U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/OFA/AGFS/AMD -- OFA51, 1305 East West Highway -- Station 7604, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

A -- TECHNOLOGY READINESS FOR A MULTISPECTRAL IMAGER (VISIBLE AND INFRARED BANDS) FOR FUTURE GOES REQUIREMENTS POC Edward F. Tennant, Jr., Contracting Officer, 301/713-0823 This is a Request For Information (RFI). The information received will be used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) in assessing the technology readiness for the industrial development of a multispectral imager (visible and infrared bands) having mass and power requirements of 65 kilograms and 150 watts, respectively, for deployment in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system circa 2007. The Government will not award a contract based on this RFI. The Government will not pay for the information received in response to this RFI; provided, however, that costs properly chargeable under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 31.205-18, "Independent Research and Development and Bid and Proposal Costs," may be allocated to Government contracts consistent with the terms of such contracts. In the information exchange, NOAA/NESDIS will sign a non-disclosure statement at the respondent's request. Prospective respondents are requested to contact Mr. Roger Heymann by telephone at 301-457-5125 extension 103, by facsimile at 301-457-5722, or by e-mail at <Rheymann@nesdis.noaa.gov> not later than May 5, 1998 to obtain a copy of a report prepared by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a Federally funded research and development center, which contains a draft of the requirements for the imager based on preliminary work performed by JPL in conjunction with NOAA/NESDIS. Based on the information contained in the JPL report, the Government seeks responses to the following items: 1. Performance. Comment on the general technology readiness of your organization to meet the stated performance requirements of the future GOES imager in the 2007 time period and mass in the 65-kg class. Show a general design concept. Include multispectral radiometric performance, coverage rates, and round-the-clock continuous observations. 2. Focal Plane Arrays. What is the status of multi-detector, focal-plane-array(FPA) technology to meet the imager's multispectral radiometric requirements and coverage rates? Include the operating power, electronic readout, and thermal requirements of such an FPA. Comment on FPA product availability, on-orbit life expectancy, risk, and cost. 3. Passive Cooling. Can the FPA's cooling requirement be met with a passive cooler? Estimate the required size and mass of such a cooler. Is a 65 degree Kelvin passive cooler a reasonable design in this application? What degradation in cooling capacity will occur over a satellite MMD (mean mission duration) of approximately seven years? 4. Active Cooling. What is the status of active coolers? Specify cooling capacity, on-orbit life expectancy, risk, size, weight, and power requirement. 5. Lightweight Materials. What is the status of lightweight materials (structural and optical) that can be used in the construction of an athermalized imager of the 65-kg class? Identify key areas where weight reduction is feasible and has high leverage. Comment on availability of these materials, their special manufacturing properties, risks, and cost. 6. Imager Design Lifetime. What on-orbit lifetime can NOAA expect of such an imager? In terms of risk and cost, comment on the feasibility of an imager design lifetime of approximately nine years (as required to support an MMD of approximately seven years for a satellite bearing multiple instruments). 7. Full-time Operation. Comment on design features to reject stray light and to ensure operation at times near and at local midnight. 8. Data Rate Control. Comment on on-board techniques to control the data rate such as selectable spatial resolution, spectral bands, variable data compression, and product processing. 9. Risk. What items will pace the development of such an imager? Show techniques to simplify the design to reduce risk and cost. Comment on other methods to control risk. 10. Schedule and Cost. What is the schedule and cost to build such an imager? Describe the manufacturing process of the imager to include management, hardware assembly, and testing. 11. Phase B Development. Is the technology available now to begin the Phase B of the industrial development of the imager in 1999? Please identify the amount of time that your organization would require in a Phase B effort to develop a complete imager design should a Phase B contract be awarded to your organization in the last calendar quarter of 1999. 12. Final Comments. Does your organization wish to point out any special considerations that NOAA/NESDIS should know regarding the development of an advanced GOES imager? In addition to responding to the above items, respondents are requested to submit a 5 to 10 page statement of capability identifying relevant experience, familiarity with the enabling technology, experienced personnel, and plant facilities/equipment. Respondents are requested to submit all information not later than June 10, 1998 to the attention of Mr. Roger Heymann at NOAA/NESDIS, FB-4, Room 3010, OSD, 4700 Silver Hill Road, Stop 9909, Washington, DC 20233-9909. It is anticipated that selected respondents, chosen by NOAA/NESDIS, will be invited to meet in Suitland, MD for a full day meeting in June 1998. Both open forum and private discussions may follow between the selected respondents and a technical committee formed by NOAA/NESDIS. (0110)

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