H--VIASAT 5-METER ANTENNA MAINTENANCE

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has a requirement for Viasat antenna maintenance, phone and email support, repair or replacement of equipment, and on-site engineering services as required. The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the required ViaSat 5.4-Meter Antenna Maintenance, therefore, the USGS intends to make an award to ViaSat, Inc., unless it is contacted by any vendor who believes they can provide the same services. Vendors are invited to contact the Contracting Officer, Nicole Demby ([email protected]) no later than 12:00PM EST, Wednesday, January 26. 2022 with an affirmative answer. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION STATES THE FOLLOWING PART: The following information is provided to demonstrate the proposed contractor's unique qualifications: The Department of Interior (DOI), United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observations and Science (EROS) Center has a requirement to procure maintenance services from Viasat for the Viasat 5.4-meter antenna located at the Landsat Ground Station (LGS) on the USGS EROS facility. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of Section 201 of the Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 USC 501) and FAR 6.302-1. The 5.4-meter antenna serves as a backup to the 10-meter antenna for Landsat 7, 8, and 9 mission data downlink and telemetry tracking and command (TT&C). The 5.4-meter antenna tracks each satellite contact in the event of an issue on the 10-meter primary antenna. In addition, it becomes the primary Landsat antenna at the EROS ground station when the 10-meter has a failure or is taken offline for maintenance activities. The 5.4-meter Viasat antenna and associated RF gear are critical components to the EROS ground station. Without these assets in operational condition, critical satellite assets and data are at risk because the USGS may not be able to downlink important Landsat data at EROS in the event of a failure with the primary antenna. ViaSat Inc. is the only vendor qualified to work on the 5.4-meter antenna at EROS. The antenna includes custom modifications proprietary to ViaSat. When the antenna was purchased, ViaSat retained rights to proprietary information. The USGS was unable to receive rights to share vendor proprietary information with other competing vendors and there are no authorized service providers for this equipment within the current marketplace. ViaSat is the only vendor qualified to service the 5.4 antenna. The RF equipment on this request is proprietary in nature. ViaSat holds all trade rights to the equipment. Schematics and engineering design documents are proprietary to ViaSat and in most cases, the USGS does not have these. The USGS is not allowed to share any manuals that it has as they are ViaSat confidential. Without the schematics and design information, it is not possible to repair the unit. ViaSat holds the rights to this information so no other vendor than ViaSat can repair this equipment unless ViaSat authorizes another vendor to do so, and ViaSat does not have any authorized service vendors. Most of the documentation for the Viasat Antenna and RF equipment is stamped "Viasat Confidential and Proprietary." Other vendors cannot fully support the antenna and RF equipment without access to this critical documentation. The Government cannot share this documentation with a competing vendor. Only Viasat can offer this documentation to another source. Viasat has no known authorized dealers or maintenance providers for this equipment.