Wind Tunnel Repair/Upgrade Services for NBDC

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisition Division-Kansas City office intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Aerolab LLC for wind tunnel repair services for the NOAA National Data Buoy Center located at Stennis Space Center, MS.

A Sources Sought notice was posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website on August 2, 2018 and closed on August 13, 2018. No responses were received.

Justification for Sole Source

The requested repair and upgrade services are provided by Aerolab LLC. The company was the designer/inventor of the closed circuit wind tunnel that was previously purchased by the government, and therefore are uniquely qualified to determine the optimal motor and control system for the NDBC wind tunnel based on the company's proprietary knowledge to determine the proper motor/controller combination as well as the sensing elements. Aerolab LLC still uses this design, thus they have drop in replacements for the motor, controller, and data acquisition and control equipment which will eliminate calculation errors related to the physical structure of the closed circuit which could damage the wind tunnel chamber and risk the safety of government personnel in close proximity to the chamber at the time of the failure.

.