Sources Sought Notice: GOES-R Notional Concepts

* Draft Solicitation 01 – Posted on Jan 14, 2003

General Information

• Document Type: Sources Sought Notice
• Solicitation Number: GFM-2004
• Posted Date: Jan 14, 2003
• Original Response Date: Feb 10, 2003
• Original Archive Date: Jan 14, 2004
• Current Archive Date:
• Classification Code: A — Research & Development

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.Y, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE.

Opportunity to respond to this Request For Information (RFI) is open to government agencies, academic institutions, private sector organizations, and other interested parties. Preparation for the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series is actively proceeding. NOAA has initiated the GOES-R Series Program to ensure satellite data continuity (with data products and service improvements) for the 2012-2027-time period. This program includes planning, formulation, risk mitigation, development, procurement, launch and operations for GOES-R Series. The GOES-R Series will incorporate technically advanced, modern instruments and spacecraft improvements to meet evolving environmental observational requirements for the second and third decades of the 21st Century. The GOES-R series will take advantage of spacecraft, instrument, and ground system advances that result from current industry practices and procedures. Specific future capabilities are being determined through analysis of requirements, technical viability, and cost and benefits being performed by the GOES-R Team (NOAA and NASA). This analysis process includes the “end-to-end” satellite data acquisition, processing, and dissemination and all elements necessary to develop instruments; acquire and launch spacecraft; and provide for the future ground systems, products, communications, and distribution capability.

Functionally all these elements have been subdivided into two GOES R system segments: (1) Space and Launch Segment and (2) Interface Data Processing Segment. The GOES R system segments will in turn interface with the following NOAA segments: (1) Command, Control and Communications, (2) Product Generation and Distribution, (3) Data Archive and Access, and (4) User Interface and Asimilation. The results from these analyses will facilitate the decisions for the following stages in the GOES-R system development. The GOES-R team is seeking feedback on some of the notional concepts that are being considered as part of the requirements and benefits analysis, and technical analysis process. One of the major changes that may result from this process is the acquisition of multiple satellites at each orbital location (instead of a single satellite East and a single satellite West).

The following attachments include the following:

• GOES-R Series system segments and interfaces to NOAA segments
• Baseline single and multiple satellite configurations
• List of potential sensor payloads
• List of communication payloads
• List of notional configurations being considered
• Entire system acquisition schedule
• Ground system notional concepts
• Detailed spacecraft formulation schedule
• Detailed HES formulation schedule

Vendors need not provide response in all categories (e.g., spacecraft vendors may limit their responses to spacecraft categories, ground vendors may limit their responses to ground categories, etc.)

For your particular area of expertise, it is requested: (a) Viability of the notional architecture concepts with current and projected industry and government architectures; (b) Pros and cons of existing GOES architectures versus notional multi-sats concepts (e.g., programmatic flexibility, hardware build, non-recurring cost, recurring cost, etc.); (c) In the case of multi-sats, pros and cons of one standard spacecraft design with standard interfaces for all payload for all spacecraft versus different spacecraft designs; (d) Suggest any other instrument allocations that may allow for a more optimal spacecraft configuration, in terms of technical performance, deployment and sustainment strategy, acquisition strategy, technology infusion, produceability, schedule flexibility; (e) Recommend a deployment strategy that will flatten the year to year spending; (f) Provide comments on the overall schedule; (g) Provide comments on the detailed formulation approach and schedule for the spacecraft, instruments, ground systems, etc.; (h) Provide comments on alternate data/information distribution to include such ideas as subscription services, commercial, etc. (i) Suggest any other improvements to the spacecraft configurations, instrument interfaces, other GOES services, data handling (processing, distribution, usage) and ground systems. The results of this RFI may be reported outside NASA and NOAA; therefore, any proprietary information submitted should be marked appropriately. Respondents are urged to describe their approaches in sufficient detail to allow NASA and NOAA to corroborate the ability of the respondent to meet the NOAA requirements. Sources with information relevant to this request are asked to respond by submitting a response of no more than 25 pages of text (minimum font size: 10) and 10 pages of figures and/or tables.

The response shall clearly contain (a) a description of the particular area(s) the respondent is responding to; (b) a statement describing the applicability of the recommendations to NOAA’s space-based mission interests; (c) a general engineering concept of any suggested architectures; (d) comments on the suggested schedule; and (e) a top-level development schedule, if suggesting a different approach to the schedule. A panel of NASA and NOAA experts will review the information received in response to this RFI. General information about NOAA’s geostationary satellite program can be found at http://www.osd.noaa.gov/goes .

THIS IS AN RFI NOT A NOTICE OF IFB, RFP, OR RFO ISSUANCE. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in the CBD and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the respondents responsibility to monitor these cites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Responses must include the following: name and address of firm or affiliation. Questions should be directed to: Sandra A. Cauffman, (301)286-7607. The responses are for information and planning purposes and are not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. The government intends to follow this RFI with an Industry Day. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business or 8(a) set-aside based on responses hereto. All responses shall be submitted to Sandra A. Cauffman at Code 415; Goddard Space Flight Center; Greenbelt, MD 20771 no later than February 10, 2003. The industry days will take place at the end of February 2003. The exact date will be supplied at a later date.

Original Point of Contact

Clelia Walker, Contracting Officer, Phone (301) 286-1351, Fax (301) 286-9777, Email Clelia.A.Walker.1@gsfc.nasa.gov

Email your questions to Clelia Walker at Clelia.A.Walker.1@gsfc.nasa.gov