Instrument and Spacecraft RFI 03112025.pdf

Request for Information (RFI)

Posting Type: Request for Information

Posting Date: March 11, 2025

Response Date: April 18, 2025

Title: Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation Instruments and Spacecraft Request for Information

Contracting Officer: Suzanna Espinoza

This Request for Information (RFI) seeks information on the development and capabilities of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) instruments, both in-situ and remote sensing. Please note that this RFI is intended for informational purposes only and is not a request for proposals, nor does it serve as a solicitation for contracts or grant awards. The Government is under no obligation to act on any submissions. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in responding to this request.

1. Background

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) currently utilizes several satellite programs that provide GNSS-RO data for various uses in operational weather and space weather monitoring. The majority of GNSS-RO data utilized by NOAA is provided by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate-2 (COSMIC-

2) mission partnership with the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA). NESDIS is exploring multiple solutions to address ongoing RO needs as COSMIC-2 has concluded its primary mission phase.

The NESDIS Systems Architecture and Engineering (SAE) office is conducting a study to explore potential future systems and procurement models for delivering RO data that meets NOAA needs. The study is examining a variety of solutions including government-owned systems, hosted payloads, launch incentives, data-as-a-service, and international partnerships.

2. Purpose

NOAA NESDIS is soliciting information to gauge vendor interest and capabilities in providing GNSS-RO instruments or spacecraft. The information gathered will be used to develop a range of potential strategies for acquiring RO measurements and may inform a potential future Request for Proposal (RFP) aimed at developing, procuring, or operating payloads or spacecraft to support NOAA RO needs.

For the scope of this RFI, the tentative launch date of a GNSS-RO system is projected for as early as 2028, with a launch no later than 2032 and assuming authorization to proceed in 2026. The notional mission life for the system is 5 years. The prospective orbit for the system would be Low Earth Orbit (LEO), with potential altitudes between 500-900 km, with inclinations ranging from equatorial through Sun-synchronous.

NOAA is evaluating several options for utilizing GNSS-RO payloads on potential future government flight programs, including:

1. Integrating a procured RO payload on a NOAA-provided spacecraft in a dedicated RO mission system;

2. Hosting a procured RO payload on spacecraft in a non-dedicated RO mission;

3. Utilizing a procured RO spacecraft and payload in a dedicated RO mission system;

4. Government-provided launch services by NOAA for commercial RO spacecraft into a government-designated orbit.

3. Requested Information

This RFI is for informational and planning purposes to solicit the capabilities and cost of RO instruments and spacecraft to evaluate the level of maturity, potential performance and feasibility for potential usage in a US government-led satellite system or a US government facilitated launch. Respondents are not required to provide information about both an instrument and spacecraft or an instrument, spacecraft, and launch opportunity;

NOAA will utilize responses to individual sections.

GNSS-RO Instruments (Payload) Provider: In support of the requirements listed in Section 4.1., respondents are invited to provide capability statements to:

1. Provide current and past experiences applicable to the instruments being addressed. Include applicable company background, heritage and other experience.

2. Provide estimated physical characteristics including Size, Weight, and Power (SWAP) of major payload components, dimensions of major sensor components (volume), data types and interfaces (data rate).

3. Provide parameters of the instrument capabilities as related to the observational and functional requirements in the subsequent section.

4. Provide cost, technical readiness level (TRL), schedule (from generic order), and associated risks. Please identify key drivers for risks, and cost. Include recurring and non-recurring costs for first and subsequent instruments up to a total of twelve instruments.

5. Identify options for mitigating risk, including technical trades, cost, and schedule risk mitigations.

GNSS-RO Spacecraft (Host) Provider: In support of the requirements listed in Section 4.2., respondents are invited to provide capability statements to:

1. Provide current and past experiences applicable to the system being addressed.

Include applicable company background, heritage and other experience.

2. Provide estimated physical characteristics including SWAP, data storage capacity, downlink rates and frequencies, system availability, and other parameters as outlined in subsequent sections.

3. Provide parameters of the instrument capabilities as related to the observational and functional requirements in the subsequent section (if different than those potentially provided in instrument response).

4. Provide a cost, technical readiness level (TRL), delivery schedule (from generic order date), and associated risks. Please identify key drivers for risks, and cost.

Include recurring and non-recurring costs for a first and subsequent instruments and spacecraft up to a total of twelve instruments.

