AMD 2 POES EL RFP Questions and Responses.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 86 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 1332KP22BNEEB0001
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This document contains questions and responses related to a draft request for proposal from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Polar Operational Environmental Satellites Extended Life Operations Support. The solicitation seeks commercial ground system and operations support for three aging POES satellites at a reduced cost. Key details include a proposal due date of May 23, 2022, questions regarding required artifacts and their page limits, clarification of past performance and risk assessment questionnaire due dates, availability of hardware simulators as government furnished property, and a 182 day schedule for initial operations though risks to this timeline are acceptable. The document provides responses to bidders' questions on topics like frequency licensing, ground site usage, data distribution, and level of subject matter expert support.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| SF 30 Amendment 2 5.6.22.pdf | ||
| AMD 2 Att 4 SCRA Questionnaire.docx | DOCX document | |
| AMD 2 Att 3 Past Performance Questionnaire.docx | DOCX document | |
| AMD 2 POES EL Solicitation.pdf | ||
| AMD 2 Att 1 POES EL SOW 5.6.22.pdf | ||
| Amendment 1 1332KP22BNEEB0001 4.22.22.pdf | ||
| Attachments 1.4.5.6 pdf.pdf | ||
| 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3 - Past Performance Questionnaire.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 2 - Pricing Attachment.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet |
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Sheet1 NOAA NESDIS POES EL Operations Support DRAFT Request for Proposal 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Question and Comment Template
| Question Number | Document | Page Number | Section | Paragraph | Question / Comment | Response |
| 1 | 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 | 40 | Factor A, Technical Approach, Factor B, Management Approach | D, F, G | Can the traceability matrix, exceptions, deviations, and list of material be submitted as separate artifacts since they do not count toward the page limit for the volume or must they be embedded in the main written volume? | Per the Solicitation Instructions within Section L for both Factor A, Technical Approach, as well as Factor B, Management Approach the Traceability Matrix, Exceptions and Deviations and List of Materials are to be excluded from proposal page count limit for each Factor, respectively. |
| 2 | Attachment 3 - Past Performance Questionnaire | 1 | Instructions to Person Providing Reference | 1 | The paragraph states that the questionnaire must be completed and submitted no later than 3:00 PM EST on May 6, 2022. The solicitation document 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 states on page 45, Section Factor C: Past Performance, paragraph 2 that the questionnaire must be submitted no later than the closing date of the solicitation, which is 12:00 PM EST on May 16, 2022. Please confirm which is the actual submission deadline for the questionnaire. | The Past Performance Questionnaire due date will be updated in the Final RFP to reflect "12:00 PM EST on May 23, 2022" |
| 3 | Attachment 1.4.5.6 pdf | 14 | Attachment 4 - Template Requesting Risk Assessment | 14 | The final paragraph states that the SCRA is due by May 6, 2022. Please confirm the SCRA is due in advance of the proposal due date of May 16, 2022 and, if the SCRA is due in advance, please state what time on May 6, 2022 the SCRA is due. | The SCRA due date will be updated in the Final RFP to reflect "12:00 PM EST on May 23, 2022" |
| 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Who will do the frequency licensing? Is that coming over from NOAA or is the contractor expected to obtain those for both the vehicle and the ground sites? | It is expected the Contractor will obtain the Frequency Licensing for any procured GSaaS Capabilities, however requests will require pre-coordination with the Government post award. The Government already has approved Spectrum Authority for the NOAA-15, NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 satellites. |
| 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Can an EIRP and a G/T requirement be provided for each Observatory? | All satellites comply with the EIRP and G/T requirements documented in POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD". Within the POES LE Acquisition Secure Bidders Library, POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD", Section 3.2.3 L/S-Band Transmitter Parameters (EIRP) and Table(s) 3.3.9-X (G/T). |
| 6 | 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 | 22 | Supply Chain Risk Assessment Information (Sept 2015) | 1 | This section lists out information that will be required by the SCRA questionnaire, which is later listed on page 34-35 of the solicitation as Attachment 4. However, the information listed on page 22 of the solicitation does not match Attachment 4. Rather, Attachment 4 appears to be instructions to the Contracting Officer on the process of evaluating the Offeror's SCRA. If we answer the questions on page 34-35 of the solicitation, will that be sufficient to meet the requirement for the SCRA or will the Government provide an additional questionnaire form? If the Government will not be providing an additional questionnaire, please provide instructions regarding what information from Attachment 4 must be included in the SCRA response. | There was an error in the initial solicitation and the incorrect information was included in Attachment 4. The Government will provide the correct SCRA questionnaire in Attachment 4, upon amendment of the solicitation from draft to final. |
