13-Meter Auto-Tracking Antenna System

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NRL RFI Announcement # N00173-18-RFI-ET01 Title: 13 Meter Auto-Tracking Antenna System I. DISCLAIMER: This announcement constitutes a Request for Information (RFI) for the purpose of determining market capability of sources or obtaining information. It does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), a Request for Quote (RFQ) or an indication that the Government will contract for any of the items and/or services discussed in this notice. Any formal solicitation that may subsequently be issued will be announced separately through Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps). It is the responsibility of any potential contractor to monitor FedBizOpps for additional information pertaining to this topic. Information on the specific topic of interest is provided in the following sections of this announcement. Neither the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) nor any other part of the Federal Government will be responsible for any cost incurred by responders in furnishing this information. II. BACKGROUND: The NRL, Satellite and Communication Section (Code 8144), is seeking to procure a full motion 13-meter 3-axis auto-tracking antenna system with an frequency of 1750-1850 and 2200-2300 MHz, along with Unified S-band (USB) capabilities in both the transmit and receive as well as the full X-band receive capabilities in the 7600-8500 MHz bands. This requirement is a commercial item that must be delivered within 13 months if a contract was awarded through Site Acceptance Testing. The Site Acceptance Testing has to be performed on new antennas systems to verify the performance requirements are met and the antennas can be controlled with the specific software. III. SPECIFIC INFORMATION OF INTEREST: The critical requirements of the auto-tracking antenna system are as follows: 3.1.1 ANTENNA SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 3.1.1.1 Track, receive, downconvert and demodulate telemetry in S-Band 2200 to 2300 MHz. Downconversion of telemetry is an antenna capability requirement; however, the downconverters in the antenna are not required. 3.1.1.2 Track, Receive, downconvert and demodulate EOS Data in the X-Band 8025 to 8500 MHz. Downconversion of telemetry is an antenna capability requirement; however, the downconverters in the antenna are not required. 3.1.1.3 Modulate, up convert, power amplify and transmit commands in both the L and S band, selectable, 1763 to 1840 MHz and 2025 to 2110 MHz with a minimum EIRP of 93 dBm 3.1.1.4 Antenna feeds polarizations for L and S Band shall be selectable for Right or Left hand Circular polarization 3.1.1.5 Antenna Feed polarization for X-band shall be simultaneous Left and Right Hand Circular Polarization with an Axial Ratio of <1 dB 3.1.1.6 Antenna feed section shall have provisions for adding band pass or notch filters. Requirements are to be determined. X-band feed shall include a band pass filter to limit operational band to 8025-8400 MHz, 3.1.1.7 All waveforms must meet National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) mask requirements. 3.1.1.8 Ability to auto track on the S and X band receive signals with automatic switching to X-band when it is present. The Auto track system shall maintain tracking within a 1 dB beamwidth. 3.1.1.9 Coupled test ports for injecting test signals into the S and X band receive path and for monitoring the L and S band Uplink path. 3.1.1.10 Optimize to operate at the highest velocity that is electrically and mechanically possible to minimize the Keyhole effect on contacts that are tracked directly over the antenna site. 3.1.1.11 Track 0 to 180 degrees in elevation and +/- 360 degrees in azimuth 3.1.2 GROUND STATION ELECTRONICS 3.1.2.1 Operate on 120/208V, 60Hz, 1 or 3 Phase electrical power or on 480V, 60Hz 3 Phase electrical power, to be compatible with current power supplied by the host site. 3.1.2.2 Capability for antenna-pointing schedule 3.1.2.3 Provide the capability for the ground system to automatically generate the system G/T 3.1.2.4 Provide for the ability of any hardware errors, failure warnings or alarms to be monitored remotely through a machine to machine interface protocol via Neptune 3.1.2.5 To accommodate cyber security compliance, all machine to machine interfaces must meet or exceed SNMP v3 standards 3.1.2.6 Provide all status and control as displayed on the front panel of equipment to be accessible via software interface for use in Neptune for remote control and monitoring. 3.1.2.7 Where possible, provide a useful life of > 10 year, assuming normal operating environment, normal maintenance, sparing and recapitalization. Any equipment with <10 years useful equipment life cycle will be approved by the government prior to purchase. 3.1.2.8 Provide an overall mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of the equipment 3.1.2.9 Provide a mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) of the equipment 3.1.2.10 Support IA certification and accreditation in accordance with the Cyber Security Plan. 3.1.2.11 Provide the capability for remote diagnostics and maintenance of hardware and software via remote login. 3.1.2.12 Provide the ability to remotely power on/off the equipment 3.1.2.13 Capability to fly-wheel (operate while communications is lost with the Blossom Point Tracking Facility SOC) for TBD minutes/hours. IV. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS and FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS a) Responses are requested no later than September 14, 2018 at 4:30 PM Central Standard Time. Any response received after this date will also be considered, but may not be included in initial reporting or assessments. Oral communication are not acceptable in response to this notice. Proprietary information should be marked accordingly. b) Required content and submission organization: i. Cover Sheet - RFI number, company name and address, socio-economic status, NAICS code, technical point of contact, printed name, title and email address and date. (Not included in the total page count) ii. Technical description of the proposed concept or capability, and including a concise description of the specifications. This section should not exceed 5 pages, single-spaced, 12 point font, including charts, graphs, or other illustrations. iii. The RFI will be evaluated solely for market research purposes. Consequently, the Government is primarily interested in Qualified Sources (Prime Contractors) providing specific technical details indicating how that source can meet the Government's needs. c) Small Business Concerns, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Concerns, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Concerns, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Concerns and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns are all highly encouraged to respond to this RFI. V. QUESTIONS AND POINT OF CONTACT Submit the responses electronically to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Erica N. Turner at contact@example.gov no later than September 14, 2018 at 4:30 PM Central Standard Time.