RFI-NOAA-GRB-2026-001.pdf

Request for Information (RFI)

Commercial Alternatives for GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) and High Rate Information Transmission (HRIT) / Emergency Managers’ Warning Information Network (EMWIN) Services

Document Number: RFI-NOAA-GRB-2026-001 Date of Issue: Aug 17, 2026 3:00 PM EDT Response Due Date: Aug 31, 2026 3:00 PM EDT NAICS Code: 517410 (Satellite Telecommunications) / 541715 (R&D in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences) PSC Code: AR11 (Space R&D) / 5895 (Miscellaneous Communication Equipment)

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information, planning, and market research purposes in accordance with FAR Part 10 (Market Research) and FAR 15.201(e). It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or Request for Quotation (RFQ), nor does it guarantee that a future solicitation or contract award will result. The Government will not pay for any information, administrative costs, or preparation materials submitted in response to this notice.

Submissions will become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned. Respondents are solely responsible for properly marking any proprietary, trade secret, or business-sensitive data. The Government requests that proprietary information be kept to a minimum and clearly designated as "PROPRIETARY" on a page-by-page or section-by-section basis.

Industry responses will be used by NOAA to refine acquisition strategies, refine functional requirements, and develop Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimations.

1. Introduction The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking information from commercial industry partners regarding the feasibility, technical approach, and cost-effectiveness of replacing the current GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) system and the GOES High Rate Information Transmission / Emergency Managers’ Warning Information Network (HRIT/EMWIN) broadcast with a commercially managed service or services.

The primary objective of this RFI is to identify market capabilities for the dissemination of data currently broadcast by the GOES GRB and HRIT/EMWIN served by the real-time Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Series data to end-users globally, potentially moving away from government-owned and operated RF broadcast infrastructure toward a "Data-as-a-Service" model. This strategy aligns with NOAA's broader planning for future geostationary environmental observations under the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, which establishes a clear path to transition from government satellite-hosted distribution to commercial-based services for GRB and HRIT/EMWIN in the 2032 timeframe. Under this new operational architecture, selected products will be passed from the cloud to commercial providers to be uplinked to commercial communications satellites, ensuring the direct readout community retains robust access over radio frequency (RF) links.

2. Background

2.1 The GOES-R Spacecraft and Mission

NOAA operates a system of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to continuously monitor the terrestrial weather and space environments. The two operational satellites (GOES-East and GOES-West) together cover nearly 60% of the Earth’s surface. The GOES spacecraft also re-broadcast calibrated data, imagery, and emergency weather information to users everywhere in the hemisphere within view of the spacecraft.

2.2 The GOES GRB and HRIT/EMWIN Broadcasts

GOES Rebroadcast: 31 Mbps net data rate transmission for calibrated data products from all scientific instruments on the spacecraft at full time and spatial resolution.

HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast: 400 Kbps net data rate transmission of National Weather Service (NWS) emergency weather alerts and other data products including forecasts, re-broadcast of the GOES Data Collection Service environmental sensor messages, and selected geostationary satellite imagery

NOAA manages these broadcasts to serve a broad user community of meteorological institutes, emergency managers, commercial firms, US government agencies including the military, and the public at large. NOAA’s mission to predict and share information widely about changes in weather, climate, the ocean and coasts is directly served by these broadcasts.

NOAA provides the broadcast but users provide their own ground stations. The transmissions are in open standard formats and users can purchase turn-key receiver systems or build their own from relatively inexpensive components and open-source software. Our users include ships at sea and sites of infrastructure away from terrestrial power and network grids.

As NOAA looks toward future satellite architectures, the agency is exploring ways to leverage commercial innovation to reduce ground segment costs, increase reliability, and improve data accessibility for a broader range of stakeholders.

The acquisition strategy for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Extended Observation (GeoXO) program outlines a transition from government satellite-based distribution services to commercial alternatives for Geostationary Rebroadcast (GRB) and High Rate Information Transmission / Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (HRIT/EMWIN) targeted for approximately 2032. Additionally, NOAA is evaluating potential commercial capabilities that could be deployed during the operational timeframe of the GOES-R series prior to the full implementation of GeoXO, spanning from as early as 2028 through the 2050s.

2.3 GOES GRB and HRIT/EMWIN Reception

GRB users tend to use larger, fixed ground stations, whereas HRIT/EMWIN users can employ smaller antennas and portable equipment.

