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REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ) – N60969C
for
GEMINI SOUTH Sodium Laser Guide Star
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY, INC.
OPERATING THE GEMINI OBSERVATORY
Hilo, Hawaii and La Serena, Chile
RFQ Schedule
RFQ Issued: October 2, 2015
Quotes Due: December 4, 2015 at 4:00 pm MST
Prepared by
AURA Procurement Office
950 North Cherry Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Introduction and Background
II.
Scope of Work, Requirements
III.
Instructions to Proposers
IV.
Evaluation Criteria
V.
Communications and Questions
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SECTION I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Gemini Observatory consists of two 8-meter telescopes, one located at the summit of Mauna Kea in
Hawaii, USA (Gemini North), the other at the summit of Cerro Pachón, Chile (Gemini South). The Association
of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. ("AURA") is the managing organization of the Gemini
Observatory under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation for the benefit of the Gemini
partner nations: The United States of America, Canada, Australia, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. For more
information, visit the Gemini Observatory website at www.gemini.edu .
AURA is seeking to replace its current continuous wave (CW) mode-locked 50 Watt laser at the Gemini South
facility with a more robust alternative Laser (the subject of this RFQ, hereafter called the “Laser”) providing a
photon return equivalent to or greater than currently received by its 5 laser guide star Multi-Conjugate
Adaptive Optics system, GeMS. AURA desires that the new Laser utilize as much as possible of the existing
Beam Transfer Optics (BTO) and Laser Launch Telescope (LLT) for projecting the Laser onto the sky,
enabling Gemini to switch from the current system to the new system with minimal downtime.
Laser RFQ/Selection Events
Laser RFQ Selection Events
Release RFQ
Intent to Submit Quote
Quote Deadline
Contractor selection
Due Date
Date
2 October 2015
30 October 2015
4 December 2015 at 4:00 PM (MST)
12 February 2016*
*This date is estimated and included only to provide proposers scheduling guidance. Selection may
occur sooner or later than anticipated and is dependent upon how quickly the required approvals can be
obtained.
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
Scope of Work
SECTION II: SCOPE OF WORK and REQUIREMENTS
Gemini Observatory seeks to obtain a 589nm Sodium Laser Guide Star to be installed at the Gemini South
Observatory in Chile. The selected Laser must meet or exceed the requirements and specifications
identified below.
After delivery of the Laser, Gemini intends to install it, replacing the existing continuous wave mode-locked 50
W laser. Gemini staff will make all modifications needed to the existing BTO/LLT to accommodate the new
Laser; however, the preference is to minimize such modifications.
Quotes shall demonstrate that the Laser will meet all requirements noted below. Bidders must deliver
statements and/or acceptance test plans justifying how they can meet all Requirements.
Requirements
Photon Return Performance
1. The laser beam will be divided equally into 5 separate beams inside the BTO. The total
minimal photon return from the combined Laser beams must meet or exceed the
following: 5 𝑥 106 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑚−2 at the primary mirror for a sodium concentration of
4 𝑥 1013 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑚−2 in the mesosphere.
2. Half of the produced photons shall be considered lost in transmission from the laser output to
the Laser Launch Telescope. With the current "pure" (Bandwidth <=10MHz) D2a CW laser, the
required photon return rate has been found to be equivalent to a power of 18W at the output of
the laser.
3. The bidder may propose a laser format different from a pure D2a CW laser.
4. The bidder shall demonstrate that the combination of power and laser format will meet or
exceed the expected minimal photon return.
Laser Spectral and Beam Characteristics
5. Nominal central wavelength: 589.159 nm corresponding to coverage of mesospheric sodium
D2a excitation, and possibly D2b @ 589.157 nm for any D2b repumping option
6. Capacity to tune the wavelength for optimum return from the sodium layer. Minimum detuning
capability: 4 GHz in less than 10 seconds.
