Microwave Imager/Sounder (UAS) Upper Air Sounder (UAS) Spectrometer

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ISSUED BY THE NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY (NRL) FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. NO AWARDS WILL BE MADE FROM THE RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. HOWEVER, RESPONSES MAY BE USED TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE ACQUISITION STRATEGY FOR A FUTURE ACQUISITION. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Code 8200 (Spacecraft Engineering Department), is conducting a market research survey to 1) determine industry capabilities and potential offeror interest, 2) obtain information to refine the government's requirements in a final Statement of Work/Specifications document and 3) obtain Rough Order Magnitude (ROM) estimates of price/cost and delivery schedule for the design and delivery of one Microwave Imager/Sounder (MIS) Upper Air Sounder (UAS) Spectrometer as defined in the RFI NRL-11-SE01 Requirements Document. The UAS splits the IF signal and passes the signal to a Spectrometer that extracts the frequency spectrum of two 128 MHz BW channels with the center frequency of each channel being different. Sub channels of the frequency spectrum are recorded. Contiguous frequency spectrum sub channels are averaged for a specific time within the Spectrometer, and are then transmitted to the UAS Digital Processing Module (UDM) which packetizes and transmits sub channel data, along with housekeeping data to the Rotating Data Handling Unit (RDHU) over an RS422 HDLC serial link. The specifications referenced herein are export controlled under the International Traffic In Arms Regulation (ITAR). As such, in order to receive the referenced specifications, potential contractors must complete the attached certification and submit it via e-mail to Mr. Eric Sogard at eric.sogard@nrlssc.navy.mil. Upon confirmation of eligibility, potential offerors will be sent draft copies of the requirements document. Recipients shall safegaurd and protect the requirments document from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with applicable U.S. export control laws and regulations. A primary goal of this RFI is to determine how NRL may proceed with a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) anticipated to be released in early FY2012. Complementary goals of this RFI are to gauge industry interest, capabilities, and relevant past experience in the manufacture, assembly, integrattion and testing of an engineering unit and/or flight unit spectrometer. It is the goal of the NRL to maximize relevant heritage experience and minimize risk and cost to the MIS program. Other complimentary goals are to use techical and other information obtained to refine the final Statement of Work and develop an accurate estimate of cost. It is anticipated that a competitive RFP will be released in early fiscal year 2012 with the contract being let approximately 6 months thereafter. Examples of likely key evaluation criteria for a future RFP are: 1) Relevant corporate and key personnel heritage experience and know-how, 2) Relevant heritage hardware performance, 3) Cost/Price/past cost performance and 4) Schedule/past schedule performance. If a solicitation is issued, it is anticipated that it will call for a fixed price contract. Interested parties should submit the information requested herein, as well as a ROM/cost and schedule estimate. The respondent's capability statement shall demonstrate experience in the design, manufacture and integration of space flight hardware, HDL, analog to digital conversion, digital signal processing, and digital circuits operating over 200 MHz. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an RFP or as an obligation on the part of the NRL to acquire any products or services. The NRL does not intend to award a contact based on this RFI or otherwise pay for the information requested. Submission of a response to this RFI is voluntary and does not entitle the submitter to any compensation. All information and data received in response to this RFI that are marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be protected as such. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS and FORMATTING REQUIRMENTS: 1) Responses are requested by 20 JUL 2011. Any response received after this date will also be considered but may not be included in initial discussions or assessments. 2) All responses should be in PDF format and emailed to the technical point of contact: Douglas Carssow (douglas.carssow@nrl.navy.mil) with a copy to the contract specialist: Eric Sogard (eric.sogard@nrlssc.navy.mil). The subject line of the email should read as follows: RFI: NRL-11-SE01 Spectrometer. Suggested submission organization should include the following: * Cover Sheet - RFI Number and Title, Company Name and Address, Technical Point of Contact with Name, title, and email address and telephone number. * Capability Statement with technical data/approach, alternative approaches. * Detailed milestone schedule. * Any opportunities for additional cost reductions. * A plan for validating compliance with performance specifications. This includes a description of the testing or analysis that will be used for acceptance. * A ROM cost breakdown for all tasks, hardware deliverables, integration/installation, and testing and data deliverables including an option. QUESTIONS AND POINT OF CONTACT Questions of a technical nature regarding this RFI may be sent to the following Technical Point of Contract: Name: Douglas Carssow Title: Requirements Originator Division: Code 8242 Spacecraft Engineering Department Address: Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave., Washington, DC 20375-5320 Email Address: douglas.carssow@nrl.navy.mil Questions of a contract or business nature and copies of all technical questions regarding this RFI may be sent to the following Business Point of Contract: Name: Eric Sogard Title: Contract Specialist Division: Code 3235 Contract Division Address: Naval Research Laboratory - SSC, Dept of the Navy, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-5004 Email Address: eric.sogard@nrlssc.navy.mil