USGS plans airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey in California

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a market survey to find companies eligible to compete for a contract to conduct an airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey in San Joaquin Valley, Calif. The contractor will be required to provide digitally recorded and processed airborne geophysical and ancillary data.

“The USGS requests airborne geophysical data covering areas in the southern San Joaquin Valley, Calif., using magnetic and electromagnetic methods,” USGS officials said in contract documents released Sunday. “An electromagnetic system is required that can image lithologic variations, groundwater salinity variations, and structural controls on groundwater flow within agricultural and suburban areas. These data are intended for rigorous inversion and interpretation of the 3-D hydrogeologic conditions of the subsurface. These data will be used in aquifer and salinity mapping, the design of groundwater monitoring strategies, and the characterization of geologic structures.

“The goal is to provide high quality airborne geophysical data that will be used for quantitative hydrogeologic framework and groundwater salinity studies.”

Companies interested in competing for the contract must contact the USGS by July 16.

Southwest Airlines celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport

Southwest Airlines Co., the carrier offering more seats than any other carrier each day to, from, and within California, embarked upon a new chapter in a faithful 35-year partnership with California travelers Sunday. Southwest celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport, the carrier's 98^th city served, now offering service in all five major commercial airports in the L.A. Basin with four flights a day to and from the Bay Area nonstop between Long Beach and Oakland.

"Southwest's arrival in Long Beach brings much needed competition not just with our unique value and unparalleled customer service, but with unmatched access to the rest of the country through our Oakland gateway," said Paul Cullen, Southwest Airlines' Vice President of Corporate Planning and Financial Planning and Analysis, at a morning news conference. "The initial schedule for Long Beach offers long reach with easy connections to 19 cities through our four flights a day to Oakland."

Beginning Sunday, Southwest offers a peak summer schedule of nearly 60 flights a day in each direction between Oakland and Southern California's five airports in the greater L.A. region, plus San Diego. Last week, Southwest filed an application for route authority to add new daily international service later this year from LAX to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos in Mexico, alongside daily service to Costa Rica which began in April. Southwest also flies internationally from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos.

Video: Ship 279, the last C-17 Globemaster III

On Feb. 26, the last C-17, the 279th Globemaster III, came together during the last “major join” at Boeing’s C-17 facility in Long Beach, Calif.

General Atomics awarded MQ-9 Reaper retrofit contract

General Atomics, Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Poway, Calif., has been awarded a $43 million contract for MQ-9 Reaper field retrofit. General Atomics will provide retrofit kits for the MQ-9 Reaper Block 1 configuration aircraft with field retrofit capabilities. The work will be performed at Poway and is expected to be completed by July 5, 2017.

This contract award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal year 2013 funds in the amount of $27 million and fiscal year 2014 funds in the amount of $16 million are being obligated at the time of award. The contract is being managed by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (formerly named Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed primarily for the U.S. Air Force.

Air Force/NASA small-business conference coming to El Segundo

Officials from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and NASA will host an Industry Day meeting next month to provide an opportunity for women-owned small businesses to meet with decision-makers regarding doing business with the agencies. [Full story]

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DCNewsroom most popular posts January 2014

1.) Aerial waterfowl surveys contract in California - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a requirement for aerial waterfowl surveys on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Tule Lake, Calif. [Full story]

2.) Air Force meets with industry to discuss KC-46 maintenance contract - The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center held a series of Industry Day meetings in January to provide potential prime contractors with greater insight into program requirements and to foster competition in the acquisition of the KC-46 Maintenance Training System. [Full story]

3.) Antares rocket ready to launch space station cargo ship - An Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket is ready for flight on launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Va., liftoff planned for 1:07 p.m. EST on Thursday. [Full story]

4.) Insider account to the space shuttle Challenger disaster - This week marks the 28^th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and the release of “Challenger: An American Tragedy - The Inside Story from Launch Control” by Hugh Harris, who was chief of public information for NASA's Kennedy Space Center at the time. [Full story]

5.) Arianespace aims for new satellite launch record in 2014 - Following a year of unprecedented orders, European-based Arianespace is gearing up to beat its record for the number of satellite launches during a year in 2014. [Full story]

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Navy Rear Adm. Moran plans 'fireside chat' with industry

The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD) is hosting an Industry Day event on Feb. 26. [Full story]

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Aerial waterfowl surveys contract in California

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a requirement for aerial waterfowl surveys on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Tule Lake, Calif.

