J.6B_GOES-R_SOW WA.docx

GOES-R Ground System Maintenance and SustainmentProgram Support

DecMay 20154

1. Introduction

The contractor shall work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to provide support assistance to the GOES-R ground systemProgram. NOAA requires objective, conflict-free consultant services from the contractor to fulfill its mission responsibilities.

2. Task Activities

PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT

The contractor shall provide support to program and project management activities including integrated baseline establishment and maintenance, status assessment and reporting of program and project cost, schedule and technical performance, identification, assessment, and management of program and project issues and risks, execution and maintenance of budgets and other programmatic and technical planning and execution activities. Provide program/project control support including budget development and defense, programmatic execution and tracking, and program/project management preparations for internal and external reporting, reviews, and milestone activities. Assist government in procurement activities and source selections as directed including acquisition strategy development, request for proposal documentation preparations, evaluation and source selection preparation and conduct; evaluation of change proposal materials related to existing procurements, and supporting review and approval materials.

The contractor shall provide pProjectgram mManagement sSupport in the form of identification and resolution of issues as well as preparation of plans, briefings, and documents in the areas of program planning and scheduling and program advocacy for the NOAA/NESDIS Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite GOES R-Series (GOES-R) ground systemProgram.

The contractor shall provide support for the communication of systemdevelopment status to agency leadership, stakeholders, and public; participate in office and program technical interchange meetings/forums.

The contractor shall provide technical communications support, including meeting facilitation, management briefing development, process improvement, status reporting, and other activities identified by pProject or Program management.

The contractor shall provide support for the planning for constellation resource management throughout the initial GOES-R launch and post-launch test period into operations.

(Independent and Unbiased Support)

GOES-R is required to deliver a fully integrated end-to-end system that spans work overseen by both NASA and NOAA project offices. GOES-R must ensure successful integration of discrete subsystem deliverables and therefore requires unbiased and objective specialized subject matter expertise in space systems engineering and associated disciplines in order to ensure a successful end-to-end GOES R mission. GOES R is responsible for providing near continuous, quality environmental observations from 2015 through 2028.

As such, the Government requires an independent and unbiased contractor to advise the Program and Project Management on any and all aspects of the GOES R Program that, based on the contractor’s specialized expertise in aeronautics and space systems engineering along with its extensive specialized reach-back capability, may affect the health and success of the GOES-R mission, including but not limited to:

· Providing independent advice regarding all aspects of the GOES R Program, including the Flight Project and its subsystems, the Ground Segment Project and its subsystems, the Antenna System and any and all external or internal interfaces affecting the health and success of the mission. The Contractor’s independence and unbiased stature is necessary to ensure wide access to both sensitive information belonging to the Government, GOES-R development contractors, and the Government’s support services contractors.

· Recommending and conducting any special studies, technical systems analyses and assessments, and independent testing affecting development, manufacturing, assembly, integration, test and launch;

· Recommending special investigations for independent assessments and utilizing insight and knowledge gained from experience in spacecraft and payload design, development, demonstration, and operations to evaluate satellite payload and operational hardware and software designs;

· Assessing the viability, status, and health of the development contractor’s work;

· Reviewing and advising the Government regarding deliverables submitted by development contractors and support services contractors;

· Identifying risks and recommending specific mitigation and alternatives for implementation;

· Identifying, assessing, and recommending the integration of new technologies into GOES-R through simulation, modeling, prototyping and independent evaluation.

· Assisting the Government with formulation of follow-on mission to replace the GOES-R series.

(Independent Review Team (IRT) Tasks)

The contractor shall provide independent review support including providing senior individuals, unaligned with GOES-R, with extensive space program experience regarding: 1) management and systems engineering of large space system (spacecraft, instruments, and ground segment) acquisition(s) including pre-acquisition, development, integration and test (I&T), launch, and operations and sustainment; 2) executive and congressional program approval and budgeting processes; 3) knowledge of applicable mission and supporting science and user systems; and 4) the supporting external infrastructure and management oversight requirements and processes.

The contractor shall facilitate the establishment and provide support for the conduct of independent reviews of the GOES-R Program. Scope of reviews may include the review and assessment of planning, implementation and execution activities and status including: 1) organizational and management approach including NOAA and NASA oversight; 2) acquisition strategy; 3) availability of resources; 3) budget; 4) schedule; 5) technical approach; 6) technology readiness; and 7) risk identification and management. Specific scope and criteria for reviews will be provided by the Government.