7. Stability of the central wavelength: better than 100 MHz if pure D2a CW over 14 hours.
8. Temporal stability/intensity noise:
a. Short term (< 5 seconds): less than 10% power variation peak to peak. The considered
sampling period is 1.25 milliseconds.
b. Medium term (14 hours): less than 5% power variation rms. The considered sampling period is
1.25 milliseconds.
9. Out of band power: lower than 0.1%
10. Beam quality: Gaussian beam with M2 <1.4. M2 <1.2 is strongly desired.
11. Stability of M2: 10% rms over 14 hours.
12. Beam diameter: 2 mm to 7mm (at the 1/e2 intensity point) with 5 mm preferred
13. Pointing stability: < 0.4 millirad rms (long term: average angular tilt of the laser over a 1 second
period of the output beam over 14 hours.) <20 µrad (short term: maximum peak to peak
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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variations in the angular tilt when averaged at 10 Hz for 1 second every 30 minutes in
laboratory operating conditions).
14. Beam shift: < 50 microns over 14 hours.
15. Beam Polarization ratio: > 0.95 Linear (20:1)
16. The capacity of operating with a low power setting (<1 W) for alignment and testing is desired.
Demonstrated Robustness
17. From power off to full sky propagation capability in less than 1 hour. This time should be
sufficient to recover from complete unexpected power loss and network interruption to full sky
propagation.
18. The Laser must routinely be able to operate continuously for at least 200 hours with no power
dropouts or wavelength lock fluctuations.
19. The Laser shall have an enclosure to prevent dust contamination and shall have a window
cover to seal the laser output from the environment. Performance will be measured at the
output of this window.
20. Downtime resulting from routine scheduled maintenance shall not exceed 2 consecutive
weeks twice a year.
21. Unscheduled downtime for repairs should not occur more than twice a year and not exceed
2% of annual nighttime operational use.
22. The Laser will be operated at full power at night up to 1500 hours per year, plus additional time
for warm up, maintenance/calibration time, and daytime power on status if needed for stability.
Operations Requirements
23. Each bid shall include the cost to provide the necessary Laser control system software. This
software shall provide the means to interface with observatory software systems and shall
allow complete remote operation from a distant site. Consequently, this software shall not
require any Microsoft Windows nor custom driver to interface with the observatory software
system. The interface of choice would be a TCP/IP socket (or RS-232 line connected to a
Perle) with a text (ASCII) based protocol. A separate socket for alarm notifications is a plus.
Other possible interfaces options are, in decreasing order of choice, TCP/IP socket with
custom (binary) interface or specialized hardware installed in the computer host.
24. The Laser software system shall produce real time and network accessible logged
measurements of the instantaneous power, M2, wavelength tuning, temperature, and any other
parameters needed for optimizing Laser photon return and should have the ability to report
any faults with the system
25. The Laser control system software should be able to recover from TCP/IP network errors and
dropouts without restarting software or rebooting hardware. In case of a prolonged network
outage, an automated graceful shutdown of hardware is desired.
26. Bidders shall provide an additional software interface (GUI), preferably operating under a linux
OS, allowing the users to check the parameters of the laser (instantaneous power, M2,
wavelength tuning, temperature, and any other parameters needed for optimizing Laser
photon return) and control the state of the laser. This software will be used during the
acceptance phase and maintenance phase.
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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27. An EPICS interface to the Laser control system is preferred to reduce integration with existing
observatory control software.
28. All mechanical moving parts must be designed for a 10 year operating lifetime or suitable
spares be included in the bidder-provided maintenance plans.
29. The Laser must comply with all safety requirements as defined by the ANSI Z136 series of
standards, the IEC 60825-1 standard, and CDRH regulations including the use of a safety
shutter.
30. Complete documentation for operation and servicing must be included in the final product as
outlined in the bidder-provided maintenance plans.
31. Bidders shall identify necessary support equipment such as electronic cabinets and coolant
systems.
