SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Satellite Based Broadband Communications Services - RFI Attachments
- Notice Date
- 6/9/2017
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 517410
— Satellite Telecommunications
- Contracting Office
- National Science Foundation, Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support, DACS, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room475, Arlington, Virginia, 22230
- ZIP Code
- 22230
- Solicitation Number
- NSF-SATCOM-RFI-2017
- Archive Date
- 8/8/2017
- Point of Contact
- Pamela Franzel, Phone: (703) 292-5398
- E-Mail Address
-
pfranzel@nsf.gov
(pfranzel@nsf.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Link Budgets Sheet RFI Questions Mission Needs Statement Updating to RFI originally released March, 2015 (see: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NSF/DACS/DACS/NSF_SATCOM_RFI_2015/listing.html): The National Science Foundation (NSF), assisted by Aerospace Corporation, is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a means of conducting market research to identify industry recommendations for means to obtain satellite-based broadband communications services between the continental United States and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, located at the end of Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island (77.8464°S, 166.668°E). Aerospace presently provides support to the NSF, an Executive Branch independent agency of the United States Government, via an interagency agreement between NSF and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Center. On behalf of the NSF, Aerospace is seeking information on approaches to meet the Government's long term broadband communications needs anticipated for U.S. Antarctic Program science research/mission operations and partner Federal agency mission operations conducted at McMurdo Station during the 2019-2040 timeframe. NSF will use information received as part of its market research to identify and characterize a range of communication services options for supporting U.S. activities in Antarctica. This RFI provides a broad statement of the Government's needs and seeks industry suggested approaches to satisfy those needs and provide insight into the associated technology, resource availability and risk. Of particular interest are: (1) Commercial approaches that would allow the NSF to better plan acquisition strategy. Of consideration would be the terms of the acquisition - e.g., a long term lease of communications services versus other approaches. (2) Technology architecture feasibility and approaches what would allow NSF to better plan for NSF technical infrastructure designs and investments. Responses to this RFI will be treated as information only and will be considered as part of the Government's market research efforts to guide future strategic planning. Background: The National Science Foundation funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). Refer to: https://www.nsf.gov/geo/plr/sitemap.jsp for information on the Office of Polar Programs, and https://www.nsf.gov/geo/plr/support/mcmurdo.jsp for information on McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Description of Services: McMurdo Station is the primary USAP research station in Antarctica, with populations ranging to 1200 in the austral summer. NSF hosts NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellite data ground systems and NASA Near Earth Networks satellite data and telemetry/command ground systems at McMurdo Station as tenant activities. All mission communications for NSF and its tenants are provided via a NOAA/JPSS provided space segment lease operating at Ku-Band and utilizing the NSF remote satellite earth station complex located 20 miles south of McMurdo Station on Black Island. NSF and its tenant partners have determined that: 1. There is elevated risk of conducting mission essential satellite teleport operations at the Black Island Telecommunications Facility due to its advanced age, need of significant modernization, remoteness, difficulty of personnel access during the austral winter, and potential for extended communications outages. The Black Island Facility was initially established at this remote location to obtain an unobstructed view of the full GEO satellite arc in the Pacific, driven by satellite/service relocations in the mid-1980s during the early years of satellite communications services to McMurdo. This provided a means to prevent the most predominant feature of Ross Island, the 13,000 ft. volcano Mt. Erebus, from obstructing line-of-sight to key orbital locations with satellites providing beam coverage of McMurdo (178°E to 180°E at the time). 2. A significant increase in bandwidth capability will be required by NSF and NOAA sponsored tenants beginning at the end of the decade and representing an enduring requirement. The projected future bandwidth requirements exceed the capability of the existing McMurdo ground station + leased space segment capability. Situational Assessment: In the intervening years, the Pacific Ocean Region satellite deployments have changed, with business cases favoring more Asia-Pacific traffic and regional Southeast Asia-Pacific services. NSF has assessed potential earth station locations within the immediate vicinity of McMurdo Station on Ross Island that are able to have an unobstructed view of the GEO arc from 150°E to approximately 176°E. It is the NSF desire to establish new service directly from Ross Island to address the logistical risks posed by Black Island operations. In addition to operational risk reduction, another major objective is that of capacity expansion beyond the current capability. NOAA/JPSS also supports the recovery of EUMETSAT polar satellite data via McMurdo, and EUMETSAT has forecast a major increase in data flow