National Science Board; Sunshine Act Meetings, 15141 [2012-6278]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices
conclusion that the angular size of such
features as viewed from the Earth is very
small. In order to accomplish such
studies, the blurring effect of the earth’s
turbulent atmosphere needs to be
removed. This is accomplished by an
advanced system of optics known
generically as ‘‘adaptive optics’’ (AO).
The heart of the AO system is a mirror
that can change its shape more than
1,000 times per second with
approximately 1,900 separate actuators
distributed over the circular area of the
mirror. Each actuator must be able to
push and pull the face plate by 2.5
micrometers; by comparison, a human
hair is approximately 80 micrometers
wide. This mirror, along with its control
electronics, cooling system, etc.
constitutes the DMS. The specifications
for the DMS include the following
critical performance requirements:
1. Face Sheet flatness—The DMS
must have initial and repeatable
reflective face sheet flatness to within
15.8 nanometers (root mean square
error) for a baseline reference. (For
reference, 1 micrometer equals 1000
nanometers.)
2. Actuator spacing—The DMS must
have an actuator spacing such that a
population of at least 1,900 units are
installed within the DMS footprint,
which is roughly circular with 200
millimeter diameter.
3. Actuator performance—The
actuators must be capable of a specific
and repeatable stroke length of equal to
or greater than 5 micrometers while in
the ATST operational environment.
Failure to meet any of these technical
requirements would have severe
negative impacts on the spatial
resolution performance of the ATST and
therefore on its ability to meet its
scientific goals.
AURA issued an Announcement of
Opportunity in Federal Business
Opportunities (FedBizOpps) and,
subsequently, an open request for
proposals for the design, fabrication,
and testing of the DMS for the ATST.
Proposals were received from three
vendors, two of which are non-U.S.
companies. The proposals were
evaluated by an internal source
selection evaluation board on the basis
of technical performance and best value.
A selection plan and proposal
evaluation criteria were created in order
to equitably evaluate proposals and
provide a quantitative method for
selection of a ‘‘best value’’ proposal
based on technical and managerial
merit. The selection plan was reviewed
and approved per AURA’s internal
procedures prior to receiving the
proposals. Pricing was subsequently
factored in by the reviewers to assess
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overall, ‘‘best value.’’ The evaluation
criteria were weighted as described in
the selection plan depending on the
relative importance of each criteria.
After careful technical review, the
selection board recommended that the
ATST program pursue a contract with
one of the non-U.S. vendors as a result
of their finding that only that one
vendor’s offering meets and exceeds all
critical performance requirements,
particularly the specifications
concerning face sheet flattening and
actuator performance. Furthermore, the
selected vendor is also the only one that
has experience in producing mirrors
that meet ATST requirements for
actuator spacing. The only U.S. bidder
failed to meet the critical specification
on actuator stroke and could not
produce a mirror with the desired 1,933
total actuators with spacing of 4.33
millimeters by 4.21 millimeters.
AURA’s conclusion is that there are
no U.S. manufacturers who can produce
a suitable DMS that meets all of the
ATST requirements, so an exemption to
the Buy American requirements is
necessary.
In the absence of a domestic supplier
that could provide a DMS that meets or
exceeds the ATST specification, AURA
requested that NSF issue a Section 1605
exemption determination with respect
to the purchase of a foreign-supplied,
specification-compliant DMS, so that
the telescope will meet the specific
design and technical requirements that
are necessary to deliver the image
quality necessary for successful
performance of its scientific mission.
Furthermore, the project’s market
research indicated that a DMS that
meets or exceeds the ATST’s technical
specifications and requirements is
available from a foreign vendor.
NSF’s Division of Acquisition and
Cooperative Support (DACS) and other
NSF program staff reviewed the AURA
exemption request submittal, found that
it was complete, and determined that
sufficient technical information was
provided in order for NSF to evaluate
the exemption request and to conclude
that an exemption is needed and should
be granted.
III. Exemption
On March 6, 2012, based on the
finding that no domestically produced
deformable mirror system meets all of
the ATST’s technical specifications and
requirements and pursuant to section
1605(b), the NSF Chief Financial
Officer, in accordance with a delegation
order from the Director of the agency
signed on May 27, 2010, granted a
limited project exemption of the
Recovery Act’s Buy American
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15141
requirements with respect to the
procurement of the deformable mirror
system.
Dated: March 7, 2012.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012–6102 Filed 3–13–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
National Science Board; Sunshine Act
Meetings
The National Science Board’s
Committee on Strategy and Budget Task
Force on Data Policies, pursuant to NSF
regulations (45 CFR part 614), the
National Science Foundation Act, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 1862n–5), and the
Government in the Sunshine Act (5
U.S.C. 552b), hereby gives notice in
regard to the scheduling of a
teleconference for the transaction of
National Science Board business, as
follows:
DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, March 28,
from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., EDT.
SUBJECT MATTER: Discussion of a
continuation of the National Science
Board’s focus on data policies.
STATUS: Open.
LOCATION: This meeting will be held by
teleconference at the National Science
Board Office, National Science
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22230. A public listening
room will be available for this
teleconference meeting. All visitors
must contact the Board Office (call 703–
292–7000 or send an email message to
nationalsciencebrd@nsf.gov) at least 24
hours prior to the teleconference for the
public room number and to arrange for
a visitor’s badge. All visitors must report
to the NSF visitor desk located in the
lobby at the 9th and N. Stuart Streets
entrance on the day of the
teleconference to receive a visitor’s
badge.
UPDATES AND POINT OF CONTACT: Please
refer to the National Science Board Web
site www.nsf.gov/nsb for additional
information and schedule updates (time,
place, subject matter or status of
meeting) may be found at https://
www.nsf.gov/nsb/notices/. Point of
contact for this meeting is: Blane Dahl,
National Science Board Office, 4201
Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230.
Telephone: (703) 292–7000.
Ann Bushmiller,
Senior Counsel to the National Science Board.
[FR Doc. 2012–6278 Filed 3–12–12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 15141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6278]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
National Science Board; Sunshine Act Meetings
The National Science Board's Committee on Strategy and Budget Task
Force on Data Policies, pursuant to NSF regulations (45 CFR part 614),
the National Science Foundation Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1862n-5),
and the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), hereby gives
notice in regard to the scheduling of a teleconference for the
transaction of National Science Board business, as follows:
DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, March 28, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., EDT.
SUBJECT MATTER: Discussion of a continuation of the National Science
Board's focus on data policies.
STATUS: Open.
LOCATION: This meeting will be held by teleconference at the National
Science Board Office, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22230. A public listening room will be available for this
teleconference meeting. All visitors must contact the Board Office
(call 703-292-7000 or send an email message to
nationalsciencebrd@nsf.gov) at least 24 hours prior to the
teleconference for the public room number and to arrange for a
visitor's badge. All visitors must report to the NSF visitor desk
located in the lobby at the 9th and N. Stuart Streets entrance on the
day of the teleconference to receive a visitor's badge.
UPDATES AND POINT OF CONTACT: Please refer to the National Science
Board Web site www.nsf.gov/nsb for additional information and schedule
updates (time, place, subject matter or status of meeting) may be found
at https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/notices/. Point of contact for this meeting
is: Blane Dahl, National Science Board Office, 4201 Wilson Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22230. Telephone: (703) 292-7000.
Ann Bushmiller,
Senior Counsel to the National Science Board.
[FR Doc. 2012-6278 Filed 3-12-12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
