Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS) for Operations and Maintenance Services
Department of Commerce · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
AI summarySolicitation 1332KP26R0041: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wants a small business to run and maintain the Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS), a satellite ground station in Fairbanks, Alaska. The work is staffed around the clock, every day, starting with a one-month transition from May 1, 2027, then a base year from June 1, 2027 and four one-year options. Award requires an active facility clearance from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). The response due date is November 9, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern (an amendment moved it to Nov 19, 2026, 2:00 PM EST). More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 27, 2026. It moves the due date from Nov 9, 2026 to Nov 19, 2026, which is the date shown on this page. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 22, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 9, 2026 to Nov 19, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 3 of 14 attachments weren't read (Attachment J-12 Question and Comment Template.xlsx, Attachment J-2. Price Proposal_Template_FCDAS OM.xlsx and 1 more). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Solicitation 1332KP26R0041: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wants a small business to run and maintain the Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS), a satellite ground station in Fairbanks, Alaska. The work is staffed around the clock, every day, starting with a one-month transition from May 1, 2027, then a base year from June 1, 2027 and four one-year options. Award requires an active facility clearance from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). The response due date is November 9, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern.
Who can bid (4)
- Small business concern: the buy is set aside 100% for small business under NAICS 561210 (Facilities Support Services)
- Active Facility Clearance (FCL: a Government security clearance for the company) from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), required to be eligible for award
- The draft DD Form 254 (the form that sets security clearance requirements) lists the facility clearance level required as SECRET and says all classified work stops if the clearance is invalidated
Show all 4Show fewer
- Registered in the National Industrial Security System Increment II (NI2), the DCSA system that holds DD 254s, at the time of award
How to submit: due November 9, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
- Serious: Active DCSA facility clearance required, pass/fail. A business without an active facility clearance is ineligible for award and is dropped from the competition, so confirm yours before spending time on a proposal.
- Serious: Cleared staff needed on every shift. At least one person cleared to Final SECRET must be on each shift all year, so cleared employees must be hired or already on staff before work starts.
- Serious: Around-the-clock staffing with no gaps. Three technicians must be on shift at all times, even when people are absent, which means building a large on-site crew in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Show all 9Show fewer
- Worth checking: Union wages and benefits set by two collective bargaining agreements. The wage determination says covered employees are paid the rates in the Teamsters Local 959 and Fairbanks Joint Crafts Council agreements (June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2029), which drives your price.
- Worth checking: Oral presentation and slide deck are part of the Management Approach factor. You must present orally and also deliver slides that match; the presentation date is not in the text read.
- Worth checking: Date passed (Oct 21, 2026): Technical Library access requests: October 21, 2026. The notice points to Section L.11 for Technical Library access to the technical data needed to respond; the amendment gives October 21, 2026, 3:00 PM ET for access requests and oral presentation time slot selections.
- Worth checking: Past performance questionnaires must come from your references by the response due date. Your references, not you, email the completed questionnaires to NOAA by 2:00 PM EDT on November 9, 2026, the same time as the response due date.
- Worth checking: Pricing must follow the Government's fixed staffing template. Prices are checked against a fixed staffing profile and labor mix, and wages and benefits must fit your recruitment and retention plans; unbalanced base and option prices can get an offer rejected.
- Minor: Questions were due Oct 23, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
Read from the notice and 11 attachments. 3 of 14 not read. Show which files.
