Questions and Answers.pdf

AUGUST 31, 2020

Questions and Answers for Solicitation NEEP0000-20-00771 (Commercial Weather Data Operational Buy)

1. FAR 52.212-1 Addenda - Additional Instructions to Offerors (3)(b). Should contractors assume that the Commercial RO Data prices quoted in Attachment 4 Price/Availability Schedule include all of the data covered by the Data Specifications (i.e., RO measurements, POD tracking data, TEC data, EDPs, and amplitude and phase scintillation indices)?

The additional capabilities section of the Statement of Work has been removed. Offerors shall propose prices for data that is described in the Statement of Work. Please see the amended RFP.

2. SOW II.1. What GNSS constellations may be used as signal sources for RO profiles?

For Delivery Order 1, only GPS and GLONASS signal sources will be accepted.

3. SOW II.1.2. May the Contractor deliver Level 2 BUFR files free of charge in concert with Level 0 and Level 1a data?

The contractor should not deliver Level 2 files for Delivery Order 1. NOAA may work with vendors to determine if this is something to pursue for future delivery orders.

4. SOW II.2. What does “quasi-vertical series of bending angles” mean with respect to the limits of the RO observing geometry?

The RO measurements must be of sufficient quality to compute bending angles for the sequence of signal ray paths during an occultation. The ray paths’ tangent points will form a quasi-vertical profile through the atmosphere. Limits on the extent of the occultation are as listed in the RFP in terms of the straight-line ray paths’ tangent altitudes.

5. SOW II.2.3. If the WMO has previously refused to allocate satellite identifiers to large constellations of RO satellites, can the Contractor provide an alternative mechanism to identify satellites?

Yes. Final decisions on any changes will be made by NOAA.

6. SOW III.1.1. The opnGns Level 1a format does not currently allow flexibility for all types of receiver data. Will NOAA allow the Contractor to work with UCAR to extend the opnGns definition to address these deficiencies?

NOAA will work with the Contractor for any changes. Final decisions on any format changes will be made by NOAA.

7. SOW III.1.6. The ISO data descriptor files were also listed in the CWDP-2 SOW, but in practice were not requested. Will they be requested as part of this contract?

Yes. A metadata file is one example of a data descriptor file.

8. SOW III.2.1. Will satellites launched during the period of performance of the contract (i.e., not yet in operation seven days after contract signing) be allowed to be added to the list of satellites that can produce RO data to fulfill the contract?

Yes, subject to the vendor providing required metadata, sample data, and approved WMO identifier, and subject to NOAA’s completion of a validation process by the data processing center and NWP users to verify the data are suitable for operational use. The time required for validation and acceptance will depend on the specific new satellite and the level of commonality with previously processed satellites.

9. SOW III.4.1. The Contractor has the ability to rapidly adapt to satellite anomalies and change the source (i.e., satellite) from which RO data are derived. If the Contractor has previously identified to NOAA that a satellite can be a possible source of RO data, does the 14-day notice period for “system changes” noted in this clause preclude the ability of the Contractor to rapidly adapt to an anomaly (i.e., place into service a different satellite) to guarantee the contracted quantity and quality of RO data are always delivered to NOAA?

No, if a satellite has been previously identified as specified in RFP SOW section III.2.1, and if a satellite’s configuration and operating parameters as defined in RFP SOW sections II.9 and III.4 are unchanged, it may be brought into the data deliveries with no notification.

10. SOW III.11.1. To deliver the best quality RO profiles under the contract, the Contractor should understand the timing of NOAA’s assimilation of these data. This has the potential to benefit NOAA since the Contractor has the capability to produce many more RO profiles than the contracted quantity. Therefore, the Contractor can optimize the delivered RO profiles for quality, latency, geographic and local time distribution, etc. to NOAA’s benefit. Can NOAA share more details about its specific assimilation windows and their timing requirements?

Would NOAA be amenable to discussing with the Contractor potentially better options to NOAA than simply specifying a 140 min latency requirement?

Operationally NOAA may discuss these topics with the vendors and with the general public, but the RFP responses will be evaluated per the stated requirements.

11. SOW III.12. May the Contractor deliver more than the contracted daily RO quantity to ensure compliance with all requirements?

A contractor may provide RO quantities that exceed the contracted amounts to ensure compliance with a delivery order. The Government will only pay for the contracted amounts and will not provide funding for quantities that exceed the contract amounts.

12. SOW VI.1 - May the contractor offer different volumes of data for the first 12 month delivery period and for the second 12 month delivery period?

Under this IDIQ, NOAA intends to award multiple Delivery Orders. The period of performance and volume of data for each Delivery Order will be specified in the RFQ.

13. SOW IV.2 - Please define sustaining engineering information. Should contractors provide separate pricing for sustaining engineering?

Sustaining engineering includes timely responses to ad hoc questions about data delivery, Level 0 data and formats, quality, instrument capabilities, and related topics. Contractors should not provide separate pricing; vendor pricing should include sustaining engineering support.

14. SOW IV.3. What mechanism(s) will be used to convey compliance with Data Specifications and Data Delivery requirements so that the Contractor will have prompt (e.g., hourly or daily) knowledge of non-compliance?

