NASA Procurement Office, John C Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

A -- EOCAP-SAR Contact Frank Oerting, (601) 688-1638/Contracting Officer, Harold Taulbee (601) 688-1640. On September 30, 1996, NASA/Stennis Space Center (SSC) will release an Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program-Synthetic Aperture Radar (EOCAP-SAR) Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN). The announcement will be found on the SSC Procurement Homepage at http://www.ssc.nasa.gov/. This CAN solicits proposals for the LightSAR Program for business ventures involving the development of commercial applications for radar technologies. To develop real-world applications for LightSAR in time for the 1999 launch, the Commercial Remote Sensing Program Office (CRSPO) at NASA/Stennis Space Center (SSC) will support the development of commercial application products from a variety of sources. Development approaches in response to this opportunity may include partnerships between satellite developers, instrument designers, downlink and distribution handlers, data processing firms, value-added product developers, academia, NASA Field Centers and FFRDCs, and representative end-user communities. Through an integrated approach with the communities that the system will ultimately serve, the success of the SAR mission will be greatly enhanced. This initiative involves co-investment by NASA and recipients and depends upon a two-way flow of technologies, experience and incentives for success. Methods for protection of industry's proprietary information will be implemented. Under the proposed plan, the first LightSAR spacecraft will be launched three years after the project's kick-off. Before the LightSAR launch, participants may use existing data sources (such as NASA's AIRSAR, ERS, Radarsat,...), as well as SIR-C data to simulate LightSAR data and develop custom commercially viable products. The procurement point of contact at SSC is Frank Oerting (e-mail: frank.oerting@ssc.nasa.gov; fax: 601/688-1141). The technical point of contact at SSC is Joan Davis (e-mail: joan.davis@ssc.nasa.gov; fax: 601/688-7455). Inquiries and questions about the CAN will only be accepted in writing either by e-mail or fax. In order to respond to this CAN, a Letter of Intent is due to SSC by COB October 7, 1996 (NASA/Procurement Office/Code DA10, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000, Attention: Frank Oerting). (268)

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