On December 6 and 8, 2022, Cindy Upton (ST10), NSSTC Facility Manager, and Josh Sisco (ST10), UAH Building Manager, supported the annual meeting of the emergency management and response representatives from all ten NASA Centers, who convened at MSFC. Carole Valenti, who serves as the MSFC Emergency Management Director, led the activities. On December 6th, there was a tour of the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) facility at Redstone Arsenal, which also included meetings with the FBI representatives who support activities such as safety drills, overall building safety, emergency responses and security operations. On December 8th, the group met at the NSSTC, which is set as the physical location for MSFC’s Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) capability. While COVID responses allowed for at home teleworking for the people who would normally report to the COOP location in certain circumstances, federal regulations still require the physical COOP. Valenti is working on an updated MSFC Emergency Management Plan that is expected to still include the possible use of the NSSTC. The NSSTC meeting included a tour of the National Weather Service office that serves the north Alabama area. After the tour, there were some presentations made by Earth Science colleagues presented overviews of Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) work, Disasters activities, and SERVIR. These presentations were very well received by the audience, who were especially interested in how these research activities directly influence overall knowledge on many aspects of weather and severe weather outcomes, natural disasters, recovery, etc.