5. Identify options for mitigating risk, including technical trades, cost, and schedule risk mitigations.

6. Provide parameters related to providing/conducting mission operations, ground station coordination, data receipt, and routing back to NESDIS data processing systems.

GNSS-RO System (Host) with government-provided launch: In support of the requirements listed in Section 4.3., respondents are invited to provide capability statements to:

1. Provide current and past experiences applicable to the system being addressed.

Include applicable company background, heritage and other experience.

2. Provide estimated physical characteristics including SWAP, data storage capacity, downlink rates and frequencies, system availability, and other parameters as outlined in subsequent sections (if different than those provided in spacecraft response).

3. Provide parameters of the instrument capabilities as related to the observational and functional requirements in the subsequent section (if different than those provided in instrument response).

4. Provide a technical readiness level (TRL), delivery schedule (from generic order date), and associated risks. Please identify key drivers for risks.

5. Identify options for mitigating risk, including technical trades, and schedule risk mitigations.

6. Provide information related to launch parameters and commitment or agreements from the government to enable interest in government-provided launch opportunities.

The requirements for the instrument and spacecraft are provided in Section 4. Responses are requested to identify potential areas of technical concern and non-compliance. State current capability and whether a Non-Recurring Effort (NRE) would be required to achieve compliance on a particular requirement.

4. Requirements

This RFI seeks information on RO instruments and spacecraft capable of providing observations suitable for deriving neutral atmosphere and space weather data products.

4.1 GNSS-RO Instrument

The following section details the specific information requested regarding RO instruments, as well as the overall requirements for neutral atmosphere, and space weather data products for the payload. Please provide information that will help determine the capabilities of proposed instruments in relation to the requested data and measurement requirements provided.

Table 4.1: Requested Information

Parameter Description

Mass Total mass and mass of each major component/subsystem

Size External dimension/volume of major system components

Power Average and peak power, supply voltage

Data Collection Rate and Data Volume Average data rate and data volume produced per orbit

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in a 1 Hz band Average SNR for (list frequencies)

Neutral atmospheric profiles Average Daily # of Profiles

Ionospheric occultations Average # of limb Total Electron Content (TEC) profiles

Ionospheric tracks Average number of total TEC tracks, average number of zenith TEC tracks, average number of limb TEC tracks

Neutral atmosphere Field-of-View (FOV) 3 dB gain FOV of neutral atmosphere RO antenna(s) in azimuth and elevation

POD FOV 3 dB gain FOV of POD antenna(s)

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) TRL of payload

Heritage RO instrument flight and development heritage

Table 4.2: General Requirements

Requirement Threshold Objective

Navigation Satellite Systems tracked

GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou

All systems Available (including regional and Satellite-Based

Augmentation Systems [SBAS])

TRL 6 6

Duty Cycle 100% (during normal ops) 100% (during normal ops)

Polarimetric Capability No Yes

Table 4.3: Neutral Atmosphere Requirements

Data Type Threshold Objective Vertical Data Resolution [km]

a. 0.10

a. 0.10 a. Impact Height Range 0 - 7 km MSL

b. Impact Height Range 7 - 10 km MSL b. 0.25 b. 0.25

c. Impact Height Range 10 - 20 km MSL c. 0.50 c. 0.50

d. Impact Height Range 20 - 60 km MSL d. 1.50 d. 1.50

Bending Angle Profiles

Measurement Range [Microradians-µrad] 0 - 40,000 0 - 40,000 Measurement Uncertainty [RMS] [µrad]

a. Altitude Range 0 - 5 km MSL

b. Altitude Range 5 - 10 km MSL

c. Altitude Range 10 - 20 km MSL

d. Altitude Range 20 - 30 km MSL

e. Altitude Range 30 - 60 km MSL

a. 1,700

b. 300

c. 20

d. 4

e. 2

a. 1,700

b. 300

c. 20

d. 4

e. 2

Tropospheric Duct Height Measurement Range MSL [m] 500-5,000 Measurement Uncertainty [m] 100 Signal-to-Noise Ratio Signal Volts / Noise Volts (V/V) (40-80 km altitude range) 1600 V/V 2000 V/V

Table 4.4: Ionospheric Requirements

Data Type Threshold Objective

Total Electron Content – TEC*

Measurement Range (space-to-space)[TECU*] 0 - 2,000 0 - 2,000

Measurement Uncertainty [RMS] 0.3

0.001 a. Relative (space-to-space) [TECU]

b. Absolute (space-to-space) [TECU] 3 1

TEC sample rate [seconds]