32. The bidder is expected to train Gemini technical staff on general maintenance procedures
during the initial integration phase on the telescope.
33. It is desired that the Laser should provide a communication interface to the existing
observatory Laser Interlock System, as defined in the following diagram.
6/7/2005
6.2.
Specification sheets
The following data sheets can be found in Publication 1746-2.35 - March 1998.
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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Installation and Site Requirements
34. Total mass shall not exceed approximately 1000 kg. The bidder shall provide the approximate
mass of the proposed Laser, including necessary support systems, such as electronic and
coolant enclosures.
35. Vibration isolation shall be employed as required to isolate sources of vibration within the laser
system due to moving components such as fans, pumps and motors. The Laser system shall
conform to the generic vibration criterion curve VC-C1 (12.5 micrometers/sec), as shown
below.
1
Colin G. Gordon. "Generic vibration criteria for vibration-sensitive equipment", Proc. SPIE 3786, Optomechanical
Engineering and Vibration Control, 22 (September 28, 1999).
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36. The Laser shall be operable at Cerro Pachón facility under the following conditions
a. Altitude : 2700m
b. Temperature range: -10 to 25 degrees Celsius
c. Temperature rate of change: +/- 0.8 degrees C / hour
d. Humidity: 0 to 90%
e. Vibration: 8 x 10-4 g2/Hz
f. Shock: 15 g
g. Acceleration due to seismic activity: 2 g
h. Electrical Voltage: Min:187 VAC Typ 208 VAC Max:229 VAC
i. Electrical Current: 60 Amperes
j. Electrical Frequency: Min:47Hz Typical:50Hz Max:53Hz
k. Power dissipation : <50W in ambient temperature, <15kW in coolant supply.
37. The system shall be able to be returned to operational status within a day after a period of up
to 1 week at 100% humidity (non-condensing) at temperatures of -20 degrees C in a powered
down state.
38. The system shall interface with our existing BTO/LLT with an injection point preferably near
the Laser Output Box in the BTO schematic below.
39. The bidder shall provide the approximate dimensions of the proposed Laser and ensure that it
will fit within the available volume(s) as diagrammed below. Necessary support systems, such
as electronic and coolant enclosures must also fit within this volume. The space on the light
blue platform attached to the existing Laser Service Enclosure is available [top image] as well
as a larger space below the platform on the floor [bottom image].
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RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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Delivery
40. To minimize delay in receipt of goods, shipping of deliverables should be via standard air
cargo. The system shall be able withstand vibration, cold, altitude, and all conditions related to
standard air cargo shipping.
41. The Contractor is responsible for transporting and shipping the Laser to the GS base facility in
La Serena, Chile.
42. The Contractor shall provide the Laser and lifting and handling fixtures to interface with GS
lifting equipment which consists of dome cranes with capacities of 50 tons and 5 tons and a
lab crane of 1 ton.
43. The laser shall be delivered and ready for operation as quickly as possible but not later than 1
year from execution of contract.
44. The bidder shall provide two possible maintenance plans that will allow the laser to operate at
delivery efficiency or greater for a lifetime of 10 years. Both plans should include a cost
estimate of spare parts and servicing equipment. One plan must be a full maintenance plan
that would require minimal Gemini staff support. The other plan should rely more on support
from Gemini staff and include an estimate of labor and a list of skills that Gemini support
personnel would need.
45. The vendor should warrant that the Laser will meet or exceed the Requirements and be free
from defects in material and workmanship for a period of at least one year after final
acceptance.
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
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Section III. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS
Request for Quotes Documents. This Request for Quotes is comprised of the following documents:
A. Request for Quotes (Document SLGS-01 - this document).
B. Quote Form (Document SLGS-02) available in Microsoft Word format. Please review this document
carefully before beginning work on your Quote.
