The NASA/GSFC Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Instrument Team is considering the purchase of a flight cryocooler to provide cooling for a set of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIPs). The TIRS instrument will form a part of the instrument compliment on the LANDSAT Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The TIRS team is also considering an option to purchase an engineering model cryocooler from the provider of the flight cryocooler.
The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential interest in providing a cryocooler for the TIRS instrument. This is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirements and to promote competition.
While our intent is to team with an industry partner, we are not bound by this RFI to do so. This is not a Request for Proposal, nor a Request for Quotation, nor an Invitation to Bid. Therefore, this RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract nor will the Government pay for information provided in response to this RFI.
NASA would like to survey the market for existing qualified cryocooler models or designs in order to incorporate this information into the TIRS instrument conceptual design and to obtain answers to several questions in the attached Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Cryocooler Questions document.
Responses from industry are requested by Friday, September 12, 2008, in the form of written and illustrated descriptions of expected cryocooler hardware or design modifications, performance parameters and maps, estimates for costs and schedule, as well as any associated interface and design assumptions. Responses can be submitted via email. The subject line of the submission should be "RFI for TIRS Cryocooler,” and attachments should be in Microsoft WORD, POWERPOINT, or PDF format. The email text must give a point-of-contact and provide his/her name, address, telephone/fax numbers, and email address. The information is requested for planning purposes only, subject to FAR Clause 52.215-3, entitled "Solicitation for Information for Planning Purposes."
It is not NASA's wish to publicly disclose vendor proprietary information obtained during this solicitation. To the full extent that it is protected pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and other laws and regulations, information identified by a respondent as "Proprietary or Confidential" will be kept confidential.
It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.
No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
Technical questions should be directed to: Paul Whitehouse at (301) 286-8378 or Paul.L.Whitehouse@nasa.gov. Procurement related questions should be directed to: Jonathon Wingerberg at (301) 286-5971 or Jonathon.D.Wingerberg@nasa.gov.
Interested offerors shall address the requirements of this RFI in written format as described in the previous paragraphs by electronic mail to: Paul Whitehouse at Paul.L.Whitehouse @nasa.gov, no later than 12:00 PM EST on Friday, September 12, 2008.
An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B".
The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office 97 format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/GSFC Business Opportunities home page is http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=C&pin=51 . It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet cite for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any. Any referenced notes may be viewed at the following URLs linked below.