1 a. Occulting satellites (60km to S/C Altitude)

b. Zenith hemisphere satellites 10 1

Electron Density Profiles - EDP

Measurement Range [electrons∙m-3] 1010 to 1013

Measurement Uncertainty [RMS]

Less than the

a. Electron Density, Ne [electrons∙m-3] greater of 3x1010 or

10% of the electron density

b. Ne at F2 layer peak, NmF2 [percentage]

c. Height at F2 layer peak,HmF2 [km]

Vertical Data Resolution [km]

1 a. Altitude Range 60-100 km

b. Altitude Range 100-550 km 1

Scintillation Amplitude Index – S4

Frequencies L1/L2 bands as appropriate per

GNSS

L5 band as appropriate per

GNSS

Minimum Sampling Rate (space-to-space) [Hz] 50 200

On-Board Calculation Cadence [seconds] 10 1

Measurement Range [dimensionless] 0.1 to 1.5 0.1 to 1.5

Measurement Uncertainty [RMS] 0.1 0.1

Scintillation Phase Index - σφ

Frequencies L1/L2 bands as appropriate per

GNSS

L5 band as appropriate per

GNSS

Minimum Sampling Rate(space-to-space) [Hz] 50 200

On-Board Calculation Cadence [seconds] 10 1

Measurement Range [radians] 0.1 to 20 0.1 to 20

Measurement Uncertainty [RMS] [radians] 0.1 0.1

4.2 Spacecraft

The following section outlines the specific information requested regarding a spacecraft that includes the RO payload outlined in Section 4.1 as the primary payload. This RFI does not seek information about spacecraft that could potentially accommodate an RO payload, but rather a dedicated RO solution (both spacecraft and RO payload). The requested information and requirements for the payload are provided in the tables below.

Table 4.5: Requested Information

Parameter Description

Mass Dry and wet mass, available payload mass (including RO payload)

Size External dimension/volume

Power Bus supply, battery storage capacity, solar array parameters

Data volume Data storage available

Communications Communication band and downlink rate

Propulsion Type, available delta-V

Attitude Pointing accuracy, jitter, pointing knowledge, pointing rate knowledge

Lifetime Expected lifetime & confidence

Reliability Redundancy and reliability approach

Interface Launch system interface

TRL Spacecraft TLR, spacecraft + RO payload

TRL

Heritage Spacecraft and spacecraft + RO payload flight history

Mission Operations Mission Operations capabilities and related experience

Launch Operations Launch operations experience with rideshare providers or commercial “venture-class” launch service providers

Table 4.6: Spacecraft Requirements

Parameter Threshold Objective

Mission Orbit Altitude 475 km - 900 km Circular 475 km - 900 km Circular

Mission Orbit Inclination ≤30⁰ Inclination Only ≤30⁰ to Polar Inclinations

Risk Classification Class D Class C

Latency (Space Weather Products) 30 minutes 15 minutes

Direct Broadcast Capability No Yes (X- or L- Band)

Redundancy Single String Selective Redundancy

Lifetime 3-years (80% confidence) 5-years (80% confidence)

In addition to the RO payload, provide additional capacity, as specified in Table 4.7.on the spacecraft to accommodate other potential payloads.

Table 4.7: Spacecraft Additional Payload Capacity Information

Parameter Description

Mass / Power Mass, Orbital Average Power available for additional payload(s)

Size Dimensions/volume of space available (internal and external) for additional payload(s)

Data storage Data storage capacity for additional payload(s)

4.3 Government-facilitated Launch Opportunity

The following section outlines the specific information requested regarding the launch of a commercial RO spacecraft, as described in Section 4.2, that would include the RO payload outlined in Section 4.1 as the primary payload. Spacecraft would have launch(es) services provided by the government into orbit(s) determined by the government. This RFI aims to gauge interest in this opportunity and assess the level of commitment and/or any agreements that would be required from the government for a company to adopt to this model. Mission characteristics for possible launches are given below.

Table 4.8 Government-Facilitated Launch Possible Parameters

Parameter Threshold

Mission Orbit Altitude 475 km - 900 km (Circular)

Mission Orbit Inclination 0-110⁰

5. Submission Instructions

RFI Responses and Capability Statements should include the following information:

1. Business information including:

A. Company Overview: A brief introduction to the company including its name, address, office locations, mission, years in business, company size, number of employees, annual revenue for the past three years, parent company if any, and core values.

