Opportunity Information: Apply for NNH12NG001O
Apply for NNH12NG001O
- The NASA Headquarters in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NASA ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DELIVERY OF NASA CONTENT TO THE PUBLIC" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.009 Cross Agency Support.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 13, 2012 and posted on Jul 13, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Responses to this announcement are due by 5 p.m. EST on August 3, 2012.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
- Unrestricted
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Opportunity Summary:
NASA is looking for domestic (U.S.-based) partners to help distribute NASA online video and web content to the public, especially during high-demand events like launches and major missions. The core issue NASA is trying to solve is scale: in prior years, NASA partnered with outside companies and successfully delivered extremely large volumes of traffic, including more than 50 million NASA TV streams and peak moments reaching roughly 560,000 concurrent viewers. Those earlier partnerships ended, and NASA explains that without new delivery partners it may have forced limits on how many people can watch live coverage, how long coverage can run, or it may have to drop streaming for certain peak events altogether. This announcement is essentially NASA asking the private sector and other eligible U.S. organizations to bring bandwidth, streaming capacity, and content delivery infrastructure to the table so NASA content can remain widely available across multiple platforms and venues.
This is not a traditional grant or contract with funding. NASA plans to use Space Act Agreements (under its Space Act authority) to formalize partnerships, and every agreement is explicitly described as “no exchange of funds.†That means selected partners are expected to provide “in-kind†capabilities (like CDN capacity, streaming services, encoding, platform distribution, metrics, and operational support) at their own expense, and NASA will likewise bring its content and coordination support. NASA and its Enterprise Web Services contractor would handle integration of the selected partner solution(s), with assistance from the partner. NASA also makes clear it can choose all, some, or none of the respondents, and selection only leads into negotiation for a mutually acceptable agreement, not an automatic award.
In terms of what NASA wants partners to do, the agency is open to a range of technical and distribution approaches. A partner could propose support across three broad areas: live streaming, on-demand streaming, and general web content delivery (for example, mirroring or accelerating content from NASA.gov). NASA also invites narrower or more creative proposals, such as delivering live video to handheld/mobile devices, offering high-definition streams, or enabling synchronized engagement features like live chats alongside video. NASA is especially focused on handling “peak†loads. It cites historic streaming peaks exceeding 440 gigabits per second and over 1.5 petabytes of streaming content delivered during a two-week period, along with web content delivery peaks above 12 gigabits per second. Proposals are expected to address both steady baseline traffic and sudden, massive spikes during headline events.
NASA places strict limits on commercialization and branding. The partner must benefit in some way (because Space Act Agreements require a benefit to the partner), but NASA will not accept any approach that embeds or places commercial advertisements within NASA content, whether those ads are for the respondent or third parties. NASA also will not allow respondents to license the NASA logo or other NASA visual identifiers. NASA says it will not display company logos on NASA online properties solely for promotion, but it may consider using partner identifiers as buttons or links from NASA online properties, implying a restrained attribution model rather than advertising. Respondents also need to explain how they will prevent misuse of NASA’s name and logo, and NASA will evaluate whether the partner’s values and desired benefits are compatible with NASA’s public mission and federal policies.
Eligibility is broad but domestic: all categories of non-NASA U.S. institutions may respond, and foreign entities are not accepted. NASA indicates an evaluation panel may include NASA civil servants and NASA contractors, with conflict-of-interest screening and nondisclosure protections for proprietary information when contractors are involved. NASA also notes it may suggest collaboration between respondents when it believes teaming would improve the overall effort, giving respondents a chance to coordinate before NASA selects partners for agreement discussions.
NASA’s evaluation criteria are weighted equally across four areas. First is the overall quality and appropriateness of the proposed effort, including how relevant it is to NASA’s mission and how well it supports a positive public image of NASA both in presentation and technology. Second is the respondent’s demonstrated commitment and past experience with web video streaming, including how much dedicated streaming bandwidth (in gigabits per second) the respondent will commit for baseline and peak loads, how interoperable the solution is with NASA’s existing infrastructure and NASA.gov, and whether the approach expands distribution in creative ways. NASA also calls out accessibility: solutions should accommodate disabled users and meet Section 508 requirements. Third is the respondent’s commitment and past experience with web content delivery (again focusing on bandwidth, peak handling, infrastructure resilience, interoperability, and Section 508 accessibility). Fourth is the benefit to the partner, meaning the respondent must clearly describe the return they seek from participation while staying within NASA’s restrictions on ads and logo licensing, and while maintaining compatibility with NASA’s values and legal constraints.
The submission process is straightforward and email-only. Responses had to be submitted electronically by 5 p.m. EST on August 3, 2012, sent to the point of contact, Mr. Brian Dunbar, at brian.dunbar@nasa.gov (phone number listed as 202-358-0873). Paper submissions would not be reviewed. NASA anticipated selecting respondents by August 17, 2012, and intended agreements to run for up to five years. Respondents are responsible for all their own proposal and participation costs, and materials submitted would not be returned.