C. Fixed-Price Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star contract (SLGS-03). The purchase of the laser might
be done via contract or purchase order. This is the contract that will be used for any contracts awarded
as a result of this RFQ. This contract is made up of the following elements:
i. Main Document, which covers the basic terms of the contract (including price schedule) that will be
used for the project. Although this document has a signature line you do NOT need to fill this in or
return it as part of your quote.
ii. Terms and Conditions
iii. Scope of Work
Intent to submit. Please notify AURA of your intent to submit a quote by 30 October 2015. Please send an
email to Karen Godzyk (kgodzyk@aura-astronomy.org) notifying her that you intend to submit a quote and
provide the names of the institutions and or companies that would be performing significant parts of the work.
Failure to give advance notice of your intent to submit a quote will result in your preclusion from submitting a
quote. AURA will not disclose the names of the institutions and companies that submit notices of intent to
quote.
Submitting a quote: Quotes are contractually binding offers. By submitting a quote you are making an offer to
enter into a contract or purchase order prepared with the Statement of Work portion modified to conform to the
specifics of your quote. You also agree that if you fail to sign such a contract promptly if offered to you, AURA
may elect, at its sole discretion, to offer a contract to another proposer and/or pursue any available remedies.
Each quote must have a lead company. A group of companies may not submit a joint quote in which multiple
companies are all listed as equal partners. The only way for a group of companies to submit a quote is for one
company to submit a quote as a lead contractor with the other companies listed as subcontractors. A single
lead contractor is required so that the contract(s) can be quickly awarded without delays associated with
placing multiple contracts for one team's effort.
Download and complete the Quote Form (Document SLGS-02) in Microsoft Word format, answer all the
questions, and provide all the requested information and documentation. In addition, complete and submit the
following documents:
Contractor’s Experience Forms
Statement of your company’s long-term ability to support future service contacts
Assessment of and mitigation plans for any identified risks that could affect your ability to meet the
terms of all aspects of this project.
List of similar lasers installed in Chile with contacts
Have the completed Quote Form reviewed, approved, and signed by the appropriate administration official of
your institution or company who has authority to bind your institution or company to contractual obligations. In
addition, ensure that you have equivalent assurances from all subcontractors.
Convert the finished quote to PDF format. Quotes should be submitted as a single electronic document in
Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Please do not send a hard copy and do not submit multiple electronic documents.
Whenever possible, the size of the PDF file should be minimized by printing documents directly to PDF format
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
instead of scanning them. Where signatures are required in the Quote Form you should print the page, have it
signed, and then scan the signed page to PDF and attach the signature page to the main document.
Submit your quote by emailing it as a PDF file attachment to Karen Godzyk, AURA Contracts Officer, at
Kgodzyk@aura-astronomy.org. All quotes must be received by AURA on or before the due date and time
stated at the top of this document.
No oral, telegraphic, or telephonic Quotes will be considered. No oral, telegraphic, or telephonic modifications to
Quotes will be considered. Modifications to Quotes submitted may be made electronically, if the modified Quote
Documents are delivered to AURA in accordance with the Modification of Quote section (below) before the
Quote due date.
If selected and contract objections exist, AURA will strive to resolve all objections within 10 working days of
selection.
Acknowledgement of Quotes: Receipt of quotes will be acknowledged by email by 5:00pm MST of the next
working day following the deadline for submitting quotes. Please contact the AURA Contracts Officer
(Kgodzyk@aura-astronomy.org) if you do not receive an acknowledgement. AURA reserves the right to accept
quotes submitted after the deadline if it can be documented that the failure to meet the deadline was due to
technical problems with the transmission of the quote by email.
Modification of Quote: Quotes that have already been submitted may only be modified by means of
submitting a replacement quote before the deadline for receipt of quotes. Quotes may not be modified after the
due date.
Quote Withdrawals: A bidder may withdraw its Quote(s) by written request (i.e., email) at any time prior to the
scheduled closing time for receipt of Quotes. Thereafter, all quotes, including all subcontracts, must be valid for
120 days and cannot be withdrawn or modified during that period. Contractors must ensure that this
requirement is effectively communicated to all their subcontractors.
