Blackout Notice ACX.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771

January 3, 2022

Reply to Attn of: 210

TO: NASA, NOAA, and NESDIS Civil Servants

FROM: Office of Procurement and Geostationary and Extended Orbits (Geo-XO)

Program

SUBJECT: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Blackout Notice for

Final Request for Proposal (RFP) number 80GSFC22R0002 entitled Geostationary

Extended Observations (GeoXO) Atmospheric Composition (ACX) Phase A Study.

A final request for proposal (RFP) for the GeoXO Atmospheric Composition ( ACX)

Instrument Phase A study is being released to industry. The resulting contract will provide a definition-phase study of a GeoXO Atmospheric Composition (ACX) instrument. The solicitation is located at the Governmentwide point of entry (GPE) (https://SAM.gov) and can be found by entering the final RFP number into the “keywords” field.

Effective immediately, all NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) and National Environmental Satellite, DATA, and Information Service (NESDIS) personnel will cease communications with industry concerning this acquisition. This

‘blackout’ period of communication with industry will continue through the receipt and evaluation of proposals, the award of the contract, and the release of the evaluation board from its responsibilities.

NASA personnel shall refer anyone seeking information regarding this acquisition to the designated Contract Specialist, Kristal Kerr at Kristal.Kerr@nasa.gov, at Goddard Space

Flight Center (GSFC). Improper communication could jeopardize the integrity or successful completion of the GeoXO Atmospheric Composition (ACX) acquisition. Therefore, compliance with the above will ensure the dissemination of uniform responses to all inquiries and eliminate the possibility of preferential treatment of any prospective offeror. This blackout notice is not intended to terminate all communication with offerors. The designated

Contracting Officer should continue to provide information as long as it does not create an unfair competitive advantage or reveal proprietary data.

NASA, NOAA and NESDIS personnel who may be responsible for the administration of existing contracts or agreements that may be related to the GeoXO Atmospheric Composition

(ACX) acquisition shall, at all times, be fully aware of the extremely sensitive nature of this acquisition and maintain compliance with the blackout notice. While it is recognized that some NASA, NOAA and NESDIS personnel have a need to communicate with prospective offerors relative to the conduct of current ongoing contract work, any communication is limited solely to existing contracts or agreements and shall not be expanded into matters relating to the GeoXO Atmospheric Composition (ACX). Under no circumstances shall

GeoXO Atmospheric Composition (ACX) be discussed. It is important that all NASA, NOAA, and NESDIS personnel adhere to this notice to ensure that all offerors are treated fairly and impartially.

Kristal Kerr

Contract Specialist