| 7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Will the Government extend the planned due date for proposals to June 13th, 2022, allowing us time to sufficiently review the bidders library and establish needed subcontract and vendor artifacts that are required for the proposal? | The proposal due date is revised to May 23rd 2022 12 PM EST. |
| 8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Will the Government extend the planned due date for past performance questionnaires to June 3rd, 2022, allowing our customers time to develop and submit their response? | The Past Performance Questionnaire due date is updated in the Final RFP to reflect "12:00 PM EST on May 23, 2022" |
| 9 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Will the Government continue to manage the mission data distribution to end users from the storage location? | The Government will continue to perform Mission Data Distribution functionality for all end-users. |
| 10 | 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 | 45 | Factor C: Paster Performance | 1 | Please confirm that if 5 past performance contracts are submitted, the Prime may submit anywhere from 3 to 5 of those contracts for review; there is no requirement that 2 of the contracts come from a subcontracting partner. | Offerors are allowed to submit up to (5) five contracts worth of past performance information and if 5 contracts are submitted, three (3) shall be for the Prime, the Joint Venture and/or the partners of the Joint Venture--i.e. the principals leading the proposing team--, and up to two (2) for those subcontractors expected to accomplish the most significant portions of the work |
| 11 | 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 | 19 | NAM 1330-52.242-70 SUBMITTAL OF INVOICES (FEB 2011) | 4 | Can we do a monthly milestone payment plan to avoid a negative cash flow? | The Contractor shall invoice payments for TASK 1 - POES OPERATIONS TRANSITION, Labor Hours component, will be invoiced monthly until completion of the transition task. The Contractor shall invoice 3 Month Periods for TASK 2 - POES COMMERCIAL GROUND SYSTEM and TASK 3 - POES OPERATIONS initially upon delivery of the Kick-Off Presentation CDRL (Final - 7 DACA) and at the delivery of the QPSR CDRL for every subsequent QPSR per SOW Section 4.0 - Contract Payment Schedule. |
Unfortunately we cannot accomodate the request for a monthly milestone payment plan, but if negative cash flow is a concern, please feel free to propose the quarterly QDRL milestone payments that would address this concern.
| 12 | 1332KP22BNEEB0001 Draft RFP 4.15.22 | 9 | N/A | N/A | CAR 1352.245-70 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (APR 2010) does not reference to POES Constellation Simulators (one COMSEC integrated Hardware Simulator at the Government Facility, which is referenced on page 42). Will the COMSEC integrated Hardware Simulator be made available to the contractor as GFP ? | The POES Hardware Simulator (TTS) can support COMSEC functionality and will be provided as GFP per the approach approved by the Government within CDRL Mission Operations Transition Plan. The Government can also facilitate short-term un-encrypted commanding capabilities for all POES satellites to assist in verifying GSaaS functionality. |
| 13 | Attachement 1 | 5 - 6 | N/A | N/A | Why is there a mention of TIOS ? | The Government will remove the reference to TIOS from the Final RFP |
| 14 | Attachement 1 | 5 - 6 | N/A | N/A | Why is there no mention of AVHRR, SBUV/2, and SEM-2 ? | The Government will add references to AVHRR, SBUV/2, and SEM-2 to the Final RFP. However MHR, MIR and AMSU Instruments are noted individually as they could require special processing. |
| 15 | Attachement 1 | 8 | N/A | N/A | "The Contractor is encouraged to review recommendations and issues raised in the draft document, Introduction to Cybersecurity for Commercial Satellite Operations, NISTIR 8270, and incorporate them into their IT Security Approach." The focus of the document referenced is the space vehicle. There is a companion document whose focus is the ground segment for which an initial public draft available (NISTIR 8401 NIST IR 8401 Satellite Ground Segment: Applying the Cybersecurity Framework to Assure Satellite Command and Control). Is this companion document relevant to the procurement ? | The Government removed this reference from Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work. |
| 16 | Attachement 1 | 4 - 5 | N/A | N/A | "...will provide all relevant observatory design information to the Contractor." Is all relevant observatory design information provided in the secure bidder’s library ? | Per CAR 1352.209-70 POTENTIAL ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (APR 2010) |
the Secure Bidders Library includes all information disclosed as apart of the CRADA activities. Per Attachment 1 - POES LE SOW Task 2. - POES COMMERCIAL GROUND SYSTEM, Bullet e. "The Government will allow the Contractor to leverage the following functionality as Government Furnished Property and Expertise upon request:" of which applies to post award activities.
