NOAA Commercial Space Weather Data RFI.pdf

Title: NOAA Commercial Space Weather Data Request for Information

Posting Date: November 10, 2021

Deadline for Comments/Questions: November 24, 2021, 4PM Eastern Time

Response Deadline: December 8, 2021, 4PM Eastern Time

This is a Request for Information (RFI). NOAA is soliciting information on existing or planned commercial space weather data and related capabilities that will be available in the 2022 through 2028 timeframe. This RFI is for informational purposes only; it is not a request for proposals or a solicitation for a contract or grant award and it does not obligate the Government in any way. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with responding to this request.

Background

The NOAA Commercial Space Policy and the NESDIS Commercial Space Activities Assessment Process call for NOAA to explore and, where appropriate, pursue demonstration projects to assess the viability of assimilating commercially-provided data and products to improve weather forecasting and diversify NOAA’s portfolio of data collection capabilities. In October, 2020, the President signed the PROSWIFT Act into law, setting forth provisions to improve the Nation’s ability to forecast space weather events and mitigate the effects of space weather. The law authorizes NOAA and other agencies to carry out specified space weather activities, and directs that NOAA may establish a pilot program under which NOAA offers to enter into contracts with entities in the commercial space weather sector to provide space weather data that meets NOAA’s standards.

NOAA’s space weather mission is to safeguard society with actionable space weather information.

Environmental measurements are the foundation for all space weather products. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center utilizes measurements of conditions occurring throughout the Sun-Earth system, including the solar surface, solar atmosphere, coronal mass ejections, solar electromagnetic and energetic particle emissions, solar wind plasma and magnetic field, magnetospheric energetic particles and magnetic field, ionospheric total electron content and scintillation, ground magnetic field, and ground neutron flux. NOAA products and services derived from these measurements serve a broad spectrum of civilian and security activities, including electric power distribution, aviation, satellite operations, navigation, and communication.

Purpose

In response to the PROSWIFT Act and the Government’s effort to leverage commercially available data and services, NOAA seeks information from industry on existing and planned space weather observation data sources and related capabilities that may help NOAA meet its space weather mission objectives. NOAA’s primary interest is in commercial data sources that will be available in the 2022 through 2028 timeframe.

Responses to this RFI will be used to inform plans for future Commercial Weather Data Pilot (CWDP) studies and other acquisition activities related to commercial data and capabilities by NOAA and other US Government Agencies. In such studies, commercial data may be acquired, processed, evaluated, assessed for potential operational uses, and archived. NOAA may also be interested in pursuing joint private/public partnerships to develop commercial data sources where current capabilities are not sufficiently mature for CWDP studies.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/881

Measurements of Interest

NOAA is interested in commercially provided space weather data and related capabilities to augment the current observational datasets used for modeling, monitoring, and predicting space weather. Suppliers are invited to submit Capability Statements describing such space weather data offerings. Examples of measurements that are of interest to NOAA include, but are not limited to:

Solar measurements:

● Solar magnetic field and electromagnetic emission

● Coronal imagery

● Solar X-ray irradiance

● Solar energetic particle flux

● Solar wind plasma

● Solar extreme ultraviolet imagery

Magnetospheric/ionospheric measurements:

● In situ energetic particle flux measurements from spacecraft

● Magnetic field data

Ionospheric measurements:

● High-rate GNSS data for ionospheric scintillation estimation

● High quality radio occultation (RO) ionospheric total electron content (TEC) data

● In situ plasma density, velocity, and/or temperature data

● Auroral imagery

● Magnetic field data

Thermospheric measurements:

● Derived or directly measured thermospheric density and/or winds

● Thermospheric composition measurements

Ground and near ground measurements:

● Magnetic field data from ground-based magnetometers

● Ground-based neutron flux measurements

● Radiation dose measurements on aircraft

● Auroral imagery

These measurements are representative of some of the types of observations currently used for space weather services and are not in priority order. Commercial sources of such measurements, or any other data type that may be useful in advancing NOAA’s space weather mission, would be of interest to NOAA.

In general, for space weather data to be of operational value they must be available in near-real-time. Data latency (time from observation to delivery to NOAA) of 1 to 30 minutes may be required, depending on data type. For the purposes of this RFI, non-real-time data may be of interest provided there is a path to achieve operational quality data in the future.

Submission Instructions

Capability Statements should include the following information:

1. Business information including company name, address, DUNS number, and CAGE Code;

point of contact with email and phone number; size of company to include number of employees and revenue for the last three years; office locations; any current SBA small business designations.

2. A description of the offering for each data type. Any current or planned satellite instruments and assets should be described, including launch dates, operational status, and ground operations. The ability to support a Pilot study should be described and the earliest possible date to provide data to NOAA should be clearly indicated. Approaches to meet complex data requirements, such as precise and accurate calibration, latency, continuity between system generations, quality assurance, independent verification and validation should be provided.

3. The business model, including projected costs, and the degree of government commitment required should be described. Cost models for proposed data and/or services (i.e., FAR-based contract, Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, and/or Other Transaction Agreement), and any associated licensing terms for redistribution of the data, should be clearly presented.

4. A description of the corporate history, resources, affiliations, other markets being served, and any other information to demonstrate the viability of providing sustained operations and stable data services.

Capability Statements shall be limited to 15 pages, including any supporting appendices, title page(s), tables, graphics, pictures, indices, and figures. A page is defined as an 8.5 by 11-inch area with information contained within an image area of 7 by 9 inches. Text shall be no smaller than 12-point proportional font, with tables and figures no smaller than 10-point proportional font.

Information shall be submitted in Microsoft Word .docx or Adobe Acrobat .pdf format.

Capability Statements should be emailed to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist by the deadline specified above. The Government is not obligated to review responses received after the deadline.

Comments and Questions

Comments and questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted by email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist by the date specified above. Respondents are advised that questions and Government responses may be posted publicly on SAM.gov, although the identity of the requesting organization will be withheld.

Use of Information Received

This RFI does not guarantee that the Government will issue a request for proposal (RFP) or award a contract for supplies or services. No specific RFP is planned to follow this RFI; however, the responses could impact the Government’s decision to release multiple RFPs in the future.

Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable government regulations. Any material received will be public domain unless clearly marked (on each page) as proprietary. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified.

Respondents are hereby notified that as part of this evaluation, NOAA intends to share the information obtained from this market research with Interagency Council on the Advancement of Meteorological Services (ICAMS) Working Group on Non-Governmental Data, which comprises representatives from 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. The Working Group intends to use this information to foster interagency coordination on approaches to purchasing space-based commercial weather data for operational use within the Federal Weather Enterprise. Respondents are also notified that in the process of evaluation, agencies may use Federally Funded Research and Development Centers and support contractors.

Not responding to this RFI will not preclude an entity from submitting a proposal to any subsequent NOAA solicitations.

Contracting Officer, Point of Contact

Maryann Orellana, Contracting Officer

NOAA/AGO/SIAD

maryann.orellana@noaa.gov

Contract Specialist, Alternate Point of Contact

Suzanna Espinoza, Contract Specialist

NOAA/AGO/SIAD

suzanna.espinoza@noaa.gov mailto:maryann.orellana@noaa.gov mailto:suzanna.espinoza@noaa.gov