REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY

This RFI is issued for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission.

Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and does not bind the Government to any future obligations. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned.

Interested parties are advised to check www.sam.gov for additional requests for information and updates.

OFFICE OF LEO OBSERVATIONS OVERVIEW

Under the Office of LEO Observations, NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) provides global observations that serve as the backbone of both short- and long-term forecasts, including those that help us predict and prepare for severe weather events. The five satellites in the fleet include the currently-flying NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite; NOAA-20 (previously known as JPSS-1); NOAA-21 (previously known as JPSS-2); and the upcoming JPSS-3 and JPSS-4 satellites. 

In the future, NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) Program will develop future LEO environmental satellites. LEO observations are critical for weather forecasting, environmental observation, climate monitoring and public safety. NEON sets the stage for NOAA to manage future polar and other low Earth orbit satellite observations as loosely coupled projects. 

The LEO Common Ground System (CGS) is a set of antennas, communications networks, and processing facilities that command and control the satellites, bring their data down to Earth, route data to processing facilities, create data products and distribute them.

In addition to NOAA’s missions, the CGS supports current and future domestic and international partner missions for data acquisition, data routing, and data processing.  The CGS also enables communications data routing for the National Science Foundation (NSF), providing a critical link between McMurdo Station and NSF networks in the United States.  NSF leads the U.S. presence at McMurdo and is responsible for site management and logistics, including approval of any new requirements for site space, power, or construction resources.

SUMMARY OF SCOPE

The Department of Commerce in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking information on industry capabilities to develop, deploy, maintain, refurbish, and sustain space-ground communications antennas and supporting infrastructure at remote polar locations including McMurdo Station, Antarctica.  Currently at McMurdo, NOAA owns and maintains three 4-meter satellite ground stations developed by L3 Datron with receive-only S- and Ka-band capabilities and partners with NASA for use of the NASA MG-1 X-band antenna.  These antennas support the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), and European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) MetOp and EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation (EPS-SG) missions.

NOAA is seeking information on industry capabilities to develop and deploy additional receive-only antenna stations in the polar regions in support of future NOAA and partner missions.  NOAA is interested in the ability to support disaggregated LEO mission constellations with a larger number of satellites supported per antenna.  NOAA is also interested in the ability to support alternate satellite downlink frequencies, including X- and L-band, while maintaining considerations for the limited infrastructure and power available at McMurdo Station. 

As a representative mission set, the following two cases should be considered in addition to the baseline JPSS missions described above:

1. A NOAA partner mission, with six sun-synchronous LEO satellites in three orbital planes, downlinking L-band science data at McMurdo Station on each pass.  Assume sufficient downlink power from the spacecraft to enable the use of a minimum 3m parabolic antenna or equivalent.
2. A NOAA mission, with up to 12 sun-synchronous LEO satellites in two orbital planes, downlinking X-band science data from a minimum of four primary satellites in each plane on each pass.

Finally, NOAA is seeking information on industry capabilities to sustain existing and future satellite ground stations in remote polar environments.  Access to McMurdo Station, Antarctica is restricted to the austral summer and requires close coordination with the National Science Foundation (NSF), resulting in the need for highly available, low maintenance systems that can be simply sustained.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS AND RESPONSE INFORMATION

Period of Performance:

- JPSS series missions are expected to operate through at least 2038

- Future NEON and partner missions are expected to operate from the early 2030s through at least the 2040s

Locations:

Current NOAA-owned LEO antennas are deployed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica; Svalbard, Norway; and NOAA’s Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS), Alaska.  No ranging or commanding occurs from McMurdo Station.

NAICS and Size Standard:

The Government contemplates the use of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code:

334220 – Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, with the corresponding small business size standard of 1,250 employees.

This is an open Request for Information for all interested parties regardless of size, small businesses are encouraged to respond. The Government accepts recommendations for alternative NAICS codes. If a recommendation is provided, please provide the rationale for any code applicable to the planned acquisition other than the NAICS code identified above.

RESPONSE INFORMATION:

Interested Contractors are requested to provide the following information in response to this RFI announcement:

1. Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, facsimile number, and website URL (if available).
2. A single Point-of-Contact name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address.
3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered potential sources (https://www.sam.gov).
4. Business Size (regardless of company size) and any socio-economic status, especially those qualified as one or more of the following:
   1. Small Business.
   2. 8(a) firm (must be certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
   3. Small Disadvantaged Business.
   4. Woman-Owned Small Business.
   5. Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business.
   6. HUBZone firm (must be certified by the (SBA).
   7. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
5. A Capability Statement outlining the capabilities of the respondent to address the requirements identified in the summary of scope described above.
   1. Antenna design(s) overview to address the representative mission sets described above
   2. Approach to sustainment of antennas in austere/remote Antarctic environment
   3. Prior and/or current relevant experience
6. Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) pricing and schedule/lead time for the candidate solution(s)
7. Any required Government Furnished Property (GFP), Equipment (GFE), or Information that would be required to implement the solution(s) described
8. The nature of the candidate solution(s) for the purpose of determining commerciality, and any Government-Wide Acquisition Contract(s) on which the solution(s) may be offered.
9. Conflict of Interest: Please detail the extent to which the respondent is aware of any potential organizational conflict of interest issues related to this requirement.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Responses shall be limited to 15 pages or less and shall be free of extraneous or generic marketing information.  Respondents are encouraged to ensure that their responses are complete and address all items outlined within this RFI.

Any information that a respondent considers proprietary and/or copyright shall be clearly marked as such. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.

Each respondent, by submitting a response, agrees that any cost incurred by it in responding to this RFI, or in support of activities associated with this RFI, shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent. The Government will incur no obligations or liabilities whatsoever, to anyone, for any costs or expenses incurred by the respondent in responding to this RFI.

Responses to this RFI shall be submitted via e-mail attachments, received no later than 05:00 PM EST, July 10th to:

Contracting Officer: Kimberly DeLong ([email protected]) and Contract Specialist: Lauren Jayne ([email protected])