- 1332KP26R0041 AMD1.pdf (read)
- Sol1332KP26R0041.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-1. PWS - FCDAS OM_FINAL.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-9. Managed Personal Property and Capital Equipment List.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-6. General Teamsters Local 959 CBA effective June 1, 2026.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-5. Fairbanks Joint Craft Council (FJCC) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) effective June 1, 2026 (1).pdf (read)
- Attachment J-4. Contract Security Classification Specification, DD Form 254 (DRAFT).pdf (read)
- Attachment J-10. Past Performance Questionnaire.docx (read)
- Attachment J-11. Past Performance Relevancy Surveys.docx (read)
- Attachment J-8 SCA WD for Unions 2017-0746 Rev. 16.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-7. Service Contract Wage Determination 2015-5683 Rev. 28.pdf (read)
- Attachment J-12 Question and Comment Template.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment J-2. Price Proposal_Template_FCDAS OM.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment J-3. Overtime Labor Hours Breakout Worksheet_FCDAS OM.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Run the station's satellite ground system from its control room around the clock, every day, including bad weather and emergencies; the station averages about 135 satellite contacts a day
- Keep at least three operations and maintenance technicians on shift at all times, plus one staff member cleared to Final SECRET each shift for communications security (COMSEC: handling encryption keys and alarms)
- Support the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and Lagrange 1 (L1) missions, and take primary command and control of a spacecraft within 20 minutes of an outage at another NOAA ground station
- Maintain buildings, systems, vehicles and equipment, using the Government's computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), with preventive maintenance and a deficiency list
- Provide information technology, environmental, safety and health, property management and logistics support, and security guard services staffed 24 hours a day
- Write shift logs and daily reports, and send an Equipment Status Report within 30 minutes of detecting a significant problem
- Transition in: within 30 days after performance starts, submit an updated building operating plan, inspect equipment and buildings, and deliver an initial deficiency list with cost estimates
- Price the optional lines for skilled trades, information technology, site support, security, operations, other direct costs and Government-directed overtime
- Contract type
- Request for proposal for commercial services; one contract is planned. Most lines are firm-fixed-price (FFP): one set price, whatever the work ends up costing. Other direct costs and Government-directed overtime lines are time-and-materials (T&M): paid for hours and materials used, up to Government-set not-to-exceed amounts.
- Period of performance
- Transition phase May 1, 2027 to May 31, 2027; base period June 1, 2027 to May 31, 2028; four one-year option periods running through May 31, 2032 (about 5 years 1 month in all), plus the FAR 52.217-8 option to extend services, which is priced in the evaluation
- Place of performance
- Fairbanks, AK, USA (NOAA/NESDIS/FCDAS, 1300 Eisele Road, Fairbanks AK 99712)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff: the Government may pick other than the lowest price or the highest technical rating. The three non-price factors together are about equal to price, and price may count more as non-price ratings become equal.
- Offers due
- November 9, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern (from the version posted Oct 22, 2026; amended since)
- Page limits
- Past performance relevancy survey (Attachment J-11): 2 pages, and nothing past page 2 is evaluated. Page limits for the proposal volumes are in Section L, which was not fully read.
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Approach (most important): judged on the written proposal against the required elements in Section L.6.6
- Management Approach: judged on an oral presentation plus the written proposal and slide deck: staffing, labor relations, operational coverage, transition, contingency planning. Holding an active Facility Clearance is pass/fail.
- Past Performance: confidence rating from CPARS (the government's past-performance database), the questionnaires and other sources, weighted by how relevant the past work is
- Price: evaluated for fairness and reasonableness and for unbalanced pricing, but not scored. Total evaluated price adds the base, all options and half of the Option Year 4 price for the FAR 52.217-8 extension.
What to include when you submit
- Send questions, perceived ambiguities and requests for deviation by email to the contract specialist and contracting officer by 3:00 PM ET on October 23, 2026, on the Attachment J-12 template. Phone inquiries are not permitted.
- Give each past performance reference the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment J-10). The reference must email it to Andrea.Chiodi@noaa.gov and Jame.Chang@noaa.gov by 2:00 PM EDT on November 9, 2026, from the reference's own government or commercial email address.
- The questionnaire email subject line must show the solicitation number 1332KP26R0041 and "Past Performance Questionnaire Submission for" the company name.
- Fill out a Past Performance Relevancy Survey (Attachment J-11) for each contract you want considered: work performed, why it is relevant, what your major subcontractors did and whether they will be used here.
- Give an oral presentation for the Management Approach factor, with a slide deck that matches what is said; inconsistencies can lower the Government's confidence in the factor.
