SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- MOPITT SCIENCE INVESTIGATOR LED PROCESSING SYSTEM FOLLOW ON
- Notice Date
- 4/9/2014
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.Y, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNG14500513R
- Response Due
- 4/24/2014
- Archive Date
- 4/9/2015
- Point of Contact
- Jason Daniel Lou, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-614-6996, Fax 301-286-0383, Email Jason.D.Lou@nasa.gov - Nylsevalis Ortiz Collazo, Procurement Manager, Phone 301-286-8124, Fax 301-286-0383, Email nylsevalis.ortizcollazo-1@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Jason Daniel Lou
(Jason.D.Lou@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NASA/GSFC has a requirement to issue a follow-on sole-source contract for The Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) in support of the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project. The purpose of this procurement is to ensure that the processing and reprocessing of the data from the MOPITT instrument and delivery of standard data products to the user community continues through two years beyond the expected life of the instrument or the end of the mission, whichever occurs first with the incumbent National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (NCAR/UCAR). Currently, these services are provided to the Government under contract NNG04HZ08C with NCAR/UCAR with a period of performance ending on September 30, 2014. NASA/GSFC intends to award NCAR/UCAR a follow-on cost type contract pursuant 10 U.S.C 2304 (c)(1) Only One Responsible Source, with an estimated period of performance of five years divided into one-year base and four-one year options with a start date of October 1, 2014. The Terra spacecraft, with the MOPITT instrument onboard, was launched in December 1999 with an original expected lifetime of six years. The data received from the instrument needs an additional two years beyond failure of the instrument or the end of the mission, whichever comes first, to be reprocessed to ensure a consistent time-series of products at the end of the mission. Currently, the MOPITT instrument is still operating eight years past its expected life. As the instrument ages, the likelihood of instrument failure becomes increasingly likely. Only NCAR is intimately familiar with the MOPITT SIPS data processing and reprocessing currently being performed under NNG04HZ08C. Prospective replacement of the incumbent at a time when the failure of the instrument becomes increasingly likely introduces duplication of cost to the Government and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the requirements already established. In addition, NCAR/UCAR possess unique expertise not possessed by other vendors in regards to the detailed understanding of data continuation for the MOPITT instrument. The capability required to be maintained is for scientific and engineering work in the development, utilization, and calibration of essential algorithms to generate the MOPITT standard products and make them available to the user community. The application of these algorithms requires an expertise in tropospheric chemistry and instrument technology specific to the MOPITT instrument and, as such, is accomplished by PhD scientists and engineers at NCAR/UCAR. Specifically, NCAR/UCAR scientists and engineers have developed peer-reviewed algorithms for the standard product generation from MOPITT. The products they produce are Geolocated calibrated radiances and Carbon Monoxide and Methane column amounts and Carbon Monoxide profiles. Users of these products depend on the expertise provided by the NCAR/UCAR team to be assured that the data are valid and useful. The skill sets required to perform the algorithm development, utilization, product generation and calibration functions include chemists and software engineers who are involved in tropospheric studies. The NCAR/UCAR personnel have advanced PhD degrees and are specialized in the fields of tropospheric chemistry and remote sensing. These skills are required in order to implement the various scientific theories used to develop, assess and use the algorithms. These capabilities are essential to NASA in that they are necessary to fulfill NASA needs in the area of tropospheric chemistry research and without them, NASA and scientific researchers will be deprived of important scientific data. Without NCAR/UCARs unique skills, NASA would be unable to meet requirements of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) in the area of providing products to support tropospheric chemistry research.NASA would be unable to continue to generate and disseminate MOPITT instruments data products to help the scientific research community study the changes in the chemistry of the troposphere and use such information in Earth system models. Selecting another contractor to perform the MOPPIT SIPS requirements will increase the risk of mission failure because it will bring unnecessary complications by possibly adding additional steps to the generation of MOPPITs standard data products; by increasing technical risk during the mission knowledge transfer between NCAR/UCAR and another contractor, and by unnecessary redevelopment to complete the same work. Each of the additional steps needed for knowledge transfer for a process that is already functioning well, inherently introduces additional risk to completing the requirement. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24, 2014. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis.A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/p ub_library/Omb.html.
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- Record
- SN03334535-W 20140411/140410021538-86b8c8deee9e6ced40c6a9c8b0f347a4 (fbodaily.com)
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