The contractor shall assemble an IRT consisting of a core group of six to ten individuals including the team leader. This core group will be augmented with specific technical, cost and/or programmatic expertise as required. The core group shall be comprised of individuals with extensive space program experience regarding: 1) management and systems engineering of large space acquisition(s) including pre-acquisition, development, integration and test (I&T), launch, and operations; 2) program approval and budgeting processes; and 3) knowledge of GOES-R mission and supporting science.

The contractor shall provide all executive secretariat and administrative support resources for the IRT including the collection of data, the arrangements for meetings and the production of all IRT products.

For each review activity the IRT shall provide a report of findings and recommendations to NOAA and NASA senior management via the NOAA and NASA/GSFC Program Management Councils or other entity as directed. The report shall be provided in a preliminary summary briefing format and a final report format.

Review activities shall include: Annual GOES-R Program Execution Reviews - As requested by the Government, the IRT shall review program/project execution status relative to baseline budget, schedule, and technical requirements and identify any outstanding risks in these areas.

Program Milestone Reviews - As requested by the Government, the contractor (IRT) shall review program readiness for key program milestones.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Maintenance and SustainmentDevelopment Monitoring

The Contractor shall review maintenance and sustainmentdevelopment contractors’ plans and progress.

The Contractor shall review and advise the Government as to the sufficiency of deliverables submitted by development maintenance and sustainment contractors and support services contractors.

The Contractor shall also monitor and evaluate the maintenance and sustainmentdevelopment contractors’ and subcontractors’ integration and test activities.

The Contractor shall review, evaluate, participate in, and make recommendations for lowering risk in GOES-R developmentground system maintenance and sustainment contractor operations including, but not limited to the following:

· the maintenance and sustainment development contractors’ execution of plans, designs, schedules, cost, processes, control, and the deployment of resources (including support equipment and facilities);

· the maintenance and sustainment development contractors’ activities such as tests (including configuration item acceptance, qualification and readiness) and test data reviews, other major reviews (including design and readiness reviews), and documentation.

The Contractor shall assist the Government in conducting integrated baseline reviews (IBRs) on maintenance and sustainmentdevelopment contracts.

(System Engineering)

The contractor shall provide program, project technical and system engineering support including mission concept development, requirements management, design solution evaluation and trades analyses, interface management, integration and testing, verification and validation, risk management, technical data and configuration management, technical reviews, requirements compliance, software engineering management, mission assurance, pre- and post-launch calibration, hardware and software sustainment (e.g. COTS updates, obsolescence, system refreshes, etc.), and technical and programmatic oversight. The also includes general and systems engineering, with corporate ad hoc “reach-back” capability for special topics as requested.

The contractor shall provide impact analysis for Program, pProject, and contractor-derived requirements change requests, deviations, and waivers.

(Algorithm Development)

The Contractor shall support the algorithm development process through participation in algorithm milestone reviews, TIMs with the AWG and the development contractor, and Algorithm Development IDT meetings.

The Contractor shall provide support for instrument data processing algorithm development, including implementation by the ground system development contractor.

(Ground Readiness and Independent Test Support)

The contractor shall provide assistance to the GOES-R Ground Segment Project (GSP) Ground Readiness and Independent Test activities. The GSP requires support in the development and execution of the GOES-R ground readiness and independent test activities. This support includes, but is not limited to: create and execute detailed schedules, test cases, use cases, procedures, and validation plans for satellite ground system readiness activities and tests.

The contractor shall work with multiple Government stakeholder organizations to coordinate readiness and/or test planning and then execute readiness and test activities.

The contractor shall provide technical support for the definition, execution, and evaluation of validation testing, simulations, rehearsals, and post-launch tests.

The contractor shall provide support for independent assessments of end-to-end instrument performance, from raw measurement to Level 1b product data and Level 2 products.

The Contractor shall review and evaluate space segment and ground segment interfaces and interface integration. Specifically, GOES-R requires the Contractor to independently review, evaluate, participate in, and make recommendations on, the identification, assessment, design, fabrication, integration and control of all major, critical and significant risk interfaces of the NASA-provided space segment and the NOAA-provided ground segment.

The Contractor shall independently review, evaluate, participate in and make recommendations in the resulting integration and compatibility testing of the end-to-end system comprised of the space segment and ground segment. This effort will include interfaces within interacting systems, systems-of-systems, systems segments, deployment systems and facilities, operations systems and facilities, components and parts and between systems and the operating environments.

(Enterprise Architecture) The contractor shall assist the GSP in the evolution of the GOES-R Gground sSystem into the NESDIS Enterprise Architecture (EA). The contractor shall assist tothe GSP to ensure consistency with the NOAA Technical Reference Model and Standards.

