ESC/PKR, R&D Contracting Division, 104 Barksdale St., Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-1806

A -- DATA PROCESSING/MODELING CENTER FOR THE COM/NAV OUTAGE FORECASTING SYSTEMS (C/NOFS) PROGRAM SOL PRDA # AFRL/VSB99-01 POC John W. Flaherty, Division Chief, 781-377-2529; Dr. Gino F. Cascieri, Contract Specialist, 781-377-2623; Dr. Frederick Rich, AFRL/VSBP, 781-377-3857. WEB: ESC Business Opportunities Web Page, http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil. E-MAIL: Click Here to E-mail the POC, gino.cascieri@hanscom.af.mil. PROGRAM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENT (PRDA # AFRL/VSB 99-01) entitled, "DATA PROCESSING/MODELING CENTER FOR THE COM/NAV OUTAGE FORECASTING SYSTEM (C/NOFS) PROGRAM". The Battlespace Environment Division, Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/VSB) is interested in receiving proposals to provide for the design, development and implementation of the data processing/modeling center for the Com/Nav Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS). The Air Force and the Department of Defense require a system for real-time global specification and forecasting of communication and navigation system outages due to ionospheric disturbances (scintillations). The C/NOFS program is designed to meet this need. The systems will consist of a 1) satellite flying through the equatorial ionosphere, 2) associated ground stations and 3) a data processing/modeling center to provide real-time scintillation specification and forecasts from the satellite and ground station data. The satellite communication andnavigation systems used by the Air Force and by other Department of Defense agencies are susceptible to outages due to ionospheric scintillations. At present, there is no system to detect scintillations, except in a few, selected locations, and there is no existing capability to predict the onset of scintillations before they occur. The C/NOFS program is designed to provide real-time, global specification of the outages due to scintillations and to provide advance forecasts of these outages with a 4-6 hour lead time. The C/NOFS satellite and ground stations will collect data describing the state of the ionosphere and send these data in near real-time to the data processing/modeling center (DPMC). The DPMC will consist of off-the-shelf hardware, off-the-shelf and custom software and interfaces to the AFRL/VSB lan and wan. The DPMC will be located in the facilities of AFRL/VSB. The DPMC's function will be to: 1) receive the spacecraft and ground station telemetry, 2) archive the telemetry, 3) convert the C/NOFS telemetry to useful physical ionospheric parameters, 4) acquire and put into the local archive (and/or establish links to) relevant data from other programs, 5) input the C/NOFS and other physical parameters into ionospheric model codes running on the DPMC computers, 6) use the output of the model codes to produce the communication and navigation outage specification and forecast maps, and 7) transmit the outage maps to approved users. During the first year of the C/NOFS mission the telemetry data will be stored at the rate of 80 kbits/sec and will be collected and forwarded to AFRL/VSB 2 to 6 times/day over a high-speed data network. No elapsed time limits will be placed on the execution of tasks 1-6 and task 7 will not be executed. After the first year, an additional 1-2 kbit/sec real-time stream will be added to the telemetry and the execution of tasks 1-7 will need to be performed continuously with a lag time no longer than 10 minutes between task 1 and task 7. The major task under this Announcement is the design, development and implementation of the DPMC. Responders to the PRDA will be expected to address the issues of designing the overall DPMC architecture and specifying the hardware and software required to carry out tasks 1-7. Results of this research and development will result in the improved robustness of Air Force and DoD satellite communication and navigation systems. The Government will provide all major off-the-shelf computer hardware and software items, access to the AFRL/VSB computer networks and facilities for any personnel who work directly with the DPMC. Such personnel must be capable of obtaining a security clearance. For a nominal 57 month effort, a contract will typically have four phases. Phase I, Initial Design, approximately 12 months: Detailed design of system architecture, identification of key hardware and software systems, and small scale system tests. Phase II, DPMC Implementation, approximately 12 months, build the data center and write the necessary software, fully test the entire system, Phase III, Operation, 33 months, full scale operation of the DPMC with C/NOFS data stream as input and outage specification and forecast products as output. Phase IV, Final Report, 3 months, describe work performed; prepare and provide required documentation and data. BASIS FOR AWARD: Technical proposals will be evaluated using the following factors, in equal importance, based on a peer scientific review. (a) demonstrated technical and/or scientific merit and its relevancy to current AFRL needs, including capabilities and related experience, facilities, techniques, or unique combinations of these which are an integral factor for achieving proposal objectives, (b) impact of successful development on the performance of space systems and AFRL mission, (c) new or unique ideas which enhance state-of-the-art or scientific knowledge, (d) the qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader, and other key personnel who are critical to achievement of the proposed objectives, (e) feasibility of accomplishing tasks. Cost proposals will be evaluated using the factor of completeness, reasonableness and realism. Technical considerations are more important than cost, although cost will be considered a significant factor. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting proposals. Subject to the availability of funds, the Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE: (1) Scientific/Technical Reports, annually and final (2) R&D Status Reports, quarterly (3) Contract Funds Status Reports (required if effort greater $1M) (4) Computer Software Product End Items -- (Software and Documentation) (5) Computer Hardware End Items PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: Responses must provide new and unique concepts ideas, or approaches in order to qualify for evaluation and consideration for award. Proposal shall be submitted in two (2) parts: (1) Technical Proposal: The Technical Proposal shall include an Executive Summary, Program Description, Program Plan, Milestone Chart, Facilities and Equipment Description, Description of Relevant Prior Work, Management Plan, and Resume of Key Individuals. The technical proposal shall also include a Statement of Work detailing the technical tasks to be accomplished under the proposed effort and be suitable for contract incorporation. The Statement of Work shall include specific requirements, if applicable, that the deliverable product will be year 2000 compliant per FAR Part 39. The technical proposal shall be limited to twenty five (25), (12-pitch or larger type) single spaced, double-sided, 8.5 x 11 inch pages. The page limitation includes all information i.e, covers, indices, photographs, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc. Each printed side counts as one page. (Caution: The Government will not review more than the page limitation). (2) Cost Proposal: There is no page limitation on the Cost Proposal. The Cost Proposal should be valid for no less than 180 days and be broken out by cost element and Government fiscal year. The Government encourages submission of innovative and creative proposal to solve any one, all or a combination of the problems discussed herein. Forward six (6) copies of each proposal to ESC/PKR (Attn: Dr. Gino F. Cascieri), Bldg. 1520, 3rd Floor, 104 Barksdale St., Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-1806. The Space Hazards Branch (AFRL/VSBS) has been assigned overall responsibility for providing the necessary acquisition/technical management for this program. Responses should reference PRDA #AFRL/VSB 99-01. QUESTIONS of a TECHNICAL NATURE may be referred to Dr. Frederick Rich, 781-377-3857 (email: rich@plh.af.mil). CONTRACTUAL and COST QUESTIONS should be referred to the CONTRACT SPECIALIST, Dr. Gino F. Cascieri, 781-377-2623 (email: gino.cascieri@hanscom.af.mil. Government estimate in total for these contractual efforts is approximately twenty (20) man-years with the largest single award anticipated to be approximately twenty (20) man-years, period of performance not to exceed fifty seven (57) months plus three (3) months for final report per efforts. Work is anticipated to begin in the February 2000 time frame. Each contract will be incrementally funded. The cost of preparing a proposal to a PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to the resulting contract or any other contract. It is, however, an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205.18. Proposals received in response to this announcement will be deemed in accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Every effort will be made to protect the confidentiality of the proposals. In order that the proposals are afforded proper handling, offerors must mark their proposals with restrictive language stated in FAR 15.509(a). Offerors are cautioned that only Government Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. Firms responding should indicate if they are qualified as a Small Business, HUBZone Small Business, a Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Business, an 8(a) Qualified Business or a Woman-Owned Business. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are not eligible to participate in this announcement. Offerors are requested to provide a name and telephone number of point of contact. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The Ombudsman should only be contacted with issues or problems that have been previously been brought to the attention of the program manager and/or the contracting officer and could not be satisfactorily resolved at that level. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. The Ombudsman is Col Steven Sheldon, ESC/CX, 781-377-5106. Closing date for submission of proposals is thirty (30) days from the publication of this notice, the date of publication being day one (1). In the event this date for receipt of offers falls on either a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, the date of receipt of offers is automatically extended to the immediate following Tuesday. See Numbered Note (s): 26. Posted 12/08/99 (D-SN406985). (0342)

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