| 17 | Attachement 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Please confirm that PPQ’s are due on May 16, 2022 at 12:00 pm EDT consistent with the solicitation due date. | The Past Performance Questionnaire due date is updated in the Final RFP to reflect "12:00 PM EST on May 23, 2022" |
| 18 | Standard Form 1449 | 1 | 10 | N/A | Section 10 indicates this acquisition is “UNRESTRICTED”; however, FAR Clause 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside is checked by the Contracting Officer as being incorporated by reference. Since these requirements conflict, please confirm that this acquisition is in fact “UNRESTRICTED” and that the Government will consider offers received from businesses that are not small business concerns. | FAR Clause 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside will be unchecked in the Final RFP. |
| 19 | Attachement 1 | 9 | N/A | N/A | Will the Government clarify their intent for “special contingency stations?” What requirements are there for “special contingency stations?” | The Government will remove the reference for "special contingency stations" in the Final RFP. |
| 20 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Will NESDIS provide additional detail regarding the need that is driving the 182 day schedule requirement? Can the government provide bidders with the assumptions associated with the current requirement of 182 days from authority to proceed to initial operations? What risks are the government willing to incur to achieve this timeline? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE SOW.pdf, the "The NOAA POES observatories are the secondary best-effort data source complementing the flagship Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Mission..." "The purpose of this SOW is to accomplish this migration and to demonstrate the concept of operating Government owned meteorological satellites by means of a Ground System as a Service (GSaaS) capability." The NOAA POES Satellites individually are all "out of propellant and cannot perform propellant based maneuvers" and each have been uploaded automated passivation functionality that will execute if the correct trigger criteria is met. The Government per the Best-Effort approach has significantly reduced its operational service level requirements, as currently identified within the Attachment 1 - POES LE SOW.pdf Task 2 – POES Commercial Ground System, to the minimum criteria required to maintain critical health and safety of the POES Satellites. Per the Mission Operations Transition Plan (CDRL 6) the offeror may identify whatever approach best fits the Government's intent within the SOW for review, of which when awarded is expected to be Approved 60 Days DACA after discussion with the Government in the Project Kick-Off Meeting. |
| 22 | Is this the current Source Evaluation Plan to go straight to proposal from Draft? | The draft status is due to an internal procedural issue, but should not materially affect the contents of the RFP when the solicitation is amended to its final state. | ||||
| 23 | Do you anticipate a Final RFP which will start the clock for a 30 day proposal once the Final comes out for a very technical proposal? | The proposal due date is revised to May 23rd 2022 12 PM EST. | ||||
| 24 | Can you please reiterate/differentiate the frequency bands and specific frequencies for uplink and downlink C3S? | Review POES-REF-05 "NOAA-N Mission Description Document" Appendix B: Communications and Data Handling, POES-REF-06 "NOAA-K Mission Description Document" Appendix B: Communications and Data Handling, POES-REF-07 "NOAA-N Prime Mission Description Document" Appendix B: Communications and Data Handling | ||||
| 25 | Are there any considerations for obtaining frequency licensing approval for a proposed ground network? We have seen in the past that having customer involvement in the approval process can speed up the final approval schedule. These approvals can take a considerable amount of time. | It is expected the Contractor will obtain the Frequency Licensing for any procured GSaaS Capabilities, however requests will require pre-coordination with the Government post award. The Government already has approved Spectrum Authority for the NOAA-15, NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 satellites. | ||||
| 26 | What data rates are used for Uplink and Downlink? Are there multiple capabilities (mission rate vs. contingency rate) | All POES satellite(s) data rates are documented in POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD". | ||||
| 27 | The SOW states that a science collection needs to happen at least once per revolution but what is the current contact frequency used for each vehicle including SOH contacts? | The POES Satellites include and downlink SOH data within the standard SMD files (GAC). The Government currently performs 6 to 8 GAC dumps daily to ensure it receives full coverage of SOH, however offerors should propose an approach consistent with the requirements within the POES Life Extension Solicitation. | ||||