NASA also lays out a fairly formal response format with tight page limits. The package includes a one-page cover, a one-page title page (including any restriction notice for proprietary data), a one-page points-of-contact section, an abstract capped at 750 words, and up to 20 pages of detailed response. In the detailed section, respondents are expected to give enough technical and operational information for reviewers to judge whether the proposed streaming and content delivery commitments are realistic. For video streaming, NASA requests specifics like required inputs from NASA (such as encoded feeds), platform and format support across operating systems and devices, whether users must download players or plugins, whether users would ever have to pay, and if so what extra value is provided beyond NASA’s existing offering. NASA also asks about encoding capabilities (including satellite ingest), number of feeds supported, redundancy and failover methods, quality monitoring, performance guarantees, risk mitigation, and what usage metrics and logs will be provided back to NASA. For web content delivery, NASA similarly asks how content will be transferred to the partner, security approach, uptime methods aiming to match NASA’s stated 99.995 percent uptime level, performance guarantees, risk mitigation, and reporting/metrics. Across both areas, respondents must describe the maximum technical capacity available immediately or within 30 days of executing an agreement, and can propose additional in-kind efforts that broaden public access.
At a high level, this opportunity is best understood as NASA rebuilding and diversifying the distribution network for its public-facing digital content after earlier delivery partnerships ended. NASA is inviting capable U.S. organizations to contribute scalable streaming/CDN infrastructure and operational expertise so the public can reliably access live NASA events and on-demand content even during extreme traffic surges, while keeping the experience ad-free within NASA content and maintaining strict controls on NASA branding and public trust.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is NASA trying to accomplish with this opportunity?
NASA is seeking domestic (U.S.-based) partners to help distribute NASA online video and web content to the public, especially during high-demand moments such as launches and major missions. The main problem NASA is addressing is scale: NASA wants to ensure its live and on-demand content remains widely available even when traffic spikes dramatically.
2) Is this a grant, contract, or paid procurement?
No. This is not a traditional grant or contract with funding. NASA plans to form partnerships using Space Act Agreements, and each agreement is described as having “no exchange of funds.â€
3) What does “no exchange of funds†mean in practice?
It means selected partners are expected to provide capabilities at their own expense as in-kind contributions. Examples include content delivery network (CDN) capacity, streaming services, encoding, platform distribution, operational support, and metrics/reporting. NASA contributes its content and coordination support.
4) Who is eligible to respond?
Eligibility is broad but domestic: all categories of non-NASA U.S. institutions may respond. Foreign entities are not accepted.
5) What kinds of partner capabilities is NASA looking for?
NASA is open to a range of technical and distribution approaches and highlights three broad areas where partners may propose support:
- Live streaming (handling major peak events)
- On-demand streaming
- General web content delivery (for example, mirroring or accelerating content from NASA.gov)
6) Can a partner propose a narrower or specialized solution instead of covering everything?
Yes. NASA invites narrower or more creative proposals. Examples mentioned include delivering live video to handheld/mobile devices, offering high-definition streams, or enabling synchronized engagement features such as live chats alongside video.
7) Why is NASA emphasizing peak traffic and scalability?
NASA notes that prior partnerships successfully delivered very large volumes of traffic (including more than 50 million NASA TV streams and peak moments around 560,000 concurrent viewers). Without new partners, NASA indicates it may have had to impose limits on live coverage availability, reduce how long coverage runs, or drop streaming for certain peak events.
8) What traffic levels should proposals be prepared to handle?
NASA highlights historic peaks to illustrate the scale it cares about, including streaming peaks exceeding 440 gigabits per second and more than 1.5 petabytes of streaming content delivered in a two-week period. NASA also cites web content delivery peaks above 12 gigabits per second. Proposals are expected to address both baseline traffic and sudden spikes during major events.
9) Will NASA select one partner or multiple partners?
NASA states it may choose all, some, or none of the respondents. The intent is to formalize partnerships through Space Act Agreements, and NASA is rebuilding and diversifying its distribution network, which can imply multiple complementary partners.
10) Does being “selected†mean an automatic award?
No. NASA explains that selection only leads into negotiation for a mutually acceptable agreement. It is not an automatic award.
11) Who handles technical integration if a partner is chosen?
NASA and its Enterprise Web Services contractor would handle integration of the selected partner solution(s), with assistance from the partner.
12) Are commercial advertisements allowed within NASA content?
No. NASA will not accept approaches that embed or place commercial advertisements within NASA content, whether the ads are for the respondent or for third parties.
13) Can a partner use or license the NASA logo or NASA visual identifiers?
No. NASA will not allow respondents to license the NASA logo or other NASA visual identifiers.
14) Will NASA promote partner logos on NASA websites or online properties?
NASA says it will not display company logos on NASA online properties solely for promotion. However, NASA may consider using partner identifiers as buttons or links from NASA online properties, which suggests a limited attribution approach rather than advertising.
