49 -- SOFIA PRIMARY MIRROR COATING SYSTEM Ames Research Center is considering acquiring a coating system for the primary mirror on the The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The system will be turnkey and installed in a building at Ames research Center, Moffett Field, CA. The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is NASA's and DARA's premier observatory for infrared and submillimeter astronomy into the next century. A Boeing 747-SP aircraft will carry a 2.7-meter telescope designed to make sensitive infrared measurements of a wide range of astronomical objects. SOFIA will fly at and above 12.5 km, where it will avoid over 99% of the obscuring water vapor, enabling it to make observations impossible for even the largest and highest ground-based telescopes. A team led by the Universities Space Research Association -- USRA -- has been selected by NASA to design, assemble, test, and operate SOFIA. USRA heads up a team that includes United Airlines, Raytheon E-Systems, Sterling Software, University ofCalifornia, the SETI Institute, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. DARA, Germany's space agency, is funding the design and construction of the telescope in cooperation with NASA. The telescope will be built by MAN GHH, MAN Technologies and Kaiser Threde of the Federal Republic of Germany. Presently, the SHOTT Zerodur mirror is being ground in Meinz, Germany. Attached are a requirements Document in Microsoft Word, A list of 14 questions in Microsoft Word we wish answered, and a description of the mirror readable in Adobe Acrobat. This is not a request for proposals or bids. No solicitation is available. WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://nais.nasa.gov/EPS/ARC/date.html#RFI-SOFIA-1. E-MAIL: Daniel H. Cathcart, dcathcart@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

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