| 28 | The SOW states that the science data is downlinked during one contact each revolution, what is the length of time to complete that downlink from the satellite? | Within the Government Ground System, nominal high-latitude POES Contacts are around 15-18 minutes in duration. The maximum nominal time to dump a GAC (~17MB) is around 3.5 minutes when performing an L-Band SMD Downlink. | ||||
| 29 | What is the required ground G/T to close the link? | All satellites comply with the G/T requirements documented in POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD". Reference the POES LE Acquisition Secure Bidders Library, POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD", Table(s) 3.3.9-X (G/T). | ||||
| 30 | What is the RSSI that is needed to close link? | All satellites comply with the RSSI requirements documented in POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD". Within the POES LE Acquisition Secure Bidders Library, POES-REF-09 "NOAA-N Spacecraft to Ground ICD", 3.3.9 NOAA CDA Station Parameters. | ||||
| 31 | What is the packet structure for commanding and telemetry? | Within the POES LE Acquisition Secure Bidders Library, POES-REF-10 "IJPS-CSU-0036 Feb 2006.doc" | ||||
| 32 | Are there any ground radio configurations for either a QRadio or Amergint Software Defined Radio (SDR)? | The Government can provide post award station radio configurations. Reference Attachment 1 - POES LE SOW Task 2. - POES COMMERCIAL GROUND SYSTEM, Bullet e. "The Government will allow the Contractor to leverage the following functionality as Government Furnished Property and Expertise upon request:" | ||||
| 33 | Are there any software or hardware packages that will be provided to the vendor other than what is listed in the SOW? | Reference Attachment 1 POES EL Statement of Work, Task Order 2, Bullet "1", Sub-Bullet "e" | ||||
| 34 | What is the operational plan for key management? | Post Award the POES Key Management Plan (KMP) and COMSEC Management Plan will be provided to the awardee. It should be assumed that COMEC Equipment will be maintained to applicable NIST FIPS 140-2 Standards. | ||||
| 35 | Are there any flight software updates that will need to be sent to the vehicles? (If so, how often?) | The Government does not anticipate any additional flight software updates will need to be sent to the POES satellites during this contracts Period of Performance. However, this functionality may still need to be available in support of anomalous activities. | ||||
| 36 | Is there a specific process/tool needed to process the data to create the distribution package? | No Comment | ||||
| 37 | How will the final data product be distributed? Is this just a file system within the cloud? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 2, Bullet "1, d, v, 1" :"Indefinitely Store for the life of the contract all downlinked SMD data in the Contractor-owned Cloud Based Object Store" The Government will provide data distribution and science data processing for any collected POES Science data. | ||||
| 38 | Is there an Engineering Development Unit (EDU or flatsat) available for ground testing? | The POES Hardware Simulator (TTS) will be provided as GFP per the offorers approach within CDRL Mission Operations Transition Plan after approval by the Government. | ||||
| 39 | Will the questions (and answers) from all vendors/offerors be available? | Yes, the Government intends to post an amendment with responses to all timely questions received | ||||
| 40 | The SOW identifies M-F, 9-5 standard operations for the length of the contact. Do you have any requirements (or desires) for after-hours support? What would the Service Level Agreement look like for this option? What is the Government’s posture and expectation for an Anomaly Resolution Team (ART)? The posture of many of our customers is to work the anomaly investigation and recovery actions during nominal day shift hours after the vehicle is in a known SAFE state. | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE SOW.pdf, the "The NOAA POES observatories are the secondary best-effort data source complementing the flagship Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Mission..." Offerors can propose whatever is applicable per the Offorers implementation to meet the requirements identified within the POES EL Solicitation. | ||||
| 41 | Can we obtain a copy (or example snip) of the C&T database to get an idea of the scope of development/integration required for the contract? | Within the POES LE Acquisition Secure Bidders Library is POES-REF-08 "NOAA-18 Telemetry Database" | ||||
| 42 | The SOW indicates that the KIT-223 COMSEC equipment will be provided. Are there any options for a software only encryption capability that can be used for hosting in a cloud environment? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 1, Bullet "1, e": "Incorporate POES COMSEC within the Contractors commercial ground system along with the ability to send valid COMSEC Encrypted commands to the NOAA POES observatories. Further requirements are detailed in Section 2.2 TASK 2. POES COMMERCIAL GROUND SYSTEM." The Government expects current POES COMSEC equipment to be integrated within the Offorers implementation. | ||||
