McIDAS Satellite Server Family and McIDAS-X MX License Renewal

NASA's Shared Services Center has issued a Special Notice for a sole source contract award to renew McIDAS Satellite Server Family and McIDAS-X MX licenses. The notice was posted on March 3, 2026, with a deadline of March 5, 2026, for interested parties to submit capabilities statements. NASA intends to award the contract to the University of Wisconsin System, which operates the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), the sole developer and distributor of McIDAS software. The procurement is classified under NAICS Code 611310 (Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools) and PSC Code DA10 (IT and Telecom - Business Application/Application Development Software as a Service). The contract will be executed at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The primary objective of this acquisition is to ensure continued access to McIDAS software and real-time satellite data from GOES-East, GOES-West, Himawari, and Meteosat satellites for the entire calendar year 2026. Interested organizations must submit written capabilities and qualifications to procurement specialist Shanna Patterson at Shanna.l.Patterson@nasa.gov by 7 a.m. Central Standard Time on March 5, 2026, with submissions evaluated solely to determine whether competitive procurement is warranted. The Government has determined that sole source acquisition is justified because SSEC holds a monopoly on both software development and the ADDE protocol required for NASA operations supporting critical programs including CERES, DOE ARM, NOAA convective weather, and FAA Icing operations. The Statement of Work specifies delivery of one McIDAS-X MX License configured for six or more workstations and annual Satellite Server Family Charges with up to 200 TB capacity allocation. The acquisition will utilize FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13 procedures for commercial items and services, with performance spanning January 1 through December 31, 2026.