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New Satellite Operations Facility

New Satellite Operations Facility - Construction Management
and Inspection Services
Suitland, Maryland

Replacing NOAA's World War II Office Complex

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the General Services Administration (GSA) needed to relocate NOAA’s environmental satellite and data processing operations. The new facility, located in Maryland’s Suitland Federal Center, replaces satellite program operations previously housed in the center’s World War II-era Federal Office Building complex.  

The GSA selected Parsons to provide construction management (CM), inspection, and commissioning services for its $61 million National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS) Satellite Operations and Data Processing facility. This high-tech, secured computer center protects $50 million in computer equipment and serves as its nerve center with 16 antennae controlling satellites worth more than $3 billion. NESDIS is the nation’s primary source of space-based meteorological and climate data and operates its environmental satellites, which are used for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and other environmental applications such as fire detection, ozone monitoring, and sea surface temperature measurements.
Aerial view of proposed site and surrounding buildings

Proposed site and surrounding buildings

Three Data Centers

NESDIS also operates three data centers that house global databases in climatology, oceanography, solid earth geophysics, marine geology and geophysics, solar-terrestrial physics, and paleoclimatology.

Working closely with GSA’s National Capitol Region, Parsons represented the GSA’s interests on this “Design Excellence” project to construct the 200,000-ft² office and telecommunications space that accommodates this state-of-the-art, high-security computer center, which controls worldwide satellite operations for the Department of Commerce’s NOAA. We anticipated the challenges in meeting the high expectations for the project and, to achieve balance among often-competing goals, we initiated and maintained a sustainable partnering relationship with all stakeholders to foster an environment in which all parties could succeed. Those involved in this project attribute part of its success to the effective Leadership Forum. Monthly meetings were held with key project personnel, including a NOAA representative, the GSA Regional Director of Property Development, the principal from the design A-E firm, and the principal from the selected general contracting company. This group not only reviewed progress, but it also took a proactive approach to discussing and mitigating potential problems.

The facility design and construction process fully embraced the sustainability criteria established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Parsons’ diligent adherence to the project’s sustainability goals—through its management of the construction process, quality, and commissioning—contributed significantly to the project’s receiving the USGBC Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award.

The NESDIS facility consists of two main components:

  • The Bar is a slender, three-story tower consisting of 57,000 ft² of space dedicated to the control mission of the Satellite Operations Group.
  • The Mat is an extended, partly underground, two-story building of 150,000 ft². It includes an underground parking structure on the lower level that provides 280 vehicle parking spaces for employees, with additional surface parking for 55 vehicles.

Above the parking structure, the Mat includes a level that contains high-tech office space for the processing, dissemination, and storage of data received and transmitted via satellites. The center of the second level accommodates a data service ring for the telecommunication ductbanks, computer servers, plotters, data storage, and local area network (LAN) rooms to support the office functions. The 'green' roof over the Mat supports a parklike setting of living plants, and numerous skylights and light wells pierce the roof to illuminate the interior office spaces.

Parsons performed CM services for base building and interior improvements. The CM scope of work included the following deliverables:

  • Foundations, superstructure, office space, storage, health facility, food service, and conference and training facilities
  • All new underground utilities (e.g., electrical, water, and sewage), vent stacks, waste lines, and plumbing fixtures
  • Electrical lighting systems
  • Dedicated computer circuits, stabilized power with power distribution units, and uninterruptible power system with standby generators and switchgear
  • Automation system; architectural, civil, mechanical, and HVAC systems; full sprinkler protection; fire and security alarm systems; elevators; and sophisticated audiovisual equipment systems

Parsons’ services included overall quality management, scheduling, cost estimating for change orders, and management of the commissioning process. We share the pride in the completed facility with GSA and NOAA, as well as the full design and construction team.
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Project Details (featured in Aug 2008)

  • Client:

    U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. General Services Administration

  • Project Value:

    $83 million

  • Project Duration:

    2 years

  • Services Provided:

    Construction management, Critical path method (CPM) scheduling, cost estimating, and commissioning

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