NASA Procurement Office, Code DAOO, Stennis Space Center (SSC), MS 39529-6000

R -- SOURCES SOUGHT -- COMMERCIAL DATA SERVICES DUE 020998 POC Frank S. Oerting, Contract Specialist, Phone (601) 688-1638, Fax (601) 688-1141, Email frank.oerting@ssc.nasa.gov -- Harold G. Taulbee, Contracting Officer, Phone (601) 688-1640, Fax (601) 688-1141, Email harold.taulbee@ssc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/SSC/date.html#PRNOTAVAIL. E-MAIL: Frank S. Oerting, frank.oerting@ssc.nasa.gov. This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Stennis Space Center (SSC), Commercial Remote Sensing Program Office (CRSPO) is seeking commercial data sources to replace the Microwave Radar Cross-section and Vector Wind data stream from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), lost when NASDA's Advanced Earth Observing System (ADEOS) spacecraft failed. These measurements will be used both by the scientific research community and by the operational meteorological (numerical weather prediction) community, including national and international meteorological agencies. As such, the replacement measurements must complement existing data already routinely assimilated into research and (especially) operational models. Responses to this RFI are due 30 days from the posted date. It is NASA's intent that if responses to this RFI meet the requirements outlined below, NASA will purchase these data on a "cash on delivery" basis through the SSC Data Broker Service contract with Airscan, Inc., Titusville, FL 32870-8201. This data will be used for scientific investigations in a number of areas including air-sea interaction dynamics, marine meteorology, and wind-forced upper ocean circulation on a variety of time and space scales. Calibrated backscatter data over land and ice will also be used for quantitative studies of land use, annual and interannual vegetation changes, and daily/seasonal ice edge movement. The requirements outlined below are provided to establish the required accuracy, coverage and timeliness for the measurements. The data required are: (1) global, calibrated, frequent, all-weather direct measurements of microwave radar backscatter cross-section over land,ice, and oceans; (2) calibrated, frequent, spatially extensive, all-weather, day/night, 25 km resolution near-surface vector wind estimates over the ice-free global oceans. In the case of the NSCAT data, the vector wind estimates were calculated from the direct radar backscatter cross-section measurements. Because of the immediate requirement for ocean wind data to replace NSCAT, the RFI will consider coarser resolution (50km) data for a gap-filler until the the launch of the QuikScat mission currently planned for launch in November 1998. The backscatter and vector wind data must meet the requirements set by the NASA Mission to the Planet Earth Program which are summarized below. These are the requirements which NSCAT was meeting at the time of the ADEOS failure and which will be met by SeaWinds. The data must be available as soon as possible as a gap filler until November 1998 with options to extend through November 2000, if necessary, due to unanticipated problems with Quickscat. The geophysical data must be validated by appropriate scientific methods. Validation must be completed within 3 months of the start of data delivery. Any data supplied to the government will be freely distributed to scientific and operational users in the USA and throughout the world. Specific Data Requirements: Microwave Normalized Radar Backscatter Cross-Section (NRCS) Measurements: 1) Coverage: 70% daily global coverage, 96% global coverage within 2 days. 2) Resolution: The direct NRCS measurements shall be obtained from a generally rectangular area with characteristic dimensions not exceeding 10 by 25 km. 3) Radiometric Accuracy: 1.2 dB absolute, 0.25 dB relative (cell-to-cell random error rms). 4) Annotation: Land and ice flags are required to identify non-ocean cells. 5) Location Accuracy: NRCS cell centroids and corner locations accurate to < 25 km absolute and 10 km (rms). Near-Surface Vector Winds: 1) Coverage: 70% ice-free ocean daily coverage, 90% ice-free ocean coverage within 2 days. 2) Resolution: The near-surface vector wind estimates shall correspond to generally square areas with characteristic dimension 25 km. Based on experience gained on the NSCAT mission, the science community has strongly endorsed 25 km resolution data. The NSCAT science team has greatly enhanced their research due to the availability of higher resolution data which evolved from the original 50 km. There have been significant operational benefits as well, including an enhanced weather forecasting capability . Based on these positive benefits and results, NASA decided in February 1997 to make a 25 km resolution datasets for NSCAT and follow-on wind missions a requirement. However, because of the immediate requirement for ocean wind data to replace NSCAT, the RFI will consider coarser resolution (50km) data on a short term basis (pre-QuikScat). 3) Location Accuracy: Vector wind cell centroids accurate to < 25 km absolute and 10 km rms (cell-to-cell). 4) Wind Speed Accuracy: 2 m/s rms or 10% (whichever is greater) for each region of parameter space (3-30 m/s wind speed, 0-360 degree wind direction, swath location). It is not permissible to calculate overall rms accuracy simply by averaging over the entire global wind speed range. 5) Wind Direction Accuracy: 20 degrees rms for each region of parameter space (5-30 m/s wind speed, 0-360 degree wind direction, swath location). Rms wind direction accuracy may degrade slowly with wind speed, not to exceed 60 degrees rms at 3 m/s. Data Provision and Timeliness: 1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA): Vector wind estimates must be supplied to NOAA/NCEP in Suitland, MD with a maximum delay of 150 minutes from data acquisition by the sensor. NRCS measurements may be supplied if appropriate wind estimation algorithms are also supplied and tested prior to the start of the data stream. 2) To NASA/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): All NRCS measurements and near-surface wind estimates shall be delivered to JPL. Pasadena, CA, within 4 days of data acquisition by the sensor and shall be in complete time order without gaps or redundant/ overlapping data. RFI Format: All responses to this RFI should be limited to 10 pages and will provide the minimum information: 1. Description of data set and sources of data. 2. First data availability timeline 3. Period of data availability 4. Intellectual property rights 5. Estimated price matrix 6. Point of contact 7. Company profile 8. Business references Only written responses will be accepted for this RFI. The Government will not reimburse the offeror for the development of the solicited information. Address responses to: NASA Stennis Space Center Building 1100 Stennis, Mississippi 39529 Attn: Mr. Kern Witcher (228) 688 -- 2571. DEFINITIONS: 1. The term "wind" refers to the horizontal air velocity that would be measured at a height of 10 meters above the mean sea surface if the atmosphere was neutrally stratified. 2. "Resolution" refers to the edge dimension of a rectangle on the ocean surface characterizing an individual NRCS or vector wind measurement. The area itself is known as the NRCS or wind vector cell. The NRCS and vector wind measurements must be spatially extensive, implying generally contiguous measurements within swaths sufficiently wide to achieve the stated coverage requirements. 3. The "true wind speed" in a wind vector cell is the scalar mean wind speed inthe cell (as would be measured under neutral stability conditions at a height of 10 meters by an ensemble of anemometers distributed throughout the cell). 4. The "true wind direction" is the direction of the 10 m neutral stability vector mean wind velocity in the cell. 5. The "accuracy" of the wind speed and direction retrieved by the Proposed System is a measure of the difference between the retrieved winds and the true wind in the cell. (0009)

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