West Virginia Executive Summer 2016 | Page 85

Russell Schneider, the director of NOAA’s Norman, OK-based Storm Prediction Center, says GOES-R, combined with its new lightning measurements, will give forecasters unprecedented observations of developing severe storms. “This will increase the accuracy of our warning messages for communities across the United States,” he says. Steve Goodman, the GOES-R program scientist, says the satellite’s ability to closely track lightning activity provides more information about the lethal potential of all storms. “In-cloud lightning often increases as thunderstorms intensify,” he explains. “When lightning rates increase dramatically, that indicates the potential for a severe or tornadic storm.” According to Jim Estep, president and CEO of the High Technology Foundation in Fairmont, WV, GOES-R is one of the most significant non-defense related satellite programs in history. “The GOES-R satellites will provide so much more information about the climate and weather patterns that it will literally redefine our understanding of the Earth itself,” he says. “Both the satellites and the corresponding ground stations are required to make it all work. Therefore, it is of incredible significance that West Virginia is home to the ground station component because it makes West Virginia an integral part of this historic program.” GOES-R will also monitor space weather and aid in NOAA’s maritime forecasts, long-range seasonal predictions and drought outlooks. GOES-R will improve NOAA’s hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, increase thunderstorm and tornado warning lead times, better track smoke and dust plumes, improve aviation flight route planning and provide data for long-term climate variability studies. Fairmont’s CBU In preparation for this new, complex satellite series, NOAA established GOES-R ground operations—which will capture and distribute the satellite’s data, control its maneuvers and monitor its health—at two primary locations: Wallops, VA, and the Washington, D.C. suburb of Suitland, MD. However, there is always a chance that a large-scale weather event like a land-falling hurricane or major storm could disrupt operations at these two sites simultaneously because of their close proximity to each other, and there is a need to have a ready backup facility located remotely from the other two. Fairmont was chosen as the site for this consolidated backup facility. During the search for a site for GOES-R’s CBU, NOAA sought a location geographically separate from the primary operations sites in Maryland and Virginia. The organization also considered internet connectivity, minimal radio frequency interference for the GOES-R antennas and the time it would take employees to travel to the site during a contingency, with travel by automobile preferable to travel by aircraft. The CBU, which employs 40 West Virginians, is a consolidated facility that duplicates the full functionality of the primary ground stations and is capable of simultaneously supporting the operations, health and safety of all GOES-R satellites. Operation of the CBU is critical to both GOES-R system availability and continuity of the nation’s weather satellite operations. If the primary ground stations are disrupted or disabled, the CBU in Fairmont will be activated and become fully staffed for operations by personnel deployed from the other two sites. This was not the first facility NOAA installed at the Fairmont location. Prior to GOES-R, NOAA conducted an extensive search for possible Continuity of Operations Plan, or COOP, sites. As a result, Fairmont was selected as the backup site for the next-generation Joint Polar Satellite System and the National Polar-orbiting Partnership Data Exploitation System, creating a consolidated backup facility for NOAA’s environmental satellite operations and services. “The scientific value of the data coming down to Earth to the ground station in Fairmont is immeasurable,” says Estep. “Because the data is originating to a large extent at the ground station location and will be expensive from a bandwidth standpoint to transfer around the world, it positions North Central West Virginia to significantly benefit from this financial opportunity. Because this activity is located in Fairmont, the region is strategically located to benefit economically from this potential.”  Congratulations, Bob Welty, West Virginia market president of Fifth Third Bank, for being named a 2016 Sharp Shooter. Vice Chairman Committee Member www.wvexecutive.com summer 2016 83