The contractor shall provide a fixed wing aircraft, pilot and trained observer to conduct up to 19 flight surveys in designated months.

The government anticipates awarding a one year base period with four one-year option periods not to exceed five years total contract duration. The anticipated start date is immediately after awarding contract.

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UAV chase plane services needed at Southern California Logistics Airport

The Air National Guard (ANG) is seeking a contractor capable of providing chase plane services in support of unmanned aerial vehicle flight operation at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville. The chase plane will help ensure the safety of non-participating manned aircraft flying in the operations area. “Frequency of requirement is five days per week plus one weekend per month,” the ANG said in contract documents released Tuesday through the Federal Business Opportunities website.

Aircraft requirements:

1. Ability to cruise up to 150 knots and fly as high as 13,000 feet.
2. Endurance capability of up to five hours hours.
3. Supplied aircraft quantity must be sufficient to provide up to one chase plane for up to five hours per day. In addition, the contractor must be able to provide night chase support.
4. Supplied aircraft must be capable of landing on paved runways at least 3000 ft long.

The contract is for one year with the possibility of additional option years.

“The full solicitation for this requirement is expected to be posted Jan. 8,” the ANG said.

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Pentagon ends sweetheart fuel deal for Google executive aircraft

The Department of Defense (DOD) has ended a sweetheart fuel deal that allowed a company owned by top Google executives to buy discounted jet fuel for a fleet of aircraft based at Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA) in California. The public interest group Consumer Watchdog said Friday the aircraft should be evicted from the facility and an investigation opened to see if laws were broken.

H211, a company owned by Google CEO Larry Page, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin, apparently bought fuel to which it wasn't entitled under the agreement with the Defense Department, Consumer Watchdog said in press statement Friday. “The fuel was purchased below commercial market prices. Consumer Watchdog first raised concerns about the Google executives' sweetheart deal in a 2011 report. New details of about the arrangement emerged in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report Thursday.

The Google executives' aircraft, a Boeing 767, a Boeing 757 and four Gulfstream V's, were allowed to be based at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, ostensibly because they were to be used to do research flights for NASA, but the WSJ documented that few of the flights originating from Moffett were NASA related. Some were flights to Tahiti, Hawaii and Croatia.

"What's truly outrageous is their company appears to have bought $6 million worth of fuel subsidized by taxpayers that they weren't entitled to at all,” said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project Direct. “Why should they get to fill up their fuel tanks to fly on personal junkets around the world, when we're all struggling to fill our gas tanks?"

H211 was only entitled to buy fuel from the Department of Defense when the planes were used for NASA missions. However, as The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, only 155 scientific missions had been flown for NASA as of last year, while more than 710 flights had departed Moffett since 2007.

The contract between H211 and the Pentagon specifies that the fuel was supposed to be used only "for performance of a U.S. government contract, charter or other approved use."
The Wall Street Journal reported that 2.3 million gallons of fuel were purchased from the DOD since 2009 for the Google jets at an average cost of $3.19, while the average price at commercial airports for the same period was $4.35, a savings totaling $2.67 million.
NASA's relation with the Google executives is under investigation by NASA's Inspector General (IG).

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Idaho) has also raised questions about the arrangement. The sweetheart deal that allowed the fuel purchases was terminated Aug. 31, probably because of the IG's investigation, Consumer Watchdog said. However, the aircraft are still based at Moffett, about three miles away from Google's headquarters.

Up for lease

In May, the General Services Administration (GSA) on behalf of NASA issued a Request for Proposals to solicit lease proposals for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of NASA's historic Hangar One located at Moffett.

The proposed long-term lease of Hangar One and MFA offers a unique opportunity for the private sector to collaborate with the government to reposition and manage federally owned property for private and public sector reuse, the GSA said.

"In the face of declining budgets and significant mission changes, NASA has been challenged to repurpose historic Hangar One and manage the airfield to support other non-NASA users,” said GSA Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “This competitive approach is designed to create opportunities for development while eliminating NASA's management costs of the airfield."

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