B. Corporate Data: Business information to include:

a. D-U-N-S Number

b. NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes

c. Unique Entity ID (UEI) number

d. Cage Code

e. Any current SBA small business designations

f. Any certifications, like ISO, Minority-Owned, Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Business, etc.

C. Core Competencies: A description of the company’s primary products, services, and specialized skills.

D. Corporate Leadership: A brief overview of corporate structure, leadership, and key team members and their qualifications, highlighting their expertise.

E. Past Performance: Examples of previous work, including successful projects, notable clients, relevant contracts or partnerships, and at least three years of past revenue streams. Include descriptions of the following:

a. Corporate history

b. Resources

c. Affiliations

d. Other Markets being served

e. Other information that demonstrates the viability to provide sustainable operations and data services.

F. Contact Information: Key points of contact within the company, such as the primary contact person’s name, title, email, and phone number.

2. Projected costs and associated business models, including the level of government commitment required and the extent to which non-government markets can be served by the proposed services.

3. Business risks associated with the proposed approach and the strategies to mitigate those risks.

4. Cost models and contractual arrangements for proposed services (i.e., FAR-based contract, Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, and/or Other Transaction Agreement).

Interested respondents may respond to any individual portion of Section 4 of this RFI, or all three. Novel, innovative and creative concepts and solutions are encouraged.

Concepts on possible suites of instruments are encouraged. For these concepts, please include any risks and benefits.

Comments on any requirements are encouraged. If changes to the requirements would allow for a lower risk, lower cost or higher heritage approach, please respond with both a compliant response and the recommended changed requirement and the benefits of changing the requirement(s).

Responses must be submitted as either Microsoft Word (DOCX) or Adobe Acrobat PDF files. Submissions must follow the format guidelines: responses are limited to 12 pages for the instrument response, 12 pages for the spacecraft response, and 12 pages for the government-facilitated launch opportunity response. This includes any supporting appendices, title pages, tables, graphics, pictures, and figures. The document should be formatted with an 8.5 x 11-inch layout, with a content area of 6.5 x 9 inches and a 12-point proportional font.

Capability statements must be received via email by the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist at the address provided below no later than 2:00 pm Eastern Time on Friday, April 18, 2025. Late submissions will not be considered, and the Government is not obligated to review responses received after the deadline.

6. Use of Information Received

This RFI is for informational purposes and does not guarantee the Government will issue an RFP or award a contract for supplies or services. The information received could impact the Government’s decision to release an RFP or multiple RFPs in the future, but does not obligate the government in any way. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with responding to this request.

Proprietary information will be handled in accordance with the applicable government regulations. Vendors are advised to clearly mark proprietary information as ‘Proprietary’ on each page to ensure proper handling. Any unmarked information will be considered public domain. The Government is not liable for any damages resulting from proprietary information not properly identified.

Respondents are hereby notified that as part of this evaluation process, NOAA intends to share the information obtained with the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology Working Group for Interagency Coordination of Commercial Weather Data (OFCM/WG-ICCWD) to facilitate interagency coordination. This information may also be shared with NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior for the purpose of evaluating potential future procurement.

Respondents are also informed that during the RFI evaluation process, agencies may involve Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, Cooperative Institutes, and support contractors to assist with the evaluation.

Participation in this RFI is not a requirement for future procurement opportunities.

Vendors who do not submit a response to this RFI are still eligible to submit proposals in response to any future RFP(s) that NOAA may release.

7. Points of Contact

Suzanna A. Espinoza

Contracting Officer

Email: suzanna.espinoza@noaa.gov

Cherron Bennett-Pettus

Contract Specialist

Email: cherron.bennett-pettus@noaa.gov mailto:cherron.bennett-pettus@noaa.gov

8. Comments and Questions

Comments and questions regarding this RFI must be submitted to the Contracting Officer at the email address provided above by Friday, March 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Respondents are advised that questions submitted and Government responses may be posted publicly on SAM.gov, although the identity of the requesting organization will be withheld.

9. Appendix

9.1 Definitions

Measurement uncertainty – The root-mean-square (RMS) of the precision and the accuracy errors for an estimated, measured, or derived parameter. Precision refers to the part of the uncertainty due solely to random errors, typically specified as the standard deviation of the parameter. Accuracy represents the systematic error or bias, defined as the difference between a measured or derived parameter and its true value, in the absence of random errors. Both precision and accuracy may have contributions from measurement errors, algorithm errors, and/or model errors used to determine that geophysical parameter or product.

