NASA has launched a full and open competition for interested vendors to design and build a single-channel, near-infrared optical detector for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Extended Observations satellite system.
The space agency intends to award a 15-year cost-plus-award-fee contract for the development of two GeoXO Lightning Mapper flight models with options for two more, according to a notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.
LMX will be built to detect, locate and measure the intensity and duration of lightning flashes and enable NOAA and other agencies to integrate geostationary lightning data into severe weather forecasts and warnings.
According to NOAA, the lighting mapper will help the agency detect lighting hazards, predict the intensity of hurricanes, estimate precipitation and mitigate potential aviation hazards.
The contract will include support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage.
NASA anticipates awarding the contract in late February 2024.