| 43 | Regarding operational procedures, how many nominal procedures are in use today by the operations team? Similarly, how many anomaly procedures are in place? This helps us understand the scope required for training. | For N15 there are ~500 CPs (command procedures) of which ~ 350 are Spacecraft specific. For N18 is ~ 550 CPs of which ~ 400 are Spacecraft specific and for N19 there are ~ 730 CPs of which ~ 500 are Spacecraft specific. These procedures are highly dependent on the Government's existing Operations Concept as well as Ground System, which is not consistent with the "Best Effort" Operations and Contractor Provided GSaaS Approach of which is being solicited for. | ||||
| 44 | Over the past year, approximately how many anomalies occurred for the three transitioning POES observatories that have taken more than 2 hours to investigate and resolve? | There were one major anomalies during the past year. | ||||
| 45 | Task 2, Section 3.a.ii of the SOW states, “The use of non-US-based assets, if any, shall be secured and shall protect U.S. National and NOAA interests as it pertains to POES Life Extension.” What are the specific protections required for foreign based ground networks? Would these be things like physical security at the remote site, two-factor authentication for network access, and/or source encryption of communications? Or is there another intent for this statement? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 2, Bullet 3, the Contractor shall propose a security certification process meeting applicable NIST, ISO/IEC, Executive Orders, and/or other standards regarding security of foreign-based assets. | ||||
| 46 | In the opening paragraph of the SOW it states that the Government is seeking this POES extension contract “…at a reduced operations cost”. What was last year’s approximate total annual cost to operate the three POES observatories? | No Comment | ||||
| 47 | What level of trending and analysis is desired? Is this trending and analysis on all subsystem, sensors, and telemetry points or just a subset? If only a subset is required, can you quantify? Can we assume that any out of family trends will be communicated to the vehicle engineers for further detailed analysis and recommended corrective actions? | The Governments Ground System currently can trends all POES Satellite(s) mnemonics. The Government's expectation is that Offers implementations can trend all POES Satellite(s) mnemonics, reference POES-REF-08 "NOAA-18 Telemetry Database". It is up to the Offeror to identify its approach to perform ongoing mission operations per the requirements in Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 3 "POES Operations". | ||||
| 48 | What level of mission planning is needed by the offeror? Will specific task requests or plans be delivered to the operations team for planning and execution? If so, what is the anticipated frequency of these tasks? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 3 "POES Operations" the vendor is expected to provide full Mission Planning capability to support the POES satellites independent of the Government's Ground System. Mission Planning functionality could include contact scheduling, mission data management, collection planning/scheduling, attitude maneuver planning and load generation. Specific routine loads include: 1) Stored Command Table load (typically uploaded daily) this loads contains time tagged command to do recorder management and instrument commands. 2) Ephemeris load (typically uploaded weekly) and 3) occasional special loads to specific instruments (e.g. MHS) for anomaly resolution. Reference within the Secure Bidders Library, POES-REF-14 "Satellite Operation Management Subsystem Users Guide". | ||||
| 49 | The SOW identifies a requirement for the contactor to store all downlinked SMD data in the Cloud Based Object Store. What is the anticipated storage capacity needed to store all this data? | One orbit of SMD (GAC) is approximately ~17 MB in size per Satellite. It is up to the Offeror to propose the Cloud Based Object Store capacity required to meet the requirements within Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work. | ||||
| 50 | The SOW identifies that SME support will be provided. Can you quantify the level of SME support that is available for the complete contract? Is this support constrained to, for example, 5 hours per week or 10 hours per anomaly? | The Government will maintain at least 2 FTE of Flight Systems Engineering Support on a separate Contract for the duration of the POES Life Extension. | ||||
| 51 | Can you confirm that the existing ground sites at Fairbanks and Wallops Island are not available under this new contract? | Per Attachment 1 - POES LE Statement of Work, Task 2, Bullet "1": "Support the configuration, delivery, and maintenance of a Commercial Ground System capable of supporting operations independently of the Government's ground system functionality." |
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