Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA), Maryland

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) develops satellites and related technologies; designs and coordinates space missions, including flight tracking systems; as well as engaging in basic scientific research in such areas as earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics, and planetary science. GSFC operates three other facilities in addition to the 1,121-acre main site located in Greenbelt, MD: the 6,188-acre Wallops Flight Center at Wallops Island, Virginia; the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in NYC; and the Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) in Fairmont, West Virginia. Over 10,000 people work at Goddard, which has a direct annual budget of over $3 billion (2016). Goddard is the managing location for the Earth Observing System (EOS), a program to monitor environmental patterns of the earth using satellite information.