NOAA finalizes call for bids to run its Fairbanks satellite station

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday made final its search for a company to run the Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station, which commands the agency's polar-orbiting satellites and pulls down their weather and environmental data. The agency said the solicitation has no material changes from the draft version Alaska News reported Oct. 16.

The station sits in a radio-quiet valley 12 miles northeast of Fairbanks, off the Steese Highway, and makes about 135 satellite contacts a day. Besides serving as NOAA's main ground station for its polar-orbiting satellites, it backs up the agency's primary station for its geostationary satellites. NOAA calls it a national critical asset that must run around the clock, including in severe weather.

The winning company would handle satellite operations, information technology, facility maintenance, security guard services and property logistics starting June 1, 2027. With all its options, the contract could run through May 2032.

Only small businesses can bid. Each must hold an active Secret-level facility clearance from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency by the Nov. 9 proposal deadline, a requirement NOAA will grade pass or fail.

Companies owned by Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for the North Slope, have run the station since at least 2016, according to federal spending records. Arctic Slope Technical Services held the contract from 2016 to 2022, and Netcentric Technology, part of ASRC Federal, has held it since. Netcentric's contract drew four bids and was announced at about $44.2 million. NOAA has since committed about $52.6 million to it, according to USAspending.gov.

The solicitation includes collective bargaining agreements with Teamsters Local 959 and the Fairbanks Joint Craft Council, both effective June 1, 2026. NOAA expects use of the station's antennas to grow as new partnerships with foreign earth observation satellite operators, the U.S. Space Force and other federal agencies mature, according to the work statement.