Quote Representations: By submitting a quote you are representing that you have carefully examined this
RFQ and its referenced documents, understand all aspects of the work, and are not aware of any ambiguities
in the scope of work or specifications that may affect your proposed price or schedule. By submitting your
quote, you are also representing that:
(1) You have the technical and management capabilities to perform the work in a timely and competent
manner;
(2) You are not aware of any pending legal, financial, or other action that could have a material detrimental
effect on your ability to perform the work in a timely manner;
(3) You have the financial resources reasonably required to complete the work in a competent and timely
manner; and
(4) You have the facilities, tools, staff effort, and equipment necessary to perform the work in a timely and
competent manner.
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Section IV: EVALUATION CRITERIA
Evaluation criteria: AURA will use evaluation scores to assist in selecting quotes for contract award; AURA
will consider the following criteria in preparing evaluation scores. The evaluation criteria are listed below with
their weighting. The material used to evaluate each criterion shall include, but not be limited to, the listed
sections of the Quote Document that proposers are required to include in their quote as described in section 4.
Criterion
Demonstrated ability to meet technical specifications and requirements


35%
Cost of Ownership
o Initial Cost of Laser
o Cost of proposed maintenance plans, including Gemini labor
o Requested milestone payment schedule
o Results of price/cost analysis
o Fairness and reasonableness of the price
Contractor Experience and Project Management



35%
How well has the team demonstrated they can meet the technical requirements?
By how much can the team exceed the minimal technical requirements?
o Laser return
o Delivery time
o Robustness, ease of maintenance and downtime requirements
o Ease of installation and interface with the existing observatory infrastructure
o Documentation
Quote Price

Weight
30%
How well has the project team demonstrated their experience in constructing lasers?
Has the team submitted a credible production plan?
Longevity of the project team for maintenance and servicing
The scores will provide a guide to the selection committee but additional trade-offs may be considered in making a
best value selection.
RFQ- N60969C Gemini South Sodium Laser Guide Star
Section V. COMMUNICATION AND QUESTIONS
Any questions or requests for clarification of this Request for Quotes document should be directed to:
Karen Godzyk
Contracts Officer
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.
950 N. Cherry Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
Email: Kgodzyk@aura-astronomy.org
(520) 318-8357 (MST)
a) General procedural questions can be handled by telephone. Questions or requests for clarification regarding
the scope of work, requirements, or specifications must be submitted by email and must be received at least
five working days before the due date for quotes. Answers and clarifications that modify or clarify any of the
documents included in this RFQ will only be made in writing; bidders shall not rely on verbal answers or
clarifications. AURA may decide to share any questions and their answers with all of the bidders by issuing a
supplement to the RFQ.
b) To ensure that all bidders receive the same information, clarification or direction by other persons at
AURA or individuals at the Gemini Observatory is not permitted during the RFQ process. Bidders may not
contact any other person at Gemini regarding this procurement without express permission from the AURA
Contracts Officer, and bidders may be disqualified from participating in this procurement if they attempt to
communicate about this procurement with AURA or Gemini personnel other than the AURA Contracts Officer.
c) Bidders may request modifications to any requirements that are impossible to meet or that appear to
needlessly increase the cost of the work. These requests for modifications should be submitted as early as
possible before the due date for submitting quotes. Modifications will be issued to all bidders through an
amendment to the RFQ.
d) AURA may modify parts of the RFQ after it has been released. Modifications will be made only by means of
amendments to the RFQ posted at the top of the RFQ web page. Notice of amendments will be distributed only
to the email addresses to which the RFQ was originally sent. Verbal amendments will be void, so do not rely
on any modification to anything in this RFQ unless it has been confirmed by a written RFQ amendment posted
on this page.
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