Announcements of Opportunity

SMALL PAYLOADS in the fields of Space Environment, Atmospheric Environment and Space Astronomy

January 5, 2001

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Scope
4. Funds
5. Budget Guidelines
6. General Terms and Conditions, DSS-MAS 9624
   (contract regulations)
7. Letter of Intent
8. Proposals
   Part One – the Research Aspects of Proposal
   Part Two – the Technical Aspects of Proposal
9. Evaluation
   Letter of Intent (LOI) – screening only
   Part One – science peer evaluation
   Part Two – evaluation for programmatic merit and
   technical feasibility
10. Conditions of Support and Mandatory Requirements
11. Proposal Selection
12. Announcement of Successfull Projects
13. Distribution of AO
14. Proposal Delivery Location and Deadline

1. Introduction

As part of its long-term strategy, and after consultation with the respective communities, the Space Science Program of the Canadian Space Agency is pleased to release this Announcement of Opportunity (AO), the second in the Small Payloads Program, and invites proposals requesting support in the fields of Space Environment, Atmospheric Environment and Space Astronomy. Note that proposals focussing on Space Exploration will not be supported under this particular AO.

Specifically, "Small Payloads" refer to experiments that can be flown rapidly and relatively inexpensively on "small" vehicles, such as high-altitude balloons, sounding rockets, and microsatellites. Small, autonomous experiments that can be flown as secondary payloads on other, usually larger, vehicles, such as high-altitude research aircraft, the space shuttle, space stations, free-flyers, etc., will also be considered if the vehicle has been fully approved and a realistic opportunity to fly the payload can be demonstrated. It is expected that the "end-to-end" duration of the project, including final data analysis, will not exceed five years for satellite missions and will normally be shorter for other missions. The guiding principles for this AO are that there has to be significant control over the mission by the CSA, that the costs can be constrained, and that the time from approval to analysis of results is commensurate with a graduate degree or post-doctoral fellowship program.

2. Objective

A primary function of the Space Science Program of the CSA is to support the development of and provide launch opportunities for space-based scientific instruments proposed by Canadian researchers working in conjunction with Canadian industry. The experiments should contribute to significant advancement of knowledge and accrue benefits to Canada and Canadians. Normally, such instruments are of interest to and are developed by a number of Canadian scientists, engineers, technologists and students working as a team. In all instances, the data obtained from a small payloads mission should result in significant new scientific results and understanding.

3. Scope

Implicit in the above is the recognition that proposals must fall clearly within the mandate of the CSA. Only projects in the fields of Space Environment, Atmospheric Environment and Space Astronomy will be accepted. It should be noted that the Space Exploration element of the Space Science Program is developing its own set of Announcements of Opportunity tailored to the needs of this community.

For the fields of Space Environment and Atmospheric Environment, the studies should generally fall within the main scientific thrusts as discussed at community workshops and in reports covering these discipline areas. Details can be found on the Canadian Space Agency Website. For the field of Space Astronomy, the studies should generally fall within the scientific thrusts described in the Long Range Planning Panel report, "The Origins of Structure in the Universe". Details can be found on the Canadian Astronomical Society Website.

Proposals that fall within the mandate of other government departments or under the directive of CSA programs other than the Space Science Program will not be considered. Examples of mission proposals excluded from this AO are:

• the development of a payload by an individual researcher,
• a technology demonstration experiment or system,
• ground-based research,
• theoretical studies,
• modelling,
• support for infrastructure,
• research into the lower atmosphere utilizing vehicles such as aircraft or small balloons,
• the development of instrumentation for no specific mission, for a collaborative mission that does not have full approval by the partner, or for utilisation of a vehicle that has significant problems of access.

4. Funds

A goal of the program is to enhance Canadian industry, therefore, the bulk of the funds requested must be spent in Canada. Small contracts for a unique service, not available in Canada, may be directed offshore, however, most international contributions must be on "no exchange of funds" basis. This latter rule will apply unequivocally for the provision of scientific instrumentation or for a service that can be provided by a Canadian supplier.

