M1 Mirror Blank Fabrication for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope Enclosure Haleakalā Observatory, Maui, Hawai’i

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), on behalf of the National Solar Observatory, is soliciting proposals for the M1 Mirror Blank fabrication for the proposed Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), which will be located at the project site at Haleakala Observatory, Maui, Hawai’i. The selected firm will provide the following services: provide a mirror blank for the ATST primary mirror with suitable low thermal expansion material. The mirror blank is to be approximately 4.24 meters in diameter and meniscus in shape. The selected firm shall also provide all associated documentation related to the M1 Blank fabrication and acceptance testing. In addition, AURA encourages submissions from firms that include, as an option, aspherical generation on the concave surface. AURA is seeking to pre-qualify firms who are interested in submitting a proposal for the ATST M1 Mirror Blank fabrication effort. Parties interested in receiving the Request for Proposal documentation for this procurement must first complete and submit the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and Appendices A, B, and C to Harvey S. Bass, Contracts Officer, AURA-ATST Project by either fax (520-318-8500) or email ([email protected]) not later than 3:00 PM MST, Friday December 18, 2009. The Questionnaire can be accessed at http://atst.nso.edu/contracts. Accompanying the Questionnaire shall be a one page letter of interest referencing Announcement of Opportunity No. R107806. The letter shall include the physical mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and email address for a contact person. Qualified parties will be provided access to the RFP documentation. AURA and the ATST Project are constructing this 4-meter solar telescope on Haleakala in Hawaii under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. For more information about the ATST Project, please see http://atst.nso.edu.