Technical Operation of the National Space Propulsion Test Facility

CPV: Miscellaneous repair and maintenance services · On space industry sector

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

27 Apr 2022, 11:20 BST

Last source update

27 Apr 2022, 11:20 BST

Authority reference

PR18132

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-010803

Classification (CPV)

Miscellaneous repair and maintenance servicesOn space industry sector

Delivery area

South East (UKJ)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-0330d1 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

The Westcott facility and Nammo are the only location and supplier that can provide this service and therefore the authority are justified in awarding in accordance with regulation 32(5)(b).

Publisher note: The UK has key expertise and facilities in industry and academia relating to both chemical and electric propulsion / testing. The lack of investment in current UK facilities means that they are not suitable to the new demands, with the result that UK engines have to be tested abroad at greater expense. The proposed National Space Propulsion Test Facility will incorporate a vacuum pumping facility, to simulate the vacuum of space to test propulsion systems, by drawing sea level ambient pressure from the platform that a propulsion system will be tested. The UK Space Agency have identified Westcott Venture Park, with the existing testing facilities of NAMMO Westcott Ltd, as the only area such a facility can be best achieved. The Westcott Venture Park is the UK's only chemical rocket test and development site. It has been in operation as such since 1946 and has been developing, manufacturing and testing rockets for space applications, primarily satellites, since the mid-1980s. Having explored the possibility of a National Propulsion centre being set up in areas other than the Westcott facility, no viable alternative site has been identified. There is no other comparable location to Westcott, with a suitably skilled workforce located in the UK. Moreover, NAMMO Westcott Ltd has invested in Westcott facility and they would allow companies and Universities to access their facility, which may not occur elsewhere. The vast majority of the operating time will be setting up and firing of the tested engines, less than 20% of the time will be to operate the vacuum pump assembly being built by the UK Space Agency, with ESA expertise, to be attached to the test rig (giving the simulated experience of the vacuum of space). Therefore, while NAMMO staff operate their equipment to test the engine, their staff will be best placed to continue to operate the vacuum pump before firing any tested engine.

• Nammo (U.K.) LimitedAwarded supplier Westcott Venture Park, Westcott, Aylesbury, South East, HP18 0XB

No document links were published on the notice.