requirements with the launch of its follow-on weather satellite constellation beginning in 2021 (Metop SG, satellite A1). NSF and NOAA have agreed in principle for NSF to assume leadership of provisioning commercial satellite communications services for McMurdo Station. A summary of NSF communications mission needs in support of USAP operations can be found in the file "Attachment 1 - McMurdo Station Satellite Communications Mission Needs and Planning Data." This document summarizes the full scope of anticipated communications for McMurdo, segregated by organizational demand. Basic site planning data is included to illustrate the anticipated GEO viewing and terrain clearance from likely earth station locations that meet accessibility and constructability criteria. Systems architecture and services management concepts are discussed. Information Requested: To maximize the Government's understanding, respondents should consider the information requested in the questions appended to this RFI titled, "Attachment 2 - McMurdo Station Broadband RFI Questions to Industry", and form titled, "Attachment 3 - Link Budgets." Submission of Responses: Responses are to be submitted to The Aerospace Corporation at the address noted below. Management of Information: Submissions that voluntarily contain proprietary information will be managed in accord with FAR 9.505-4, "Obtaining access to proprietary information". Any proprietary information submitted in response to this RFI must be clearly identified via a general declaration on the cover page and on any subsequent page where proprietary information occurs. The Government intends to utilize contractor resources to prepare analytical studies and digests utilizing submissions to the RFI for future planning efforts. Respondents who will require a Proprietary Data Protection Agreement (PDPA) should submit a draft of the necessary permissions protocol prior to submitting any proprietary information. The PDPA will not be counted towards the maximum RFI page count. Any information submitted that is not protected via PDPA shall be subject to full disclosure/release. Please be advised that submissions will not be returned. The support contractors listed below will be reviewing responses to this RFI. It is the respondent's responsibility to execute PDPA with these support contractors, if deemed necessary, by the date of your submission. All correspondence regarding the execution of a PDPA must be directed to the support contractors below. Note that the PDPA must allow the contractors to report to NSF. The following is a list of support contractor Points of Contacts who will review the RFI responses or utilize the response results: RFI submittal processing, Q&A, and digest report: The Aerospace Corporation Civil & Commercial Operations Mailstop: PAS P.O. Box 92957 Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 POC - Mark A. Cowdin E-mail - mark.a.cowdin@aero.org Submission Instructions: Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Power Point)® as the preferred format. Responses may contain a mixture of text, numerical data, figures or graphics. CD-ROM submissions are requested in lieu of printed materials. Submissions are to be divided into two distinct sections, Section 1 and Section 2, to meet the following criteria: Section 1 of the submission shall provide the following administrative information: • Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact; • Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number designating the primary business unit participating in the RFI response; and • Business type and size as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (see: http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-size-regulations), based upon North American Industry Classification System codes (NAICS, 2007): o 334220, Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing (cross-classification - space satellites, communications, manufacturing) o 517110, Wired Telecommunications Carriers o 517410, Satellite Telecommunications o 517911, Telecommunications Resellers o 517919, All Other Telecommunications Section 2 of the submission shall be limited to 45 pages and shall address the questions contained in the document titled "McMurdo Station Broadband RFI Questions to Industry," (Attachment 2) plus any additional information considered relevant. Responses should be formatted to match the outline format of Attachment 2, with any supplementary information provided beyond the outline to be provided in a structured outline format following all responses to Attachment 2. The submission of the link budget form (Attachment 3) will not count against the 45 page limit. Industry Interaction: NSF contractor representatives may or may not interact with responders. Such interactions may be intended to request further information related to the capability to potentially meet the mission needs or to clarify understanding of information submitted. Questions: Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted via e-mail to the Aerospace contact noted above. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Answers to questions will not be openly posted. Aerospace does not guarantee that any questions will be answered. Summary: THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. If and when a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities web site http://www.fbo.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor the FBO for release of any solicitation or synopsis. Response Deadline: Responses are requested no later than July 24, 2017 at 5:15 PM EDT.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NSF/DACS/DACS/NSF-SATCOM-RFI-2017/listing.html)
- Record
- SN04539074-W 20170611/170609234036-8eb7f0861a0153fcb8fc8b64911d5a0e (fbodaily.com)
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