GOES Rebroadcast Reception: for reference, current L-band user receive station characteristics:

● Minimum G/T = 15.2 dB/K at 5 degrees elevation

● Theoretical Eb/No for 10-10 BER

○ 3.7 dB for 8 PSK modulation

○ 3.9 dB for QPSK modulation

● Elevation ≥ 5 degrees (GOES minimum EIRP at Edge of Coverage = 60.3 dBmi) HRIT/EMIN Reception: for reference, current L-band user receive station characteristics:

● Minimum G/T = 1.0 dB/K

● Required Eb/No = 4.6 dB (includes all receive system implementation losses)

● Elevation ≥ 5 degrees (GOES minimum EIRP at Edge of Coverage = 56.8 dBmi)

3. Technical Objectives and Scope NOAA is seeking market feedback on commercial solutions capable of meeting or exceeding the following target functional performance parameters for replacing GRB and HRIT/EMWIN broadcasts:

● Delivery Latency: less than 5 seconds for high-priority products (e.g. EMWIN tsunami alerts, tornado warnings) and less than 10 seconds for all other products, from delivery of products to the service provider by NOAA, to reception by the user.

● Bit Error Rates:

○ GRB replacement: ≤ 1e-10

○ HRIT/EMWIN replacement: ≤ 1e-8

● Data Rates:

○ GRB replacement: ≥ 31 Mbps uncoded data rate

○ HRIT/EMWIN replacement: ≥ 400 Kbps uncoded data rate

● Availability: system availability ≥ 99.5%

● Security: Compliance with Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) "High" or

"Moderate" standards for data transit and access control.

● Global Reach: Ability to serve a global user base without requiring significant capital expenditure (CAPEX) for end-user ground equipment.

4. Information Requested Respondents are requested to provide a Capability Statement (not to exceed 15 pages) addressing the requirements below. In addition, include the following company information:

● Company Information: Provide basic company details including CAGE code, UEI number, business size status under NAICS 517410 / 541715 (e.g., Small Business, SDVOSB, WOSB, Large Business), and any relevant GSA Schedule or GWAC contract vehicle numbers.

4.1 Technical Approach

● Describe your proposed method for receiving, processing (if applicable), and disseminating NOAA data.

● Describe your proposed method for transmitting data, including potential spectrum allocation choice.

● Describe your proposed method for users to receive broadcasts.

● Address how your solution handles high-bandwidth data streams (approx. 50 Mbps per satellite).

● Describe the end-user interface (e.g., antenna, decoder, workstation, software).

● Describe technical risks or challenges, if any.

● Describe how your solution provides high reliability for users that require data during significant weather or disaster events that typically disrupt common terrestrial or broadcast services (e.g.

regional power outages, terrestrial service outages, broadcast weather/rain fade interruptions, etc.).

● Describe your approach to mitigate cyber threats (e.g. Denial of Service attacks on FTP servers, remote exploits against user terminals, required software updates in your system or end user systems, etc.) and to mitigate radio frequency interference impacting the uplink or downlink.

4.2 Service Model

● Detail the proposed service delivery model (e.g., Subscription-based, Ground-Station-as-a- Service, Cloud-native dissemination).

● Outline how the service would handle "failover" scenarios or satellite anomalies.

4.3 Cost Estimates

● Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for one-time implementation costs and recurring annual service fees.

● ROM costs may include a separate estimate for a user (or users) if significant ground station costs can be expected.

● Include any potential cost-saving measures for the government (e.g., tiered service levels).

● To support NOAA's cost evaluation, please itemize ROM estimates by major cost drivers

5. Schedule of Events

Event Date

RFI Release Aug 17, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Deadline for Clarification Questions Aug 24, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Final Response Submission Deadline Aug 31, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

6. Submission Instructions

Clarification questions regarding this RFI must be submitted electronically to the points of contact below no later than August 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT. Answers will be posted publicly on SAM.gov via an RFI amendment.

Responses must be submitted electronically in PDF format to the points of contact below no later than August 31, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT.

Please include "RFI-NOAA-GRB-2026-001 Response - [Vendor Name]" in the subject line.

Contracting Point of Contact:

Mark Brady, Contract Specialist Email: mark.e.brady@noaa.gov mailto:mark.e.brady@noaa.gov

Technical / Program Point of Contact:

Toby Hutchings, Direct Readout Program Manager Email: toby.hutchings@noaa.gov mailto:toby.hutchings@noaa.gov