Phillips Laboratory, Directorate of Contracting, 2251 Maxwell Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773

A -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR "PDQSAT" COMMERCIAL SATELLITE BUS SOL F2960198R0008 DUE 021698 POC Mindy Goeres, Contract Specialist, 505-846-8501; Tammie Johnson, Contracting Officer, 505-846-6923 WEB: Click here to go to the AFRL PRS Contracting Bulletin Board, www.plk.af.mil/ORG_CHART/PK/mainmenu.htm. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contract Specialist by email, goeresm@plk.af.mil. Notice. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). The Special Projects branch within the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Technology Integration and Demonstration Division (AFRL/VSDD) at the Phillips Research Site (PRS), seeks information from industry on the feasibility of a potential future acquisition of commercial spacecraft buses. A leader in successful, innovative space system acquisition methods, AFRL understands the burgeoning commercial space industry holds great promise as a potential source of commercial spacecraft to meet a portion of its technology demonstration needs. As part of the market research for a potential FAR Part 12 action, PRS invites industry to provide informational comments on the proposed acquisition of spacecraft buses with Pre-Defined Qualities (PDQ). The RFI will also assist the government in identifying potential suppliers of spacecraft buses. This program is named PDQSat to emphasize the pre-defined requirements and non-developmental, commercial nature of the spacecraft bus needed by the government to fulfill PDQSat mission requirements. A series of questions have been placed on the PL Contracting Bulletin Board under PL Acquisitions/PDQSat files (www.plk.af.mil/ORG_CHART/PK/mainmenu.htm). The purpose of these questions is to assess industry's capability to supply a commercial spacecraft bus that meets PDQSat goals. An additional purpose of the questions is to provide the government with knowledge of the technical and contractual alternatives available for the execution of this type of program. We have attempted to ask open-ended questions in hopes industry will provide this office with the best alternatives to cost-based spacecraft programs. The government currently anticipates a single award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) firm fixed price contract with a minimum buy of one engineering model and one spacecraft bus. Based on an informal review of industry capacity, this program anticipates using FAR Part 12 -- Commercial Items. If you are interested, please respond to the questionnaire. Interested parties may include spacecraft manufacturers, users, and buyers, representatives of related industry firms, and academic interests. Firms should indicate whether they are, or are not, a small business, an 8(a) business, a socially or economically disadvantaged business, a woman-owned business, a historically black college or university, or minority institution. SIC 3669 -- space satellites applies. Respondents are further asked to indicate their status as a foreign-owned/foreign-controlled firm and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this potential effort. Foreign sources will be considered. All persons and firms having relevant input to the questions are invited to reply. All replies will be reviewed and considered for any potential solicitation. The Air Force requests no more than 30 pages, plus attachments, be submitted in response to this RFI. If possible, text is requested to be no smaller than 12 point; electronic submittals are encouraged and can be submitted to the e-mail account denoted below. A single hardcopy is requested for all submittals. Commercial literature which illustrates replies to the questions may be included as an attachment and need not be included in the page count. Responses should include respondent's full contact information and business or industry affiliation. Competition-sensitive data may be provided and should be marked to indicate it is competition-sensitive. Such data will be handled accordingly. Note that Government reviewers may include individuals from the Aerospace Corporation. This is not a request for proposal and it shall not be construed as a commitment by the government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The government will not pay for the information requested herein. This announcement shall remain open until 16 Feb 98. Any contract announcement action following as a result of this RFI will be available to interested parties via the above AFRL Contracting BulletinBoard. Offerors wishing to monitor the status of this acquisition, must monitor the above web site for updates. This web site is the primary source for information concerning this potential acquisition. Hardcopy requests for the posted question set are discouraged. Future communication with industry about this program will be made via the CBD and the AFRL Contracting Bulletin Board. Please correlate replies with the assigned question numbers (e.g., 3d). We request that mailed replies be sent to AFRL/PKVI, Attn.: Mindy Goeres, 2251 Maxwell Avenue, SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773 by 16 Feb 98. Technical clarification may be obtained, by phone only, from Capt Bob Costa, Chief, Special Projects, PRS/VSDDQ, 505-853-3176. Clarification to the RFI should be directed to Mindy Goeres at 505-846-8501 or to: goeresm@plk.af.mil. This Government Computer System is provided as a public service by United States Air Force/Phillips Research Site/Kirtland AFB, NM 87117. It is intended to be used by the public for viewing and retrieving information only. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. Unless otherwise indicated all information on this system is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors, primarily during the proposal development phase of this competitive, negotiated acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Program Director or the Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel in the pre-proposal phase of competitive, negotiated acquisitions. Before contacting the Ombudsman, potential offerors should first communicate with the Contracting Officer. In those instances where offerors cannot obtain resolution from the Contracting Officer, they are invited to contact the Ombudsman at the Phillips Operating Location at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Mr. Gene DeWall, Chief Mission Support Division (PL/PKRM), at 505-846-4979, or at 2251 Maxwell Avenue, SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. For contracting issues please contact Ms Tammie Johnson at 505-846-6923. For technical issues, please contact Capt Bob Costa at 505-853-3176. (0013)

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