NOAA unveils solicitation for $8B satellite support vehicle
By
Ross Wilkers
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tells the small business community to start working on their bids for an $8 billion professional services contract focused on satellite programs.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is ready for the small business community to start working on their bids for a potential 10-year, $8 billion professional services contract focused on satellite programs.
Initial bids for the contract known as ProTech 2.0 Satellite Domain are due to NOAA by Jan. 6, the agency said in a Thursday Sam.gov notice to release the solicitation.
Version 1.0 of that contract was awarded in 2017 to 23 companies both through unrestricted and small business tracks. This new iteration of the ProTech Satellite Domain contract is set aside for small businesses only.
NOAA uses its family of Professional Scientific and Technical Services contracts, or ProTech in the short form, as the mandatory-use vehicle for the agency and other Commerce Department bureaus to acquire that support and cultivate an industrial base of partners.
Back to ProTech 2.0 Satellite Domain: we highlight the word “initial” as key here, given the fact that NOAA is using a two-phased proposal submission and evaluation process.
Phase one will focus on administrative and technical experience matters, while those who pass that threshold will move to the second phase that requires more information on the capabilities companies think they can offer.
NOAA also is requiring self-scoring from companies who are chosen to participate in phase two.
Awardees will then work with NOAA on operating the agency’s National Environment Satellite, Data and Information Service that works to connect users with data generated by environmental satellites on events related to the climate, weather and oceans.