The contractor shall assist the project and Office of the NESDIS Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and the Office of Satellite Ground Services (OSGS) to develop recommendations for policies, principles, and procedures to assist the current and future NESDIS EA.

The contractor shall assist NESDIS in the planning and development of the EA to identify stakeholder needs and integration gaps.

(IT Security)

The contractor shall provide technical support to the design, implementation, and evaluation of all phases of mission security and information assurance solutions for the GOES-R ground system.

The contractor shall provide planning and implementation support of NIST FIPS and NOAA IT security policies and requirements. The contractor’s support also includes planning and execution of Assessment and Authorization work, including activities to achieve and maintain Authority to Operate.

The contractor shall conduct security assessments, develop system requirements, and prepare security plans, risk assessments, and security evaluation reports based on NIST, Department of Commerce, NASA, and Department of Homeland Security guidance for critical information technology (IT) systems.

The contractor shall provide support for development of standards, guidance, and policies implemented in the GOES-R ground Ssystem.

The contractor shall provide support for oversight of communications security (COMSEC) requirements and implementation.

The contractor shall support the continuous monitoring of all information security, including activities associated with the acquisition and development efforts.

(Training)

The contractor shall plan and implement a training program for the GOES-R operations, maintenance and sustainment activities.

The contractor shall develop and coordinate schedules for training, ensure education materials are available, track progress and report on training status for users, operators, and support personnel.

(Transition and Handover)

The contractor shall provide operations transition support for the transition of operations from legacy systems to GOES-R.

The contractor shall plan and coordinate the transition of communications services provided to external interfaces.

The contractor shall prepare artifacts and materials to support multiple system readiness reviews leading to launch and post-launch acceptance and handover reviews.

The contractor shall provide operations and sustainment support following the transition and handover of the first GOES-R series satellites to the routine operations phase.

(User Readiness)

The contractor shall work with Flight Project, GS Project, Program, government technical support teams, and development contractor teams to ensure that end user needs are met by the GOES-R system.

The contractor shall provide support for the resolution of user transition issues.

The contractor shall work directly with NOAA product data users and National Weather Service (NWS) elements as directed by GOES-R government personnel, to ensure that end user needs are met by the GOES-R system. These efforts include support for GOES-R Proving Ground activities, AWIPS-2 technical coordination, and GOES-R data integration.

The contractor shall assist the Government by providing planning and collaboration services for the annual GOES Users’ Conference (GUC). This includes coordinating with Government officials across NOAA and NESDIS to plan and define the conference goals and agenda, identify and communicate with presenters, and finalize plans with the conference facilities. It also includes assisting NESDIS in the coordination of conference activities with the Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO), Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), Office of Satellite Ground Services (OSGS) and the user community (e.g., GOES Re-Broadcast (GRB) users) to prepare for operation of the GOES-R Ground Segment (GS).

(Modeling and Simulations)

The Contractor shall conduct modeling, simulation and prototyping for integrating new technologies into the GOES-R environment, specifically including developing proof-of-concept prototypes to demonstrate the feasibility of alternatives to conventional means of receiving data and continuing legacy capabilities into new systems. The Contractor’s unbiased and objective profit-free stature will enable the Government to release the results of any studies to industry and the public for purposes of facilitating technology transfer.

The contractor shall continue to develop and enhance the Ground Performance model to assist the GSP activities in planning and system sizing. This includes conducting performance studies using the model.

The contractor shall provide support to the GSP by interfacing with the GS development contractor’s Modeling and Simulation team. This includes reviewing model development activities and deliverables.

The contractor shall continue development of the Satellite Availability model and shall conduct studies in availability impacts due to satellite constellation assumptions and other model inputs.

The contractor shall provide systems engineering and modeling and simulation expertise to the Integrated Modeling Working Group (IMWG).

(Radiofrequency Support)

The Contractor shall provide assistance in such areas as spacecraft-to-ground communications, including antennas and radio frequency (RF) analysis. The Contractor shall support the planning, procedures, and execution of RF Compatibility Testing.

The Contractor shall conduct RF link analyses and RF interference analyses, assist in RF National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) filings, perform RF tradeoff analyses, and perform miscellaneous RF studies.

The Contractor shall provide space systems engineering radio frequency (RF) research and development support for integrating new technologies into future NOAA space systems and cost-effective user receive systems.

