FY25_USAFA-1M TELESCOPE GRATINGS

SOURCES SOUGHT: THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR QUOTATION BUT INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing the information provided to the Government.

The Sources Sought number is FY25_USAFA-1m Telescope Gratings and shall be used to reference any written responses to this sources sought.

The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) anticipates a requirement that is being considered under a small business set-aside program. The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code proposed is 333310. The size standard for NAICS is 1000 employees.

This requirement is for USAFA to obtain Transmission Gratings for an existing 1-meter telescope (USAFA-1m). The USAFA-1m telescope is used by cadets and faculty for education and research in space situational awareness (SSA), astronomy, and STEM outreach. The imaging camera on the USAFA-1m telescope is a state-of-the-art 16-sector CCD camera with a custom-made dual filter wheel box that allows cadets to combine two filters for different optical measurements. The filter wheels hold broadband photometric filters that can provide near-simultaneous color measurements of artificial satellites and celestial objects. The transmission gratings will provide new capabilities for the USAFA-1m telescope, namely simultaneous color information at a higher wavelength resolution.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS/REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS:

At a minimum, the equipment must:

1. Transmission grating: 100-grooves-per-millimeter
   1. Dimensions:  110 mm x 110 mm x 3 mm
   2. Blaze Wavelength: 465 nm
   3. Blaze Angle: 4.6 degrees
   4. Grating Surface: Ruled
   5. Material: transmission grade BK-7
2. Transmission grating: 200-grooves-per-millimeter
   1. Dimensions:  110 mm x 110 mm x 3 mm
   2. Blaze Wavelength: 505 nm
   3. Blaze Angle: 10 degrees
   4. Grating Surface: Ruled
   5. Material: transmission grade BK-7
3. Transmission grating: 300-grooves-per-millimeter
   1. Dimensions:  110 mm x 110 mm x 3 mm
   2. Blaze Wavelength: 580 nm
   3. Blaze Angle: 17.45 degrees
   4. Grating Surface: Ruled
   5. Material: transmission grade BK-7

In response to this sources sought provide the following capabilities package:

• Company Name
• POC/Name and contact information
• SAM.gov: UEID/CAGE Code and expiration date
• Socio-economic status
• Any related specifications/capabilities in providing the requirement

Please note: All contractors doing business with the Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database. The website for registration is www.sam.gov.

Responses may be submitted electronically to the following e-mail address: melinda.lingley@us.af.mil. Telephone responses will not be accepted.

If more information is needed for this requirement’s salient characteristics, questions are welcome and are to be provided to the above email prior to the closing date.

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 7 Aug 2025 NLT 10:00am MST.

Future information about this acquisition, including the issuance of a quotation and/or applicable amendments, will be issued through sam.gov. Interested parties are responsible for ensuring they have the most up-to-date information regarding this acquisition.