Profile - A series of data observations through the Earth's limb along a curvilinear, non-vertical path between the GNSS transmitting satellite and the LEO receiver satellite. Each data point's position along the profile is specified by its height above sea level and the latitude and longitude of the tangent point.

Scintillation measurement cadence – The time interval over which scintillation indices (S4 and σφ) are computed to trigger high-rate data collection modes, if applicable.

System operational availability - The probability or percentage of time computed over one-month periods that the spacecraft, command, control and communications segment, and ground processing segment are functioning at a capacity that delivers products that meet or exceed the threshold requirements.

TEC [Total Electron Content per unit cross-sectional area] – A path-integrated observation along an arc between the GNSS transmitting satellite and the LEO receiver.

The arc's location is specified only by the positions of the GNSS and LEO satellites. TEC is measured in TEC Units (TECU). 1 TECU= 1016 electrons/m2.

Table 9.1: Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Definitions (NASA NPR 7123)

TRL Definition Hardware Description

Software Description Success Criteria

Basic Principles observed and reported

Scientific knowledge generated underpinning hardware technology concepts/applications.

Scientific knowledge generated underpinning basic properties of software architecture and mathematical formulation.

Peer reviewed documentation of research underlying the proposed concept/application

Technology concept and/or application formulated

Invention begins, practical application is identified, but is speculative, no experimental proof or detailed analysis is available to support the conjecture.

Practical application is identified but is speculative; no experimental proof or detailed analysis is available to support the conjecture. Basic properties of algorithms, representations, and concepts defined.

Basic principles coded.

Experiments performed with synthetic data.

Documented description of the application/concept that addresses feasibility and benefit.

Analytical and experimental proof-of-concept of critical function and/or characteristics.

Research and development are initiated, including analytical and laboratory studies to validate predictions regarding the technology.

Development of limited functionality to validate critical properties and predictions using non-integrated software components.

Documented analytical/experimental results validating predictions of key parameters.

Component and/or breadboard validation in a laboratory environment.

A low fidelity system/component breadboard is built and operated to demonstrate basic functionality in a laboratory environment.

Key, functionality critical software components are integrated and functionally validated to establish interoperability and begin architecture development. Relevant

Documented test performance demonstrating agreement with analytical predictions.

Documented definition of potentially relevant environment.

environments defined and performance in the environment predicted.

Component and/or brassboard validated in a relevant environment.

A medium-fidelity component and/or brassboard, with realistic support elements, is built and operated for validation in a relevant environment so as to demonstrate overall performance in critical areas.

A medium-fidelity component and/or brassboard, with realistic support elements, is built and operated for validation in a relevant environment so as to demonstrate overall performance in critical areas.

Documented test performance demonstrating agreement with analytical predictions.

Documented definition of scaling requirements.

Performance predictions are made for subsequent development phases.

System/sub-system model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment.

A high-fidelity prototype of the system/subsystems that adequately addresses all critical scaling issues is built and tested in a relevant environment to demonstrate performance under critical environmental conditions.

Prototype implementations of the software demonstrated on full-scale, realistic problems. Partially integrated with existing hardware/software systems. Limited documentation available. Engineering feasibility fully demonstrated.

Documented test performance demonstrating agreement with analytical predictions.

System prototype demonstration in an operational environment.

A high-fidelity prototype or engineering unit that adequately addresses all critical scaling issues is built and functions in the actual operational environment and platform (ground, airborne, or space).

Prototype software exists having all key functionality available for demonstration and test. Well integrated with operational hardware/software systems demonstrating operational feasibility.

Most software bugs removed. Limited documentation available.

Documented test performance demonstrating agreement with analytical predictions.

Actual system completed and "flight qualified" through test and demonstration.

The final product in its final configuration is successfully demonstrated through test and analysis for its intended operational environment and platform (ground, airborne, or space). If necessary*, life testing has been completed.

All software has been thoroughly debugged and fully integrated with all operational hardware and software systems. All user documentation, training documentation, and maintenance documentation completed. All functionality successfully demonstrated in simulated operational scenarios. Verification and Validation completed.

Documented test performance verifying analytical predictions.

Actual system flight proven through successful mission operations.

The final product is successfully operated in an actual mission.

All software has been thoroughly debugged and fully integrated with all operational hardware and software systems. All documentation has been completed.

Sustaining software support is in place.

System has been successfully operated in the operational environment.

Documented mission operational results.