NASA Seeks Industry Partner to Utilize Spaceflight NDT and NDE Facility

http://go.nasa.gov/PHlez9

NASA's Kennedy Space Center seeks to preserve a unique inventory of
Nondestructive Test and Evaluation (NDE) equipment and the capability for
current and future mission spaceflight support through a Request for
Information, or RFI.

Kennedy wants to identify potential industry interest in the operation and
maintenance of the Hangar N facility and its NDE equipment. Because of NASA's
transition from the Space Shuttle Program to future commercial and
government mission activities, the equipment is underutilized. Hanger N and its
associated labs are located near Kennedy on the grounds of the Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station.

The center may enter into an agreement in which a partner would operate and
maintain Hangar N and its equipment at the partner's expense. In the RFI,
Kennedy seeks concepts for how customers would use and maintain the facility
and equipment in order to make an agreement feasible.

Hangar N provides the inspection techniques necessary for spaceflight
hardware, avionics and ground support equipment processing, troubleshooting,
and failure analysis. Some of the equipment is attached to the Hangar N facility
and cannot easily be relocated. As a result, Kennedy seeks to implement a real
property agreement for Hangar N with a potential partner.

In cases where Kennedy facilities like Hangar N are now underutilized, NASA has
the option of establishing partnerships with external organizations to make
beneficial use of such facilities. Such arrangements must benefit the U.S.
government and NASA.