Data delivery discrepancies identified at the NOAA secure ingest system will generate alerts in near-real time that are sent to the point of contact identified by the vendor for that interface. Data quality and coverage parameters are monitored in operations, with periodic summaries and trending. Requirement compliance will be assessed and formally reported on a monthly basis, with more frequent feedback as needed.

15. SOW VII.2 This section specifies that files will be uploaded to NOAA via HTTPS or SFTP. Does this constitute an "interconnection with a DOC network?" If so, is the data delivered to NOAA considered to be "DOC data?" If not, then it would seem CAR 1352.239- 72 section (i) does not apply.

When using the HTTPS method, the vendor connects directly to the S3 bucket for delivery and does not connect to a DOC network. When using the SFTP method, the vendor does connect to a DOC network. Regardless, data procured and being delivered to NOAA are considered to be DOC data.

16. SOW CAPABILITIES THAT MAY BE SOUGHT UNDER A DELIVERY ORDER:

16a. Will any of the Data Specifications and Data Delivery requirements change as a result of the capabilities “desired” in this section? For instance, will the POD requirements be modified if only mid- to high-latitude data are requested in a subsequent Delivery Order?

The additional capabilities section of the Statement of Work has been removed. Offerors shall propose prices for data that is described in the Statement of Work. Please see the amended RFP.

16b. Are there specific ionospheric data requirements that can be identified prior to subsequent Delivery Orders?

The additional capabilities section of the Statement of Work has been removed. Offerors shall propose prices for data that is described in the Statement of Work. Please see the amended RFP.

17. Generally data service prices per unit of data are higher for shorter order periods. Can an Offeror replace the provided price schedules with multiple price schedules that each apply to a different delivery order length?

Yes, additional pricing can be provided beyond that required in the RFP.

18. Will there be contract penalties for missing data volume targets on a Delivery Order?

This is an operational contract. Missing volume targets may impact past performance ratings, CPARs, etc. Failure to perform under delivery orders may disqualify an offeror from future delivery orders under the contract.

19. On what time scale will Delivery Order quantity requirements be evaluated (e.g. daily, monthly)?

See answer to Question 14.

20. The instructions for the price/availability schedule includes the following sentence:

“Offerors shall not propose prices for the Observations per Day amounts the Offerors cannot provide.” As satellites are launched and (eventually) fail, the number of occultations an Offeror can provide will change throughout the contract period. Can an Offeror propose prices for Observation per Day amounts that it plans to be able to provide during the two-year period?

No. Offerors shall propose pricing that is within the offerors current capabilities for this commercial operational contract. The Government is not accepting contingent proposals for this solicitation. The Government acknowledges unknown factors of satellites (launches, failures, etc.). The Government reserves the right to consider an offeror’s capabilities as they become operational.

21. If the answer to #20 is no, will Offerors who receive IDIQ contracts be allowed to bid on Delivery Orders for quantities that exceed the largest number of Observations per Day they propose in the Price/Availability Schedule, if they are capable of providing that number of Observations per Day at the time of the Delivery Order?

See answer to question 20.

22. The RFP lists several possible additional limitations on future delivery orders under “Capabilities That May Be Sought Under A Delivery Order.” Would the price per observation point for Delivery Orders containing those more difficult potential requirements be restricted to the per observation price in the Price/Availability table?

The additional capabilities section of the Statement of Work has been removed. Offerors shall propose prices for data that is described in the Statement of Work. Please see the amended RFP.

23. Attachment 4, Price/Availability reads, "Offerers shall not propose prices for the Observations per Day amounts the offerors cannot provide". Our launch plan campaign is aggressive, with a second launch in December 2020, and more scheduled launches in 2021 and 2022 within the IDIQ period of performance. Because of this, the quantity of our data will increase dramatically by about 2500 occultations per day per spacecraft launched. During this IDIQ's period of performance, should we simply forecast the availability quantity per month that we plan given our launch campaign along with the general price per quantity?

See answer to question 20.

24. Is the IDIQ open to all for the second DO after the first 90 day DO data delivery in November 2020? Based on the FAR 52.212-2 Addenda "Only offerors who have operational capabilities to provide data at the time this RFP is released will be considered for award." Is the award specified meaning the first DO, or the entire IDIQ?

The award specified refers to the entire IDIQ. Only vendors who are awarded an IDIQ contract will be eligible for award of Delivery Orders against the contract.

25. Operational data. Is this meaning that you are going to ingest it directly into the forecasting models, or test through the first DO's of each supplier?

The “Delivery Order 1 Instructions” document states, “To prepare for a full operational stream of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio Occultation (RO) data, NOAA is issuing this Delivery Order to procure a limited duration of data that will be used to validate that the formats, latency, quality, and coverage of the data will be sufficient for longer-term operational use in numerical weather prediction models and other systems.”

See the “Scope” section of the RFP Attachment 1 for information about NOAA’s intended use of the data purchased under the IDIQ.

“Operational capabilities” means capabilities that meet the specifications in the SOW.

NOAA does not certify individual companies as “operational”.