Engineering Services in Support of NESDIS Real-time Operations, Spacecraft Systems Analysis, Navigation, and Operations Training

Disclaimer: This is not a solicitation. This is not a request for quote (RFQ), invitation for bid (IFB), request for proposal (RFP), request for application (RFA) or an announcement of a solicitation, and does not assume the Government will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitation efforts in the near future. This request is for information purposes only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. All information considered proprietary shall be marked accordingly. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for improperly identified proprietary information. Properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with federal regulations. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the marketplace, and any responses received will neither be considered an offer by the responding party nor returned to the responding party. No telephone inquiries will be accepted, and requests for solicitation packages will not honored since no solicitation has been prepared. Synopsis: Sources Sought This Sources Sought notice is intended for small businesses only. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research for the purposes of identifying small businesses that have demonstrated capabilities in the area of engineering and ground system engineering support. No solicitation of offers is made by this synopsis. Background: The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)/NOAA/NESDIS operates all of the United States' operational environmental satellites from the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, MD: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). NESDIS also supports the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite and, through international agreement, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)'s Meteorological Operational (METOP) Satellite and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales's (CNES) Jason-2 Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM). The data gathered from these satellites allow U.S. environmental and emergency agencies to monitor and forecast hurricanes and other severe storms, monitor oceans, monitor global climate change, verify ozone depletion, monitor land surface change and critical space environmental parameters, and support search and rescue efforts across the globe. NESDIS is also preparing to support such missions as Jason-3 (scheduled to launch in early 2015), the Joint Polar Satellite Systems (JPSS) satellites (scheduled to launch in 2017), and the GOES-R satellite system (scheduled to launch in 2015). NESDIS also operates the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) Mission Control Center for the United States and its supporting ground system equipment to relay search and rescue data to emergency response agencies. The SARSAT program is an operational program managed within NOAA that utilizes NOAA's operational weather satellites to detect and locate distress signals in the United States and around the world. NESDIS operates and maintains the operational ground system for the SARSAT program that has assets in Guam, Hawaii, California, Florida, and the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The expected scope of this work is to provide sustaining engineering and ground system engineering support for the two operational environmental satellite constellations (GOES and POES), sustaining engineering support of U.S. instruments on the METOP satellites, operational and ground system engineering support for Jason-2/Jason-3, sustaining engineering and ground system engineering support for Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), configuration management of mission operational databases and products for all satellite constellations, and support for future operational environmental satellite programs. It is expected that this scope will increase over the life of the contract. Potential causes for that increase include the addition of new satellites and missions, architectural changes to existing satellites and ground systems, staffing changes within the Government, and other unforeseen changes to the nation's satellite fleet. Requirements: NESDIS requires professional, non-personal services in engineering and associated skilled disciplines to support such systems similar to size, scope, and relevancy of the following systems: - Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES); - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES); - Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Satellite; - Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR); - Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS); - Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite scheduling; and the - joint enterprises between NOAA/NESDIS and other agencies and international partners NESDIS requires sustaining engineering services in support of real-time operations, spacecraft systems analysis, navigation, and operations training. This includes: - Real-time operations support required for monitoring of normal operations, planning and execution of special operations, conducting on-orbit and ground tests, and responding to spacecraft and ground system anomalies and contingencies; - Spacecraft systems analysis required for the evaluation and characterization of subsystem telemetry and trends, to determine spacecraft state-of-health and to identify and mitigate adverse performance; - Operational navigation support for maneuver predictions, orbit and altitude determination, Earth location, and Image Navigation and Registration (INR) for satellites; - Operational training to include recurring special operations training, briefings to update changes in spacecraft configuration, and operational training for new satellites; - Development and testing of command products for all routine and special spacecraft operations, and the preparation of written and verbal technical reports; - Configuration management of Telemetry and Command (T&C) databases and other engineering systems and products; - Administrative and technical support to configuration management processes; and - Testing and integration of new and upgraded ground systems into operations. NESDIS requires the monitoring and evaluation of the bus and payload system. NESDIS requires timely investigation, resolution, and reporting of any spacecraft anomaly, ground system issues or other notable events. Information Requested: Interested companies should describe their capabilities as they relate to the following: - Adaptability - ability to respond to emerging and expanding needs of their sponsors and anticipate future critical issues; and - Objectivity - ability to produce thorough, independent analyses to address complex technical and analytical problems. In addition to addressing technical capabilities, responses must include the following: - Name and address of firm - Size of business (i.e., small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.) - Average annual revenue for the past 3 years and number of employees - Ownership - Number of years in business - Affiliate information - Parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential subcontractor) or subcontractors (if potential prime contractor) - List of customers covering the past five years (highlighting relevant work performed, contract numbers, contract type, and dollar value of each procurement) - Point of contact - address and phone number; Submittal Requirements: Telephone responses are NOT solicited and will not be accepted. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. This synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award a contract, nor will the Government pay for the solicited information. Please submit your response via email to the attention of the Contact Specialist, Mr. Keith Fowler (keith.fowler@noaa.gov) no later than August 2, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Each response shall be no more 15 single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the cover page), and each page shall be separately numbered.