NOAA03-R310
Contact: John Leslie
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 457-5005
Nov. 12, 2003
THREE MARYLAND FIRMS WIN NOAA CONTRACT
TO SUPPORT GOES-R SATELLITE PROGRAM
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced
today that it has awarded a $2.5M contract to Lockheed Martin Corp. of
Greenbelt, a $500,000 contract each to Integral Systems, Inc of Lanham
and Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. of Columbia. The awards are
part of a series of 11 contracts awarded to different firms, totaling
$20.5 million, for advanced architecture studies for its Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) program. NOAA is part of
the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The contracts - each has a 12-month term, with a potential option of
six additional months - are designed to help NOAA define future GOES-R
requirements, by analyzing different, commercially viable architectures.
Through these contracts, NOAA plans to acquire research and advanced
technology information about end-to-end system alternatives from
commercial specialists in the aerospace, communications, and data
management fields. GOES-R is scheduled for launch in 2012.
NOAA's GOES satellite provides data products to the commercial,
educational, and public sectors to protect lives, property and the
environment, and to foster economic growth and promote educational
research. The future GOES-R mission is expected to improve the quality
and timeliness of environmental (weather and water) forecasts, understand
climate variability, management of ecosystems, and efficient transportation
of commerce systems; thus, expanding the safety and economic security
of the public.
NOAA will use the study results to refine requirements for the GOES-R
space, launch, command and control, product generation and distribution,
archive and access, and user interfaces to reduce design, cost, and
schedule risk. The study results will ensure that viable architectural
options are examined for the end-to-end system.
NOAA used the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) procurement mechanism
to solicit these study contracts. A BAA is used to advance the agency's
knowledge and understanding of the state of the art. Through this
mechanism a 12-month award was made to each of the following firms,
at the prices stated. A priced option exists for NOAA to extend
the research by six months, if warranted.
In addition to Lockheed Martin Corp., Integral Systems, Inc., and
Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc., the firms selected for award were:
Spectrum Astro, Gilbert, Ariz., $1,000,000; Carr Astronautics,
Washington, D.C., $500,000; Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va.;
Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Calif., $2,500,000; Boeing Satellite
Systems, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., $2,500,000; Ball Aerospace and
Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., $2,500,000; Raytheon, Aurora, Colo.,
$2,500,000 and Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., $1,500,000.
The contract awards are the result of combined efforts of NOAA
and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For
years, NOAA and NASA have operated as an interagency team to acquire,
build, and launch NOAA's geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental
satellites.
NOAA's National Environmental Satellites Data, and Information
Service (NESDIS) is the nation's primary provider of space-based
environmental and climate data. It operates the nation's environmental
satellites, which are used for weather and ocean observation and
forecasting, climate monitoring and other environmental applications,
including sea-surface temperature, fire detection and ozone monitoring.
NESDIS operates three data centers, which house global databases
in climatology, oceanography, solid Earth geophysics, marine geology
and geophysics, solar-terrestrial physics and paleoclimatology.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national
safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate
related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's
coastal and marine resources.
