USDA Forest Service, 2222 West 2300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84119

58 -- SOURCES SOUGHT FOR AIR-TO-GROUND DATA TRANSMISSION OF FOREST FIRE THERMAL INFRARED IMAGERY FOR REMOTE SENSING APPLICATION CENTER POC Carolyn J. Lippire, (801) 975-3444. AIR-TO-GROUND DATA TRANSMISSION OF FOREST FIRE THERMAL INFRARED IMAGERY RFI. POC Paul Greenfield, (801) 975-3663. The USDA Forest Service is seeking product and technological information for an air-to-ground digital imagery data transmission system. The system must be capable of transmitting approximately 100 megabytes of digital imagery from an airborne Saberliner jet to a remote receiving ground station. The aircraft travels at approximately 200 knots at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet above the ground during air-to-ground transmissions. The aircraft will transmit data to only one ground station per fire collection site, though several fire sites may be visited during each mission. The ground stations will typically be located at remote sites in forested, mountainous terrain. Electrical power will be available at the ground stations and each ground station will be supported by a portable pentium PC for storing and processing the incoming imagery. The portable PC's will be running Windows 95. The transmission of the digital imagery must be reliable and rapid to minimize aircraft dwell time, and the system must be simple to operate. The key specifications of interest are the system reliability, transmission rates, transmission range, and system cost. Information received from respondents should address these items as well as provide a description of system components such as transmitter, compact omnidirectional aircraft antenna, compact and portable ground station antenna, and receiver for the ground station PC. The dollar value estimated for this project is $150,000.00. The Government is not committed nor obligated to procure equipment or award a Contract on the basis of this Request for Information (RFI), or otherwise pay for the information provided. No basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or Government use of such information. This RFI does not constitute a Solicitation of Proposal. Responses to this RFI should be submitted not later than February 28, 1997 to PAUL GREENFIELD USDA FOREST SERVICE RSAC, 2222 West 2300 So., Salt Lake City, UT 84119. (0366)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0169 19970103\58-0003.SOL)