DARPA NOM4D Proposers Day
 

Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-21-10
DARPA Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials,
and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D)
February 26, 2021

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day webcast to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program. The Proposers Day will be held via webcast on February 26, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Advance registration is required for viewing the webcast. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The goals of the NOM4D Proposers Day are to (1) introduce the research community (Proposers, Academia, and Government) to the NOM4D program vision and goals, (2) explain the mechanics of a DARPA program and the milestones of this particular effort and (3) encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the NOM4D program goals.

DARPA anticipates releasing the NOM4D BAA in February 2021. If released, the BAA will be available on https://beta.sam.gov/. Following the event, DARPA may post the presented materials as well as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.

To maximize the pool of innovative proposal concepts, DARPA strongly encourages participation by non‐traditional proposers (including small businesses, academic and research institutions, and first‐time government contractors) in events such as this and any subsequent solicitations.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION

NOM4D aims to develop new materials, manufacturing, and design technologies to enable future structures to be built on-orbit or on the lunar surface. For purposed of NOM4D, future structures are defined as large, extended, and/or high precision mechanical structures, typified by three exemplar applications: large solar arrays, large radio frequency reflector antennas, and segmented infrared reflective optics. Future manufacturing in space will enable substantial improvements in structural efficiency, size, resiliency, and survivability for future space-based platforms. The NOM4D program is focused on demonstrating the foundational material science, manufacturing, and design capability that will enable a wide range of future on-orbit and lunar applications. Metrics for the program are derived from important DoD applications, including large solar power arrays, radio frequency antennas, and scalable longwave infrared optical systems. Topics such as autonomous robotic assembly, on-orbit servicing, enhancements to future launch capabilities, disaggregated platform concepts, and high precision metrology, while clearly of relevance to future improved space capability, are explicitly outside of the scope of the NOM4D program.

TEAMING

DARPA highly encourages teaming before proposal submission and will facilitate the formation of teams with the necessary expertise. Potential proposers may choose to participate in either, none or both of the following options:

1. Proposers' Day Attendee List (publicly available): participant contact information (name, organization, email address) will be included on a NOM4D Proposers Day Attendee List published on the DSO Opportunities website. The registration website will ask registrants to indicate whether they approve publication of their contact information.

2. Proposer Profile List (limited distribution): interested parties may submit a one-page profile consisting of the following information:

  • Contact information to include name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address, organizations website (if applicabale).
  • A brief description of the proposer's technical competencies.
  • Desired expertise from other teams, if applicable.

3. All profiles must be emailed to NOM4D@darpa.mil no later than 4:00 PM on March 3, 2021. Following the deadline, the consolidated teaming profiles will be sent via email to the proposers who submitted a valid profile. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the DoD endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming profile document, nor does DARPA or the DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The NOM4D Proposers Day will be webcast on February 26, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time. There is no registration fee for the Proposers Day webcast.

Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement.
Registration website: http://events.sa-meetings.com/NOM4DProposersDay
Registration closes: February 19, 2021 at 5:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Advance registration via the above website is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast either alone or as part of a group.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations (500 individuals) may be added to a waitlist. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has occurred may request to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first served basis from the waitlist.

ELIGIBILITY

DARPA hosts Proposers Days to (1) promote teaming arrangements between researchers, (2) provide potential proposers with information on whether and how they might respond to the government’s research and development solicitations, and (3) increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, Proposers Days are only open to registered potential proposers, i.e., the events are closed to the general public and media. For this particular program, Proposers Day registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and foreign nationals.

All registrants for the webcast meeting who are not U.S. Citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60 (U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request – e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (foreign government personnel, only) through the Embassy based in Washington, DC, no later than 5:00 PM on February 19, 2021. To submit your Form 60 please click here or follow the link in the registration confirmation email. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

Q & A

Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about the NOM4D Program should be emailed to NOM4D@darpa.mil. All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact. Following the Proposers Day, DARPA will post an FAQ list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Viewing the NOM4D Proposers Day webcast is voluntary and is not required to propose to the anticipated NOM4D BAA. Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. The Proposers Day does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information (RFI). Since this is not an RFI, no submissions against this notice will be accepted by the Government. No classified, ITAR controlled, or proprietary information shall be included in submitted materials or shall be presented or discussed at the Proposers Day. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Proposers Day. Recording the Proposers Day webcast is not permitted.