This Solicitation opportunity from Department Of Commerce was posted on March 26, 2026. The submission period has ended. Browse the details below for market research, or find similar active opportunities.
NOAA: ROTRONIC Humidity Probes and Cables for National Weather Service (NWS)
Contract Overview
Solicitation details, issuing organization, response deadlines, documents, and interested companies for this government contract opportunity.
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AI Contract Overview
The Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is soliciting bids for a firm fixed price contract to supply ROTRONIC humidity probes and cables for the National Weather Service’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) located at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. This procurement is set as a total small business set-aside and aims to replace existing humidity probes that are over four years old, lost at sea, or damaged. The contract prioritizes awarding to a responsive and responsible quoter offering the best value, in accordance with applicable federal acquisition regulations. The NDBC has justified a brand-specific procurement for ROTRONIC HC2A-S3 humidity probes due to their proven accuracy and reliability in harsh marine environments, having been subjected to extensive laboratory and field testing over decades. These probes meet stringent requirements for relative humidity accuracy of 0.8% RH and are compatible with existing buoy and Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) systems in form, fit, and function. Selecting alternate probes would necessitate costly and time-consuming requalification, including long-term side-by-side testing, which could impact data quality essential for weather forecasting and public safety. Contractors must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for award, and responses to the solicitation are due by April 6, 2026.
General Info
Place of Performance
Stennis Space Center, MS, 39529, USASet-Aside
Timeline
Submission Closed
Organization & Contact Information
Full Description
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) intends to award a firm fixed price contract for ROTRONIC Humidity Probes and Cables for the National Weather Service (NWS) National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) at Stennis Space Center, MS. The Government intends to make an award to the responsive responsible quoter providing the best value in accordance with FAR 12.203(c)(2).
Brand Name Justification
The NDBC has been testing relative humidity sensors for decades. The Rotronic probe has shown the greatest accuracy and reliability in harsh marine environments with extensive marine testing. The combined air temperature and humidity probe must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with NDBC weather buoy and CMAN systems and the source is uniquely qualified to meet the requirement.
Manufacturers of meteorological instruments have a wide variance concerning technical specifications. New products require intensive laboratory testing prior to ever making it to a field trial. A field trial is then a minimum of a 1-year side by side testing of the new probe versus the current certified probe. For the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) that could mean a co-located buoy. The cost of this testing can go into excessive funding over multiple fiscal years. These instruments must return quality data because people's lives and their livelihoods depend on the NDBC returning the highest quality data for forecasting, warnings, and modeling. The purchase of other types of probes could result in sensors suffering premature failure rates, sensor corrosion, and inaccurate data. Accuracy is essential to protect life and property. The Government is not aware of any other humidity probes that meet the standard NDBC requirement of 0.8% RH accuracy.
This procurement is intended to replace the current humidity probes that are over 4-years old, lost at sea, or damaged beyond repair during fiscal years 2024 & 2025. Due to the specifications, it is recommended that this procurement of the HC2A-S3 probes and the associated accessories to be used on Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) stations be Brand Name Specific to Rotronic Humidity Probes. The selection of an alternate relative humidity and air temperature sensor would result in extensive laboratory and field testing before it could be used on an operational station. This includes the side-by-side testing of full systems (buoy hull/mast, and full payload and sensor suite) since the C-MAN payloads are not equipped to add extra humidity sensors which would result in additional labor and time delays costing the government excessive additional funding.
DOC, Eastern Acquisition Division requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. Contractors active in SAM have a unique entity identifier (UEI) that is used to do business with the federal government. The Government has moved to a free new, non-proprietary identifier that will have to be requested in, and assigned by, the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). You can register and access the site by going to www.sam.gov.
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