Elements of a program eligible for CSA funding include: instrument and system development and build, characterisation, integration, testing, launch, operations, recovery (if applicable).

Elements of a program where CSA joint funding is possible include theoretical and modelling studies, data validation, data analysis and the publishing of results.

Elements of a program where CSA funding is not usually applicable include: support for general graduate student studies (by virtue of the contracting arrangement).

The CSA and NSERC intend to use this AO as the first step in a joint funding process. This new process will provide support to research elements of major CSA projects that are jointly selected by the CSA and NSERC. Projects submitted under this AO will therefore also be reviewed by NSERC, with appropriate funding to be provided via the relevant NSERC program.

5. Budget Guidelines

By virtue of current budgetary projections for the various disciplines managed by the Space Science Program, the following classes of vehicles are expected to be available for this particular AO:

Space Environment: all vehicles up to and including large microsatellites (100-kg class);

Atmospheric Environment: all vehicles up to and including small microsatellites (50-kg class);

Space Astronomy: high-altitude balloons and research aircraft only.

As a guideline, the CSA support for a mission is expected not to exceed the following total amounts:

• high-altitude balloon flights - Can$500,000;
• sounding rockets - Can$3,000,000;
• small microsatellites - Can$5,000,000 (50 kg class, excluding launching costs).

Proposals that request less than these amounts, through cost sharing, contributions from international or other partners, or other arrangements, will be viewed positively in the selection process.

In the case of small autonomous payloads, the numbers provided above should also be used as guidelines for the maximum amount applicable to the various disciplines based on the available classes of vehicles (e.g., Can$5,000,000 for atmospheric environment, etc.).

In special cases, proposals requesting more than the guideline maximum amounts may be considered. Relaxation of the cost guideline usually occurs after the Space Science Program is satisfied that the majority of active researchers in a particular discipline area support such a project, and that there is an identified budget available within that specific discipline element to support such an activity.

6. General Terms and Conditions, DSS-MAS 9624

General Conditions DSS-MAS 9624 Research and Development (most current version at date of AO) shall apply to and form part of any resultant Contract. Section 7, Subcontracts, is hereby supplemented by adding the following sentence to subsection (1): For work requiring consent, should the Contractor propose to solicit bids from other than Canadian sources, the Contractor shall obtain the written consent of the Minister prior to solicitation. For more details please refer to the following web site: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/sacc.

7. Letter of Intent

Applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent to apply (LOI). This will be used by NSERC to determine the most appropriate mechanism (NSERC program) for funding the NSERC-related aspects of the project. NSERC will advise applicants as to the relevant application format to be used for Part One of the application under this AO.

The Letter of Intent should be no longer than two pages, and must provide the following information:

• the title of the proposal;
• the names and institutions of the Principal Investigator and other team members (including postal and electronic mail address, and telephone and facsimile number of the PI);
• a brief description of the scientific investigation, the instrument(s) to be flown, and the vehicle/orbit of choice; and
• an indication of the approximate cost, both for the NSERC-related aspects and the project as a whole.

8. Proposals

Proposals must be structured in two parts. The first part, Part One, should detail the scientific (research) justification for the project while the second part, Part Two, should elucidate the engineering, launch, budget, schedule, socio-economic and ancillary issues.

All proposals should include at least one private sector partner and the division of responsibility for the project should be clearly defined. This requirement may be relaxed in special cases, but then only if well justified.

Part One - the Research Aspects of Proposal

In general Part One will be 20 pages (exclusive of NSERC requirements) or less and will include:

• a concise abstract describing the objective of the proposed project and the method of approach;

• details of the science to be accomplished by the mission, including a set of top-level science requirements, stating accuracy and precision, against which the final results of the experiment may be judged. This section should provide a detailed statement of the measurement to be undertaken, including the objectives and expected significance, relation to the present state of knowledge in the field, and relation to previous work done on the project and to any related work in progress elsewhere. This section should also include a description and broad design concept of all experimental instruments, apparatuses and devices to be constructed, purchased or supplied, and a description of experimental methods and expected performances and results (60%);

• details of the science team proposing the project, including responsibility, level of effort, and source of support for each team member; the size of team to be commensurate with the size and cost of the project (20%);

• a current (i.e., 2000/2001) standard NSERC, or equivalent, personal data form (NSERC Form 100) for each of the key academic team members and equivalent CVs for other team members. The postal address, telephone number, fax number and electronic mail address of each team member must also be provided (this is not included in the limit of 20 pages);

• the context of the science within the overall Canadian and international programs (10%);

• an estimate of the budget for scientific (research) aspects of the project, in which funds requested for the NSERC-related aspects of the proposal are clearly separated;

• a plan to analyse the data from the mission and publish the results;

• any relevant data assimilation, theoretical or modelling studies that are required to support the mission (including expected sources of funding for this element);

• any ground-based or other measurements necessary or desirable to support the mission (including expected sources of funding for this element);

• a description of the contribution to be made to the training of highly-qualified personnel by means of this project (10%);

NSERC will advise applicants which format to use when preparing Part One of the application for portions associated with the NSERC type of funding. Applicants must consult NSERC’s "application for NSERC Grants" documents during its preparation.

The percentage values in parentheses in Part One of the Proposal Section are the respective weights that will be used to evaluate this part of the proposal. Although no weighting is given to several of the bullets in this section, all of them must be addressed or the proposal will be rejected.

Part Two – the Technical Aspects of Proposal

The second part of the proposal should be 25 pages or less and include information so that the overall feasibility and budget of the proposed mission can be determined.

Three classes of proposals have been identified, as follows, each of which will require a slightly different response to this section. Each proposal should identify to which of the three classes, a), b), or c), it is being submitted:

a) Free-flying satellites (will normally require a Phase-A study before being considered for a mission)

As noted below, the procurement of any free-flying satellite bus will be conducted through a separate competitive process. Thus, such proposals should only indicate a ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude) description and cost for this (bus) element.

The following information must be provided in sufficient detail that the overall feasibility and budget of the proposed mission can be determined:

• mission concept definition including a preliminary identification of the orbital parameters and range of suitable orbits;
• a description of the instrument or instruments to be flown, including the proposed development of these instruments, if required (use diagrams where necessary). Identification of the most challenging parts of the instrument development must be included;
• a top level description of the bus with identification of the most challenging technologies;
• a first-order schedule, including milestones, for the mission;
• a budget for the complete program to a ROM level including the bus and including contributions from all sources with appended letters. This budget must include contingency. See Section 10.

b) Other missions requiring further definition (i.e., leading to a Phase-A study)

For non-orbital missions; e.g., balloons, sounding rockets; that are complex and require further study before a full mission contract can be considered, the following elements should be included in this section in sufficient detail that the overall feasibility and budget of the proposed mission can be determined:

• mission concept definition;
• a description of the instrument or instruments to be flown, including the proposed development of these instruments, if required (use diagrams where necessary);
• a general definition of all other systems required, including identification of any development of these systems;
• a general description of available facilities to accomplish the mission and any additional major facilities that will be required;
• a preliminary identification of the preferred launch vehicle including the launch location, and flight trajectory, where applicable;
• a first-order schedule, including milestones, for the mission;
• a budget for the complete program (including all elements to a ROM level), including contributions from all sources with appended letters. This budget must include contingency. See Section 10.

c) Simple and/or mature missions (i.e., those eligible for full approval)

For non-orbital missions; e.g., balloons, sounding rockets; that are simple and/or mature and thus could be considered to not require further study before a full mission contract be provided, the following elements should be included in this section in sufficient detail so that a contract leading to support of the full mission could be negotiated:

• mission concept definition;
• a detailed description of the instrument or instruments to be flown, including the proposed development of these instruments, if required (use diagrams where necessary);
• a detailed definition of all other systems required, including identification of any development of these systems;
• a detailed description of available facilities to accomplish the mission and any additional major facilities that will be required;
• a detailed description of calibration/verification/characterisation/testing/etc. of the instruments and payload systems in preparation for the mission;
• identification of the preferred launch vehicle including the launch location and orbital parameters and range of suitable orbits, where applicable;
• all operational aspects such as launch support for the team, data acquisition, etc.;
• a work breakdown structure to level 2; i.e., at least to a subsystem level; including a detailed schedule, including milestones, for the mission;
• a detailed budget for the complete program (including all elements), including contributions from all sources with appended letters. This budget must include contingency (See Section 10);
• a risk analysis, in the following three categories, technical, schedule and cost risks, ranked in priority, along with suggested mitigation methods;
• a detailed management plan;

The details provided in Part Two of the proposal will be used both to produce an internal assessment of the feasibility and likelihood of success, and to provide a benchmark against which the project, if selected, will be assessed in future phases. Note that even though a proposal is submitted under class c), the CSA may require that a Phase-A study be undertaken before it may or will be considered for a mission.

9. Evaluation

The evaluation of applications will include the following steps:

Letter of Intent (LOI) – screening only

A CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will screen all Letters of Intent (LOI). NSERC will establish the eligibility of each application for NSERC support, and which program is most suitable for funding the NSERC related aspect of any submitted proposal. NSERC will advise applicants as to the relevant application format to be used for Part One, in addition to the requirements included in this document.

Part One – science peer evaluation

All applications will be evaluated first for scientific merit using the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Process for Funding Space Science Projects (see steps as listed below). The Terms of Reference for the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Process for Funding Space Projects (Version 1) is available at the Canadian Space Agency and NSERC web sites. If the science is found to be of a sufficiently high quality, proposals will move to a second level of evaluation; i.e. a technical review internal to the CSA.

The following are the steps for the science peer evaluation:

• The CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will screen each proposal for conformity to the terms of this AO, including completeness, technical feasibility and a very rough first order assessment of cost. Any proposal that is deemed non-conformant will be rejected;
• The CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will establish a Scientific Review Committee for this AO;
• The CSA-NSERC Scientific Review Committee will conduct a scientific review of proposals as outlined in the documents available at the CSA and NSERC web sites (CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Process for Funding Space Science Projects; Joint Selection Committee – Terms of Reference; Mandate, and Membership; CSA-NSERC Ad-Hoc Scientific Review Committee – Terms of Reference, Mandate, and Membership);
• The CSA-NSERC Scientific Review Committee will produce a prioritized list of proposals, ranked on the basis of scientific merit, for consideration by the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee;
• The CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will determine which proposals are of sufficient merit to warrant further evaluation for technical feasibility and cost.

Part Two – evaluation for technical feasibility and cost

Evaluation of Part Two of all proposals will be conducted internally by the CSA. Part Two of class a) and class b) proposals will be evaluated for Technical Feasibility (50% of Part Two Evaluation) and Cost (50% of Part Two Evaluation). Part Two of class c) proposals will be evaluated in a more detailed manner according to the criteria as follows:

Results of the evaluation of Part Two of all proposals will be provided to the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee, which will then proceed in the following manner:

• The CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will prepare a final ranking of the proposals per each scientific discipline, based on:

  1. 1. Results of Part One – scientific merit (50%)
  2. 2. Results of Part Two - technical feasibility, cost, etc. (50%)
• From the ranking discipline lists, the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will produce a set of recommended projects for support.
• The list of recommended projects will be sent for approval to the Director General, Research Grants and Scholarships, NSERC, (or the Director General, Research Partnerships, if a Partnerships program has been identified as the source of NSERC funds), and the Director General for the Space Science Program at the CSA. Actual sources of funds will be left to the discretion of the CSA and NSERC.
• After completion of their respective approval process, CSA and NSERC will produce jointly a final list of approved projects for announcement.

Note that projects, which pass successfully through both evaluations, may be funded solely by the CSA. The above decisions, when approved by the CSA and NSERC, constitute the list of approved projects with secured funding for Phase A (class a) and b)), or full mission (class c)), and including direct science components funded by the CSA and NSERC.

Both agencies will perform monitoring and evaluation of the progress of all approved projects according to their own standards and procedures.

