in the future.

SECTION 5: SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 10 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. Do not include proprietary or confidential information.

A page is defined as one side of a sheet, 8 1/2" x 11", with at least one-inch margins on all sides, using not smaller than 12-point type. Foldouts count as an equivalent number of 8 1/2" x 11" pages. Responses must be submitted electronically in portable document format (PDF), with searchable text. The capability statement must include:

• Company’s name, address, and a point of contact (name, title, and e-mail address)
• Unique entity identifier and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code
• Number of years in business and annual receipts corresponding to the period of measurement used (see 13 CFR 121.104(c))
• Company’s size under NAICS 541330, Engineering Services, with a $47.0 million size standard exception for military and aerospace equipment and military weapons
• Company’s socioeconomic status
• Ownership, affiliate information (as applicable) including parent company and joint venture partners.
• Interest as a prime or subcontractor
• Company’s specific capabilities that are relevant to the requirements contemplated above. It is not sufficient to provide brochures or generic information. Capability statements must include the company’s specific area(s) of interest, as well as reference to any contracts performed during the last five years that are applicable to those areas. For each contract, identify the contract number, agency or customer, period of performance, the company’s role (i.e., prime or subcontractor), and contract or subcontract value.

All responses must be submitted electronically via email to the Contracting Officer at ksc-elvis4@mail.nasa.gov no later than March 18, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Please reference the Notice ID, 80KSC026R0002 and “ELVIS 4” in the subject line of any response.

SECTION 6: OTHER

No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

This sources sought notice is for information and planning purposes only 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. 

The Government has enabled the interested vendor list feature for this notice, interested firms are encouraged to register. Provision of this list is neither an endorsement nor representative of a preference, by NASA, for any of the listed companies.

NASA FAR Supplement clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Procurement Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf