Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Room G010,John Owens Building, Oxford Road
MANCHESTER
M139PL
Contact
Paul Carter
paul.carter-2@manchester.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 1612752207
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKD33 - Manchester
UK Register of Learning Providers (UKPRN number)
10007798
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
UK Simons Observatory (SO:UK) Consortium - Small Apeture Telescope Platform (SATP)
Reference number
2022-1942-SATP-MB-PC
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 32534000 - Satellite platforms
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was conducted by University of California, San Diego, in May 2018 for a vendor to design and construct small aperture camera platforms for the Simons Observatory (SO) which is a US-led international project to construct a group of CMB telescopes in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It has been designed to address new science challenges, and is due to begin operations in 2023.
In order to address its primary science goals, the SO collaboration has designed a single experiment that is unique amongst its peers in the field of CMB studies .
The major UK contribution to SO is to specifically build, deploy, commission and operate an array of two small aperture telescopes (the SO:UK instrument) to exactly match the existing (US) SO instrument proprietary plans awarded under Purchasing Agreement SD-18-1025.
The UK instrument will form a major component of the SO, providing 50% of its sensitivity to primordial B-modes. The additional sensitivity that will be provided by the SO:UK instrument has the potential to bring a compelling class of inflation models within our reach, for the first time.
In building the instrument, we will incorporate a number of innovative features including the first use of a new detector technology (Kinetic Inductance Detectors, KIDs) in a CMB B-mode experiment.
In addition to KIDs, the instrument work also includes the development and demonstration of novel meta-material (MM) quasi-optical components and high-performance detector readout technology.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: 2,507,689 EUR
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKD - North West (England)
Main site or place of performance
The University of Manchester
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was conducted by University of California, San Diego, in May 2018 for a vendor to design and construct small aperture camera platforms for the Simons Observatory (SO) which is a US-led international project to construct a group of CMB telescopes in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It has been designed to address new science challenges, and is due to begin operations in 2023.
In order to address its primary science goals, the SO collaboration has designed a single experiment that is unique amongst its peers in the field of CMB studies .
The major UK contribution to SO is to specifically build, deploy, commission and operate an array of two small aperture telescopes (the SO:UK instrument) to exactly match the existing (US) SO instrument proprietary plans awarded under Purchasing Agreement SD-18-1025.
The UK instrument will form a major component of the SO, providing 50% of its sensitivity to primordial B-modes. The additional sensitivity that will be provided by the SO:UK instrument has the potential to bring a compelling class of inflation models within our reach, for the first time.
In building the instrument, we will incorporate a number of innovative features including the first use of a new detector technology (Kinetic Inductance Detectors, KIDs) in a CMB B-mode experiment.
In addition to KIDs, the instrument work also includes the development and demonstration of novel meta-material (MM) quasi-optical components and high-performance detector readout technology.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Quality / Weighting: 70
Cost criterion - Name: Cost / Weighting: 30
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was conducted by University of California, San Diego, in May 2018 for a vendor to design and construct small aperture camera platforms for the Simons Observatory (SO) which is a US-led international project to construct a group of CMB telescopes in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It has been designed to address new science challenges, and is due to begin operations in 2023.
In order to address its primary science goals, the SO collaboration has designed a single experiment that is unique amongst its peers in the field of CMB studies .
The major UK contribution to SO is to specifically build, deploy, commission and operate an array of two small aperture telescopes (the SO:UK instrument) to exactly match the existing (US) SO instrument proprietary plans awarded under Purchasing Agreement SD-18-1025.
The UK instrument will form a major component of the SO, providing 50% of its sensitivity to primordial B-modes. The additional sensitivity that will be provided by the SO:UK instrument has the potential to bring a compelling class of inflation models within our reach, for the first time.
In building the instrument, we will incorporate a number of innovative features including the first use of a new detector technology (Kinetic Inductance Detectors, KIDs) in a CMB B-mode experiment.
In addition to KIDs, the instrument work also includes the development and demonstration of novel meta-material (MM) quasi-optical components and high-performance detector readout technology.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
2022-1942-SATP-MB-PC
Title
UK Simons Observatory (SO:UK) Consortium - Small Apeture Telescope Platform (SATP)
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
2 September 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
VERTEX ANTENNENTECHNIK GmbH
Baumstraße 46-50
Duisburg
47198
Country
Germany
NUTS code
- DE - Germany
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 2,507,689 EUR
Total value of the contract/lot: 2,507,689 EUR
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The High Court of Justice of England
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
The University of Manchester
Manchester
M13 9PL
Country
United Kingdom