McMurdo PENGUIN Ground Station Antennas and Radomes
Sources Sought from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for work in Port Hueneme, California. Due Oct 23, 2026, 5:00 PM (UTC-4), 5 days left.
| Solicitation number | PENGUIN_SS_2026 |
|---|---|
| Agency | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Office | Dept of Commerce NOAA |
| Notice type | Sources Sought |
| Set-aside | None |
| Trade (NAICS) | Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334220) |
| Product or service code | 5985 |
| Place of performance | Port Hueneme, California |
| Posted | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Response deadline | Oct 23, 2026, 5:00 PM (UTC-4) (5 days left) |
Official notice and attachments
Description
INTRODUCTION SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) is issued for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is not seeking proposals at this time, but strictly the information requested, herein. Requests for a solicitation or proposals sent in response to this notice will not receive a response.
Furthermore, those who respond to this SSN should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission. Not responding to this SSN does not preclude participation in any future solicitation. The information provided in this SSN is subject to change and does not bind the Government to any future obligations.
All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. SUMMARY OF SCOPE The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), under the Office of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Observations and the Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) / NOAA Antenna as a Service (NAaaS) program, is seeking industry capabilities and feedback regarding the procurement, fabrication, factory integration, testing, packaging, and sustainment of (5) receive-only satellite ground station systems for the PENGUIN Ground Stations project at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
See SOURCES SOUGHT 10-15-26 PENGUIN Ground Stations - Antenna Procurement Statement of Work FINAL for detailed scope of work information. PENGUIN Ground Station Overview Within NESDIS, the Office of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Observations maintains long-standing partnerships that support the acquisition, transport, processing, and distribution of environmental satellite data. These partnerships include cooperation with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites under the JPSS Program and are expected to expand to support the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG) constellation of microwave sounders.
McMurdo Station, Antarctica, provides a strategic high-latitude location for polar-orbiting satellite data acquisition. At approximately 77.8 degrees south latitude, McMurdo enables frequent access to polar-orbiting satellites and supports Stored Mission Data downlink opportunities for NOAA and partner mission satellites. Additional receive-only ground station capability at McMurdo is required to maintain continuity, resiliency, and growth capability for NOAA environmental data acquisition architecture.
The receive-only antenna and radome systems procured under this effort are expected to support known near-term mission needs, including EPS-Sterna L-band data acquisition at McMurdo. The Sterna L-band mission baseline includes Stored Mission Data (SMD) reception. The delivered antenna system is expected to include installed L-, S-, and X-band receive hardware capability.
NOAA/NAaaS will establish S-band and X-band performance and interface specifications to support future mission requirements; these parameters are identified in the procurement technical specification. KEY ASSUMPTIONS AND RESPONSE INFORMATION Period of Performance: Base Period: 2 March 2027 – 1 March 2028 Option Period 1: 2 March 2028 – 1 March 2029 Locations: Performance of this work shall be conducted at the contractor’s facility.
Delivery is expected to be made to the Government-designated logistics handoff point, currently Port Hueneme, California. NAICS and Size Standard: The Government contemplates the use of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: 334220- Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, with the corresponding small business size standard of 1,250 employees.
This is an open Sources Sought for all interested parties regardless of size, small businesses are encouraged to respond. The Government accepts recommendations for alternative NAICS codes. If a recommendation is provided, please provide the rationale for any code applicable to the planned acquisition other than the NAICS code identified above.
Required Response Information: Interested Contractors are required to provide the following information in response to this Sources Sought Notice announcement: Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, facsimile number, and website URL (if available). A single Point-of-Contact name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.).
Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered potential sources (https://www.sam.gov). Business Size (regardless of company size) and any socio-economic status, especially those qualified as one or more of the following: Small Business. 8(a) firm (must be certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by the SBA). Woman-Owned Small Business. Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business.
HUBZone firm (must be certified by the (SBA). Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information pages). A Capability Statement outlining why the respondent believes its firm has the capability to meet all these requirements outlined within SOURCES SOUGHT 10-15-26 PENGUIN Ground Stations - Antenna Procurement Statement of Work FINAL Relevant Past Performance Experience.
Evidence of past performance of requirements similar in size, scope, and complexity. Conflict of Interest: Please detail the extent to which the respondent is aware of any potential organizational conflict of interest (actual or perceived) issues related to this requirement. Response Format: In order to
The description continues in the official notice.
About the buyer
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $2.5 billion in contracts in the last 12 months; its biggest suppliers were Peraton Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation and Earth Resources Technology, LLC. See what NOAA is buying now.