b'NOAA NOAA SatelliteNational Oceanic and Operations Facility Atmospheric Administration 4231 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746Prince Georges CountyMaryland NOAA Employees: 2,913 History & Mission: Procurement Contracts in 2018: The U.S. operational environmental satellite program,$1,402,698,932 US Total which was part of a predecessor agency to NOAA, moved $576,172,741 Performed in Maryland to the Suitland Federal Center in 1958 and joined theHistory & Mission:weather-related functions that had been in Suitland sinceNOAAs roots date back to 1807, when the United Statesthe late 1940s. In June 2007, the NSOF moved to a new first scientific agency, the Survey of the Coast, was established.state-of the-art facility in a LEED gold building on the The Weather Bureau was formed in 1870, and the Bureau ofSuitland Federal Center campus.Commercial Fisheries in 1871. In 1956, the National WeatherThe Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) Bureau, then part of the Environmental Science Servicesis part of the National Environmental Satellite Data and Administration (ESSA), established its communications Information Service (NESDIS). NESDIS is part of thecenter in the Suitland Federal Center. In 1965, ESSA becameNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationpart of the Department of Commerce, incorporating the(NOAA), and the Department of Commerce. OSPO wasWeather Bureau and several other agencies; ESSA becamecreated by merging the Office of Satellite Data Processing NOAA in 1970.and Distribution (OSDPD) and the Office of Satellite Home of NOAA headquarters since 1993, the NOAA Operations. It is responsible for maintaining the comprehensive Silver Spring Metro Center consists of four buildings, a scheduling and data information for both Geostationary and science center and an auditorium. Polar orbiting satellites along with providing products derived NOAAs dedicated scientists use cutting-edge researchfrom the data collected by these satellites. and high-tech instrumentation to predict changes in theThe OSPO manages and directs the operation of theoceanic and atmospheric environments and living marinecentral ground facilities which ingest, process, and distribute resources, and to provide related data, information, andservices to the public, industry, the research community, environmental satellite data and derived products to domestic and other government agencies. These efforts range fromand foreign users. warnings of severe events on short time-scales to informationOSPO manages the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided on climate shifts over decades or more. Tracking (SARSAT) System, and is responsible forNOAAs mission is to understand and predict changes coordinating and implementing the United States activitiesin Earths environment and conserve and manage coastal in the international satellite aided search and rescueand marine resources to meet our nations economic, social,program, COSPAS-SARSAT.and environmental needs. An international leader on scientificThe SARSAT program is operated by Canada, USA, and and environmental matters, NOAA envisions an informedFrance, while the COSPAS system is operated by Russia. society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the Thirty-two other nations also participate in the program. role of the oceans, coasts, and atmosphere in the global The two satellite systems work together, receiving signals ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions. from emergency radio beacons and relaying them to ground *Source Maryland Federal Facilities Profilehttps://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/BusinessResource/NOAA-National-Oceanic-and-Atmospheric-stations which process the signals and calculate the locations Administration.pdf of the beacons. This allows search and rescue authorities to send rescue missions to those locations.NOAA Satellites Helped Rescue 421 People in 2019Of those rescues, 306 people were rescued in 96 incidents at sea, 38 people were rescued from 20 aviation incidents, and 77 people were rescued in 61 incidents using personal locator beacons (PLBs) on land.Since the programs inception in 1982, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with supporting more than 48,000rescues worldwide, including nearly 9,100 people in the United States and its surrounding waters. NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Maryland Employees 550 personnel.**Source Maryland Federal Facilities Profilehttps://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/BusinessResource/NSOF-NOAA-Satellite-Operations-Facility.pdfAberdeen Proving Ground Military Appreciation Resource Magazine 17'