US Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Procurement Operations Division (OA312:EEK), 1325 East-West Highway, SSMC/4301, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3283

66 -- AIR-DEPLOYABLE BUOYS SOL 40-AANC-6-09068 POC Eleanor E. Kaul or Gregory N. Smith at (301) 713-0823, or by fax at (301) 713-0806 NOAA intends to place an order on a sole source basis to Christian Michelsen Research AS, Fantofvegen 38, P.O. Box 3, N-5036 Fantoft, Bergen, Norway, for two (2) air-deployable ICEX drifting buoys, two (2) parachutes, and two (2) parachute releases. The buoys shall be well constructed to withstand the harsh Arctic climate, shall accurately record meteorological data from the buoy sensors, and shall be air-deployable. The buoy's thermistor shall be mounted externally, and shall be shielded for protection from the sun's radiation. The buoy shall have a power source to support an operational lifetime of at least three (3) years. The buoy shall have been tested and proven to land correctly in the ice pack with all instruments intact and workable. With air-deployment, the buoy shall be able to be deployed anywhere within the Arctic Ocean. Responses demonstrating a firm's capabilities to deliver the cited product received within 15 days from the date of this announcement will be considered in determining whether or not to issue a competitive RFQ for the required product. (0115)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0255 19960425\66-0006.SOL)