Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Microwave Sounder Pilot (MWS) Extension 2

The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office, Satellite and Information Acquisition Division located at 1325 East-West Highway Silver Spring Metro Center Building 2 Silver Spring, MD 20910, intends to modify an existing Firm Fixed Price contract, 1332KP24P0077 to The Tomorrow Companies Inc. on a sole source basis in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart FAR 12.102, 41 U.S.C. 1901, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

The proposed source is The Tomorrow Companies Inc. located at 9 Channel Center St, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02210. NESDIS/SAE Commercial Data Program (CDP) is seeking to extend the Microwave Sounder Pilot Study (MWS) data delivery period with Tomorrow.io by an additional three (3) months under a sole source justification. Informed operational-readiness recommendations for the NESDIS Assistant Administrator are contingent upon data quality, utility, and impact assessments. These assessments are vital for determining whether to proceed with an operational data purchase. NHC also requires sufficient lead time prior to the 2026 season to test, configure, and validate dataflow pipelines and processing within their cloud environment. Because operational system changes cannot be made during the active tropical season, securing the data in advance is critical to ensure uninterrupted operational support. An additional 3 months of data would enable NHC to perform such modifications prior to the beginning of the tropical season. This data will also enable the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) to perform similar assessments prior to incorporating into their operational systems. The additional 3 months of data are necessary to provide NOAA and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) with sufficient near-real-time (NRT) access to commercial MWS data to conduct operational testing, evaluation, and integration into operational systems. Without this data delivery extension, product outages, and security issues would jeopardize weather preparedness in remote locations, affecting the health and safety of people and infrastructure in the event of a weather event. Continuous data access is essential to enable robust testing, evaluation, integration, and overall operational readiness.

The Government anticipates modifying an existing Firm Fixed Price contract. This notice is published for informational purposes only and is not a request for competitive quotations. However, any firm who believes they can meet this requirement may submit a response in writing. Responses must include a written narrative statement of capability, including detailed technical information demonstrating the company's ability to meet the above requirements. A determination by the Government not to open the requirement to competition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Written responses must be received no later than 15 calendar days after publication of this synopsis to the person listed as the Government point of contact in this announcement. All questions must be submitted in writing to the attention of the Government Contract Specialist. If no responses are received, the Government will proceed with the sole source negotiation.

NOTHING HEREIN SHOULD BE MISCONSTRUED AS A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS, QUOTES OR BIDS. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTATION IS AVAILABLE OR WILL BE ISSUED.

The National Industry Classification Systems Code is 518210 – Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services, and the size standard is $ 40,000,000. Please direct any questions regarding this notice to both Mrs. Cherron Bennett-Pettus, Contract Specialist at cherron.bennett-pettus@noaa.gov and to Ms.  Suzanna Espinoza, Contracting Officer at suzanna.espinoza@noaa.gov