D -- IT equipment to process and reduce a variety of data collected by and associated with satellites in earth orbit.

The contract involves a sole source follow-on acquisition by the General Services Administration to fulfill a requirement from the Department of the Army for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The procurement is for a specialized piece of computer-controlled IT equipment known as the Anemometer Cross-track Measurement Experiment (ACME), which is uniquely developed and available only from the University of Texas at Dallas. This instrument is critical for processing and analyzing data collected from satellites in earth orbit, specifically measuring neutral cross-track winds at an altitude of 350 kilometers in a circular orbit—capabilities not available through any other device. The ACME has a proven track record, having been integrated onto the Air Force C/NOFS satellite and successfully flown on a sounding rocket. Due to delays stemming from the unavailability of a suitable satellite launch in a circular orbit, the original contract timeline could not be met by the delivery date of November 30, 2005. The current sole source contract, authorized under statutory authority 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), is intended to complete the remaining work necessary to finalize the delivery of this critical equipment. The contract is managed out of GSA's Region 1 office based in Boston, Massachusetts, under solicitation number R1WH57000601. The contracting officer overseeing this acquisition is Mattie S. Buford. This procurement supports AFRL’s ongoing research needs for advanced satellite data processing instruments that are essential for military and aerospace applications.