10. Conditions of Support and Mandatory Requirements

All proposals must be complete in the manner described in the Proposal section. All aspects of the mission, from the development of the scientific instrumentation to the analysis and publication of the results, must be included in the budget estimates for Parts One and Two. As noted above, for proposals utilizing a microsatellite platform, the procurement of the microsatellite bus will be conducted through a separate competitive process. Thus, such proposals should only indicate a ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude) description and cost for this element. For all other platforms and vehicles, costing of this element must be included to the level required in the appropriate section of Part Two.

At the initial proposal phase and based on experience, the contingency figure provided in Part Two must be at least 30% of the Part Two budget estimate. The contingency margin will be expected to decrease as confidence in the project costs increases (i.e., 25% at the end of Phase A, 20% at the Preliminary Design Review (end of the Phase B), 15% at the Critical Design Review). Note that proposals, which do not identify the required contingency will have that contingency added to their costs. At the end of the mission, the team will be required to deliver the project within the original proposed budget (including contingency). The contingency may be reduced for simple projects or for a project that has significant flight history and where costs can be estimated with confidence. In all cases, details must be provided in the proposal in order to justify the stated contingency position.

It is important that each proposal includes a partnership between academic, industrial and/or other partners (e.g., other government departments, centres of excellence, etc.), and that the particulars of these partnerships and partitions of responsibility between partners be outlined in detail. Letters of support are required from the partners agreeing to the proposal as submitted, including financial contributions, where applicable. These letters must be appended to Part Two of the proposal. The higher the level of commitment from the partner(s), the more positively the proposal will be viewed. Proposals with partnerships but without letters of endorsement from the partners will be rejected.

11. Proposal Selection

Each proposal will be reviewed by the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee to ensure that it meets the requirements detailed in this Announcement of Opportunity. All points specifically indicated in Parts One and Two of the Proposal section and in the Mandatory Requirements section of this AO must be addressed. Proposals that meet these requirements will be externally peer reviewed via the joint CSA-NSERC process for research merit, as detailed in the description of Part One and in the Evaluation section of this AO. The CSA-NSERC Scientific Review Committee for this AO will be established by the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee. This committee, comprised of external and internal members selected by the CSA and NSERC, will produce a ranking list of all proposals based on the scientific evaluation as described in the Evaluation section. Proposals which successfully pass the scientific review will be reviewed by the CSA with respect to the technical feasibility and cost, as detailed in the description of Part Two and in the Evaluation section of this AO. After all required evaluation steps are complete, the CSA-NSERC Joint Selection Committee will produce a list of recommended proposals for approval. Please note that proposals being considered for NSERC support will also be reviewed by the appropriate NSERC program. Applicants should note that an NSERC-specific application will NOT be required; the application as outlined in Part One will suffice for the NSERC review.

Each mission selected will be supported by a series of contracts issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of the CSA. Overheads should be budgeted at the normal rate negotiated between PWGSC and the organisations in question. The overall CSA financial award for the mission must be respected. A project will be reviewed when budget, schedule and/or scientific issues arise, and will be terminated if a satisfactory solution, which will ensure the success of the mission, cannot be realised by the team including all partners.

Support from NSERC will be in the form of an NSERC grant or grants. NSERC's normal regulations regarding permissible expenditures and accounting will apply.

Most proposals selected in this competition will be supported for an initial Phase A study. This will permit the partners to fully specify all elements of the mission to a sufficient level that confidence can be placed on the schedule, management, and cost and risk issues as outlined in the initial proposal. Small changes to the originally proposed project plan may be accommodated at this stage, insofar as the original scientific requirements, costs and schedules that were originally provided and used as part of the basis for selection are not compromised. Phase A studies will normally be funded at approximately $100K and last for approximately six months. Final decisions on those proposals supported for flight will be made as soon as possible after the Phase A reviews. Only after the review has proven to be satisfactory will a contract for the mission be awarded. As noted above, small, simple, and/or mature missions relating to a well-developed concept may be selected without this initial study if sufficient details are provided in Part Two of the proposal under category c).

