Gemini 8-M Telescopes Project, Aura, 950 N. Cherry Ave, PO Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85719

58 -- MICROWAVE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM SOL N991568 POC Andrew Flach, Gemini Contracts Manager, 520-318-8537 WEB: General information about the Gemini Observatory, http://www.gemin.edu. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Gemini Contracts Manager, aflach@gemini.edu. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) is seeking a vendor to provide and install a turnkey high speed microwave communications network that operates at a minimum of OC3/STM1 155Mbps. The microwave system will consist of two segments. The first segment will originate near the base facility in the coastal town of La Serena, Chile. This site is the headquarters for the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and for the Gemini South Observatory. This first segment will go to CTIO which is located 52 km away at 2200 meters elevation. The second segment will go from CTIO to the Gemini South Telescope on Cerro Pachon, which is located 12 km away from CTIO at 2700 meters elevation. The Gemini Observatory is an international collaboration to build and operate two 8 meter telescopes, one located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the other on Cerro Pachon in Chile. The Gemini Observatory partners include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Gemini Observatory is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a contract with the National Science Foundation. The full requirements for this procurement, and instructions for submitting a proposal, will be given in a Request for Proposal to be released later this month. Firms that are interested in receiving this Request for Proposal should fax (520-318-8590) or email (aflach@gemini.edu) a letter of interest addressed to Andrew Flach, Gemini Contracts Manager by no later than 15 November, 1999. This letter of interest should reference RFP No. N991568 and give the name, address, phone number, and fax number of a contact person at your firm. Posted 11/05/99 (W-SN398608). (0309)

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