The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association officially opened its new $81 million satellite operations facility in Prince George’s County on Monday.

According to NOAA, the facility houses $50 million in high-tech equipment and controls satellites worth $4.7 billion.

“This building allows for the growth potential to handle future satellite missions,” said Reginald Lawrence, director of NOAA’s environmental satellite processing center, “which probably would not have been possible because of space, power and systems like that” at the old facility.

The satellite operations facility gathers, processes and distributes information used in weather and climate prediction. The official opening of the new facility corresponds to the beginning of hurricane season.

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“NOAA’s role is to provide the public and our primary customer, the National Weather Service, with the latest and most accurate information regarding the characteristics of the hurricane,” Lawrence said.

Almost 550 employees work in the new 208,271-square-foot building, located in the same Suitland Federal Center complex that housed NOAA’s previous satellite operations facility.

According to Paul Pegnato, NOAA’s project manager for the new facility, it replaces a World War II-era building originally constructed as a hospital ward for wounded veterans.

“It had aged beyond effective and reliable use,” Pegnato said.

The new facility, Pegnato said, was designed with the “actual mission in mind.” It has raised floors throughout for wiring, new computer cooling equipment, more space and improved electrical systems, Pegnato said.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., told The Examiner the new facility takes NOAA to the “next plateau.”

“As we know, technology changes pretty quickly and this gives it the [ability] to keep up with technology,” he said.

dfowler@dcexaminer.com