15) If advertising and logo licensing are restricted, how can a partner benefit?
Space Act Agreements require a benefit to the partner. NASA’s evaluation includes a criterion specifically focused on the benefit to the partner, meaning respondents must clearly describe the return they seek from participation while staying within NASA’s restrictions and maintaining compatibility with NASA’s mission, values, and federal policies.
16) What does NASA require regarding misuse of its name and logo?
Respondents need to explain how they will prevent misuse of NASA’s name and logo. NASA will evaluate whether the partner’s values and desired benefits align with NASA’s public mission and applicable federal policies.
17) What accessibility requirements apply?
NASA calls out accessibility explicitly. Proposed solutions should accommodate disabled users and meet Section 508 requirements.
18) How will NASA evaluate responses?
NASA’s evaluation criteria are weighted equally across four areas:
- Overall quality and appropriateness of the proposed effort, including relevance to NASA’s mission and support for a positive public image in both presentation and technology.
- Commitment and past experience with web video streaming, including committed streaming bandwidth (Gbps) for baseline and peaks, interoperability with NASA infrastructure/NASA.gov, creative expansion of distribution, and Section 508 accessibility.
- Commitment and past experience with web content delivery, focusing on bandwidth, peak handling, resilience, interoperability, and Section 508 accessibility.
- Benefit to the partner, clearly described and compatible with NASA restrictions and values.
19) What information does NASA want about live and on-demand video streaming?
NASA requests detailed technical and operational information, including items such as:
- Required inputs from NASA (for example, encoded feeds)
- Platform and format support across operating systems and devices
- Whether users must download players or plugins
- Whether users would ever have to pay, and if so what additional value is provided beyond NASA’s existing offering
- Encoding capabilities (including satellite ingest)
- Number of feeds supported
- Redundancy and failover methods
- Quality monitoring
- Performance guarantees
- Risk mitigation approach
- Usage metrics/logs that will be provided back to NASA
20) What information does NASA want about web content delivery (non-video content)?
NASA asks for specifics such as:
- How NASA content will be transferred to the partner
- Security approach
- Uptime methods aiming to match NASA’s stated 99.995 percent uptime level
- Performance guarantees
- Risk mitigation
- Reporting and metrics
21) How quickly must a partner be able to provide capacity?
Respondents must describe the maximum technical capacity available immediately or within 30 days of executing an agreement.
22) Can a respondent propose additional in-kind efforts beyond core distribution?
Yes. Respondents may propose additional in-kind efforts that broaden public access.
23) How does NASA handle proprietary information in submissions?
NASA indicates the evaluation panel may include NASA civil servants and NASA contractors. When contractors are involved, NASA describes conflict-of-interest screening and nondisclosure protections for proprietary information.
24) Can NASA suggest teaming or collaboration between respondents?
Yes. NASA notes it may suggest collaboration when it believes teaming would improve the overall effort, giving respondents a chance to coordinate before NASA selects partners for agreement discussions.
25) How were responses submitted?
Submissions were email-only. Responses had to be submitted electronically to the point of contact. Paper submissions would not be reviewed.
26) What was the deadline for submission?
Responses had to be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on August 3, 2012.
27) Who was the point of contact for submissions?
The point of contact listed was Mr. Brian Dunbar (brian.dunbar@nasa.gov), phone 202-358-0873.
28) When did NASA anticipate selecting respondents?
NASA anticipated selecting respondents by August 17, 2012.
29) How long could the agreements last?
NASA intended agreements to run for up to five years.
30) Who pays the costs of preparing and participating?
Respondents are responsible for all their own proposal and participation costs.
31) Will submitted proposal materials be returned?
No. NASA stated that materials submitted would not be returned.
32) What format and page limits did NASA require for responses?
NASA described a structured package with tight page limits, including:
- One-page cover
- One-page title page (including any restriction notice for proprietary data)
- One-page points-of-contact section
- Abstract capped at 750 words
- Up to 20 pages of detailed response
33) What should the detailed response include to be considered credible?
NASA expects enough technical and operational detail for reviewers to judge whether streaming and content delivery commitments are realistic, especially regarding baseline and peak bandwidth commitments, redundancy/failover, monitoring, guarantees, risk mitigation, and the metrics/logs to be provided to NASA.
34) What happens if NASA does not find suitable partners?
NASA indicates that without new delivery partners it may have to force limits on how many people can watch live coverage, reduce coverage duration, or drop streaming for certain peak events altogether. NASA also states it can choose all, some, or none of the respondents.
35) What is the big-picture purpose of these partnerships?
At a high level, NASA is rebuilding and diversifying the distribution network for its public-facing digital content after earlier delivery partnerships ended. The goal is to keep NASA live events and on-demand content reliably accessible to the public across multiple platforms during extreme traffic surges, while maintaining an ad-free experience within NASA content and strict controls on NASA branding and public trust.
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