- Build the price proposal on the Government's pricing template (Attachment J-2), which fixes the staffing profile and labor mix, and include the documents listed in Section L.6.9.
- Acknowledge receipt of Amendment 0001 before the response due date, by one of the methods on the amendment form.
After award, you must have
- At least one staff member cleared to Final SECRET present on every shift for COMSEC duties, every day of the year From Attachment J-1. PWS - FCDAS OM_FINAL.pdf:
…cleared to Final SECRET is present for each shift to carry out COMSEC user functions such as loading…
- Key personnel who work on site: Program Manager, Operations Manager, Facilities Manager, Information Technology Manager, Environmental, Safety, and Health Manager, and Armed Contract Security Officer Lead; the contracting officer must consent to substitutions From Attachment J-1. PWS - FCDAS OM_FINAL.pdf:
Key Personnel identified in the contract shall work on site and include the following positions: Program…
Current contractor
No incumbent is named in the text read. The wage determination and the two union agreements for this station, effective June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2029, are between NetCentric Technology, LLC and the unions. The price evaluation also refers to incumbent capture strategies. No sources sought or market research numbers are given.
Not in the notice text
- Only part of the solicitation and several attachments were read; the rest is attached on SAM.gov but not read: Sol1332KP26R0041.pdf (the middle, including Section L proposal instructions), the performance work statement (Attachment J-1), J-4, J-5, J-6, J-7 and J-9, plus the spreadsheets J-2 pricing template, J-3 overtime hours worksheet and J-12 question template.
- How to submit the proposal (email, portal or other), the file format, the required volumes and their page limits are in Section L, which was not fully read.
- The date, place and length of the oral presentation are not in the text read.
- Whether missing the October 21, 2026 Technical Library access or oral presentation time slot deadline shuts a business out is not stated in the text read.
- The Government's estimate or budget for the contract is not given in the text read.
- The security guard, information technology, environmental, safety and health and property management details in the performance work statement were attached but not read in full.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. The notice also names requirements: More open small business set-asides under NAICS 561210
- The notice mentions a security clearance. Check who needs one, and whether you must hold it by the time offers are due.
- How and where to submit is in the notice text and its attachments on SAM.gov.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 22, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- Dept of Commerce NOAA, Silver Spring, MD
- Product/service code
- DG11 · IT and Telecom – Network: Satellite Communications and Telecom Access Services
- Business type
- Facilities, janitorial & grounds (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 561210)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 19, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 9, 2026
- Oct 15, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Nov 9, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Amendment 1: The purpose of this amendment is to formally transition the previously posted draft Combined Synopsis/Solicitation into an approved, final, and binding solicitation, remove the draft RFP disclaimer, update submission instructions for Attachment J-10, reiterate key schedule milestones, and confirm that all published deadlines remain unchanged. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Offers are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 1332KP26R0041 is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDAS) for Operations and Maintenance Services. This acquisition is set-aside for small business concerns. This solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses by reference. The full text of provisions and clauses may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov. The following information is incorporated in the attached RFP: A list of line-item number(s) and items, quantities, and units of measure (including options) Description of requirements for the items to be acquired Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance and f.o.b. point (see part 47). A list of solicitation provisions that apply to the acquisition (see 12.205(a)). A list of contract clauses that apply to the acquisition (see 12.205(b)). The date, time, and place for receipt of offer and point of contact. Other additional information required by 5.101(c). Please refer to Section L.11 Technical Library Access Instructions of the Attached RFP for technical data required to respond will not be furnished as part of the solicitation All responsible sources may submit a quotation, bid, or proposal, as appropriate, which will be considered by the agency. Offerors must meet hold an active Facility Clearance with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) in order to be eligible for award.
Similar open opportunities
- Base Operations Support Contract (BOSC) for Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, California and Other Locations as Approved
- Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Custodial, Pest Control, and Grounds Maintenance Service Contract at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, JapanThe Navy (NAVFAC Far East) wants custodial, pest control, and grounds maintenance and landscaping services at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.