It is possible that more projects will be selected for a Phase A study than the budget for each discipline element can accommodate. In these cases, a further selection will be made after all Phase A studies have been concluded. This selection will be based on scientific merit (as provided by the initial proposal review and additional reviews as deemed desirable by the CSA), together with technical, cost, schedule, management and other elements as outlined in Part Two of the Proposal and further refined in the Phase A study. Equal weight will be given to the scientific merit and to the other programmatic elements in assessing the relative strengths of the competing Phase A studies. The selection process for the Phase A studies will be developed by the CSA soon after the release of this AO and will be provided to the teams at the start of Phase A work.

12. Announcement of Successful Projects

Announcements will be made jointly by the CSA and NSERC, and indicating the level of funding to be provided by each agency. The CSA will announce winning projects for both the Phase A option as well as projects going to direct flight option (i.e., Phase B). CSA may also announce winning projects without an NSERC contribution. It is the intention to announce all successful projects by June 29, 2001. The contract awards will start shortly thereafter.

Any contract resulting from this AO will contain a clause pertaining to communications/public affairs defining contractor responsibilities and authorities. The CSA retains the right to make primary contract announcements. Any subsequent contract-related announcements will be undertaken in cooperation with and subject to the approval of the CSA.

13. Distribution of AO

This Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is being released to the respective communities only in an electronic form via the Canadian Space Agency web site. It would thus be appreciated if it could be widely distributed by all recipients to colleagues and other potentially interested parties. Paper (hard) copies of all documents are available, on request, from Ms. Susan Benjamin, telephone: (613) 990 0788, e-mail: susan.benjamin@space.gc.ca .

14. Proposal Delivery Location and Deadline

A Letter Of Intent (LOI) to submit a full proposal must be received by the CSA by close of business on January 22, 2001.

To assist the CSA and its reviewers, the full proposal (Part One and Part Two) must be submitted with:

• five copies, with the original unbound;
• a standard font with a minimum size of 11-points; "narrow" fonts are unacceptable;
• a checklist, indicating that all required items, as outlined above, have been provided;
• a table of contents; and
• sequential page numbering.

The proposers may give special instructions concerning reproduction. For example, if colour is essential to some pages, these should be clearly indicated so that the CSA and NSERC can ensure that reviewers receive the best possible information.

In addition, proposals must clearly identify any proprietary information which should not be released other than to the internal and external reviewers. The CSA and NSERC reserve the right to widely circulate the title, abstract and science team membership of any proposal.

Letters of Intent and full proposals must be sent to:

Dr. David J.W. Kendall
Space Science Program
Canadian Space Agency

Postal Address: 
P.O. Box 7275, Vanier Postal Stn.
Ottawa, Ontario K1L 8E3

Courier Address:
100 Sussex Drive
Room 1023
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6
Telephone: (613) 990-0790

The five copies of each full proposal must be submitted to arrive at the address below by 16:00 EST on Friday, March 23, 2001. Late proposals will not be considered. Proposals sent by facsimile or by electronic means will be accepted. In these cases, only one copy of the proposal should be submitted and copies will be made by the CSA. Note that in this latter case the quality and format of the proposal will be as received; no efforts will be made to insert colour figures, reformat the proposal, etc. The relevant fax numbers are (613) 952-0970 (primary) or (613) 941-4294. The Internet address to which proposals may be submitted is: susan.benjamin@space.gc.ca . Personal data forms and supporting letters may be sent separately to arrive within one week of the deadline.

Questions regarding this AO may be sent to one of the following:

Scientific issues associated with proposals in:

Space Astronomy:
Dr. David J. W. Kendall;
Telephone: (613) 990-0790;
E-mail: dave.kendall@space.gc.ca.

Space Environment:
Dr. William Liu;
Telephone: (613) 946-5884
E-mail: william.liu@space.gc.ca.

Atmospheric Environment:
Dr. Réjean Michaud
Telephone: (613) 990-0800
E-mail: rejean.michaud@space.gc.ca.

Technical issues:

Dr. Alexander M. Jablonski;
Telephone: (613) 990-6218;
E-mail: alex.jablonski@space.gc.ca.

NSERC-related issues:

S. Catherine Wilson, M. Eng.;
Telephone: (613) 995-7752
E-mail: kate.wilson@nserc.ca.