Ground Station as a Service

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN) ONLY

This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes in identifying capable small and large business vendors and does not constitute a Request for Proposal or Quotation. It is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Not responding to this SSN does not preclude participation in any future solicitation. The information provided in this SSN is subject to change and does not bind the Government to any future obligations. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. Any information that a respondent considers proprietary and/or copyright should be clearly marked as such.

OVERVIEW

Requirement: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information System (NESDIS), Office of Satellite and Mission Operations (OSPO) requires an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) including site certification, telemetry downlink data services, and satellite commanding data services. This will satisfy NESDIS current requirements for commercial remote telemetry-only downlink for partner missions, Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate-2 (COSMIC-2), Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite–5 (KOMPSAT-5), and PAZ. The GSaaS contract will provide agility for NESDIS to add or reduce ground station service task orders for future NESDIS or partner missions as they are defined.  Under this contract, the contractor is responsible for operating ground status sites that meet strict geographical, technical, and regulatory requirements, including securing necessary radio frequency licenses.  The contractor shall provide ancillary engineering support services, such as systems compatibility assessments and proficiency testing, while strictly complying with physical security programs, cybersecurity frameworks like NIST or ISO, and government data rights that restrict the external distribution of sensitive information without explicit permission.

NAICS Code/Size Standard: The applicable NAICS code is 517810 All Other Telecommunications, and the business size standard is $40 million.

Key Criteria:

• Site Requirement – The Contractor shall propose and operate GSaaS at sites that meet the technical specifications for satellite to ground communications and security, that meet mission geographical requirements, and that have availability to meet the Government’s anticipated tasking schedule.
• Scheduling Requirement – The Contractor shall accept Government service requests according to the scheduling interface agreements in the task order.
• Service Requirement – The Contractor shall meet the technical performance standard that 95% of scheduled contacts are attempted, successfully completed, that the Eb/N0 margin is greater than 3 dB, and that data are delivered to the specified NOAA internet point of presence within 60 seconds of the end of the contact.
• Security Requirement – The Contractor shall provide artifacts that demonstrate that sites and services meet security requirements according to the security frameworks established by the Contractor and approved by the Government.
• Regulatory Requirement – The Contractor shall be solely responsible for local and OPPA Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) IDIQ Performance Work Statement international regulatory compliance related to occupancy and operation of the service sites and for providing the services from those sites. The contractor shall secure, maintain, and comply with radio frequency licenses for the services provided.

Required Response Information:

Capable small business vendors are requested to  provide the following information in response to this SSN announcement: 

1. Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, and website URL (if available).
2. A single Point-of-Contact name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address.
3. Unique Entity ID (UEI). Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered potential sources (beta.SAM.gov).
4. Business Size in relation to NAICS 541715 and any SBA socio-economic certifications.
5. Demonstrated capabilities in meeting the needs of the Key Criteria listed above. 
6. Conflict of Interest: Please detail the extent to which the respondent is aware of any potential organizational conflict of interest issues related to this requirement. 

Response Format:

In order to better assist in the review of responses to this SSN, respondents are encouraged to prepare a capabilities statement that does not exceed 5 pages.

Response Submission Requirements and Deadline:    

Responses to this SSN should be submitted via e-mail attachments, received no later than 12:00 PM, ET, 9 September 2026 to: Contracting Officer: Trang Tran at Tran.Tran@noaa.gov; and Contracting Specialist: Markita Simmonds at markita.simmonds@noaa.gov.