The Contractor shall provide research and development studies of spectrum utilization for the purpose of relocating operational frequencies within the Federal spectrum allocation. In connection with this work, the contractor shall coordinate with NOAA, NASA, mission partners, other agencies, including NTIA and FCC, and international organizations. This work is responsive to the President’s Broadband Initiative to increase commercial spectrum for the broadband wireless industry. Comment by VALENTI, JAMES M. (GSFC-416.0)[NOAA]: GOES-R ground system doesn’t need all of the these RF tasks in the SOW, but they seem useful, so I recommend keeping them

(Calibration and Validation Support)

The contractor shall apply senior-level expertise and direct experience with the heritage GOES-I/P Imager to ensure GOES-R instrument performance, operations, and calibration requirements are met.

The Contractor shall provide technical support for all aspects of spacecraft instrument radiometric calibration, including analysis of pre-launch and on-orbit test data.

The contractor shall develop software as requested to support calibration/validation and product assessment needs.

The Contractor shall coordinate with vendors and the Government to ensure that instrument performance is characterized and validated for transition and handover to operations.

SUMMARY

In summary, the Government’s objective in soliciting work from this contractor is to obtain sound , objective, independent technical and programmatic advice for NOAA, NESDIS and GOES-R management needed to ensure GOES-R mission success.

3. Schedule of Deliverables

The contractor shall provide deliverables specified by the Government Leads that are responsible for this task. Deliverables may include, but are not limited to, reports, analyses, studies, and meeting minutes.

The contractor shall provide monthly progress reports that summarize progress on these activities and identify the delivered and near-term deliverable items, based on guidance from the technical point-of-contact and in accordance with the contract.

The contractor shall provide weekly progress reports that identify technical issues, problems, successes, changes in direction, or new activities that have been assigned. The contractor shall meet with the individual task leaders, either formally or informally, to discuss the status of the work effort, task issues, concerns, and other information associated with the task.

The contractor shall provide deliverables in accordance with the schedule in the task order.

In accordance with Section F.4 (Deliverables) of the Contract, the contractor shall provide the following deliverables as required in Table 1.

TABLE 1 – THE CONTRACTOR DELIVERABLES

Monthly, 15th day following the end of the contractor’s fiscal month

1 copy to COR Contract completion

1 copy to COR Within 10 days of receipt of each Task Objective Statement

Within five (5) days of contract award

3. Technical Reports and Special Reports: The contractor shall furnish the Government technical reports as needed in all task areas. In addition to these specific deliverables, the contractor shall provide deliverables specified by the GSP and NESDIS technical staff leads that are responsible for this task. Deliverables may include, but are not limited to, reports, analyses, presentations, studies, meeting minutes, etc.

4. Progress Reports: The contractor shall provide monthly progress reports that summarize progress on activities and identify the delivered and near-term deliverable items. Reports and deliverables shall be based on guidance from the technical point of contact and in accordance with the contract to include task item progress, problems, and projected work during the next reporting period. The contractor shall provide weekly progress reports that identify technical issues, problems, successes, changes in direction, or new activities that have been assigned to the contractor. The contractor shall meet with the individual task leaders, either formally or informally, to discuss the status of the contractor’s work effort, task issues, concerns, and other information associated with the task. The contractor shall provide individual trip reports to the GSP and the JPSS Program, as required.

5. Quality Assurance

The contractor shall provide project management to monitor overall task activities and major deliverables to ensure their quality, timeliness, and pertinence to the NESDIS objectives. Management review of task activities shall occur, as required, to ensure that the Government priorities are being supported and the quality and timeliness of the products shall satisfy the Government. Management review of major deliverables shall be performed sufficiently in advance of delivery to allow time for any needed revisions and to ensure that products are consistently high quality. Management shall evaluate the task activities and major deliverables to determine if the Award Term assessment criteria have been achieved.

6. Security

In conducting certain of these subtasks, the contractor shall be provided access to sensitive but unclassified information dealing with known threats to NESDIS facilities, equipment, software, missions, and other security-related matters. The contractor staff members required to handle this information shall obtain the necessary clearances and familiarity with Government-approved procedures for handling, storing, and generating sensitive information and shall treat all such information provided for the conduct of these subtasks accordingly.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The services to be provided shall be performed at NOAA facilities, at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD and/or at 1335 East West Highway, SSMC (Buildings 1, 2, and/or and 3), Silver Spring MD 20910.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the base period is March 8, 2015 thru March 7, 2016.

9. LEVEL OF EFFORT - COST-PLUS-FIXED-FEE TERM TYPE ORDER

Only the DPLH categories indicated below shall be charged directly to the task order. It is estimated that the DPLH will be expended approximately as follows:

TBD

The above listed staffing data is provided for informational purposes only. The contractor shall make its own independent staffing requirements assessment.