Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Statement on Systemic Racism
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
  • Education
    • People Powered 2023 Program
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Falkner CAO Papers
    • Blog
    • Digital Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
  • Events
    • Summer Fundraiser 2023
    • Voices of the Community series
    • Forum on Pollution
    • Formidable - author event
    • Voices of the Community
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
    • Annual Report
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition

Byrd’s Legacy on NPR (Student Edition)

10/8/2013

 
Note: This post was previously listed under our "News from the Grey Box" blog series 
By Casey Dehaven

On October 8, 2013, NPR aired a story entitled “Enter The Quiet Zone: Where Cell Service, Wi-Fi Are Banned.” This news item described two scientific installations in West Virginia: the Green Bank Telescope and the Sugar Grove research facility. Senator Byrd was instrumental in securing funding for these two sites, and we wanted to highlight his role in advancing the cause of science in his home state.

In November 1988 in the foothills of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, the gusset plate, an integral piece of a structure’s anatomy, came loose and reduced the original Green Bank Telescope to a pile of rubble. Less than a year later, Senator Robert C. Byrd pushed a $75 million Emergency Supplemental Appropriation through Congress in order to secure federal funding to rebuild a more advanced model of the Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia.
​
Construction of the telescope began in the summer of 1993; with Senator Byrd observing in one of his many Byrd’s Eye View columns that the “official operation of the new, technologically advanced National Radio Telescope is anticipated to begin in 1995.” He mentioned that one of his main reasons for funding this project was to ensure that the state of West Virginia was kept in the “front ranks” of radio telescope technology as a “brilliant star” for a scientific future.
PictureSenator Byrd dedicating the newly finished Green Bank Telescope (August 25, 2000).
Although the date of completion didn’t come about until 2000, it had a brilliant scientific future, indeed, the Green Bank Telescope stands today as the world’s largest fully human-steered radio telescope as part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Located in a 13,000 square mile tract of sparsely inhabited land known as the National Radio Quiet Zone, the massive telescope is able to track and read energy waves billions of light-years away. Due to the nature of its measurements, many other forms of technology, such as cellphones or Wi-Fi, within the Quiet Zone are forbidden, as their signals interfere with the telescope’s electromagnetic field.
​
Green Bank isn’t the only facility situated in the Quiet Zone; nearby, Sugar Grove Naval Research Facility had a similar history also involving the Senator Byrd. In July 1962, the original Sugar Grove facility was abandoned; shortly thereafter Byrd recommended it be converted into a research station for conducting basic and applied studies in astronomy and electronics. In conjunction with the United States Navy, Byrd initiated a relocation of the Naval Radio Receiving Station in 1963 from Maryland to Sugar Grove, West Virginia at a cost of $3.83 million. Senator Byrd also managed to secure the Navy’s agreement to request the development of the facilities of the Receiving Station at Sugar Grove for $11 million, for which construction began in 1966. In 1985, after a total expenditure of around $25.1 million, the Sugar Grove Naval Research Facility was officially up and running, due primarily to Senator Byrd.

PictureThe completed Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
The research facilities of Green Bank and Sugar Grove in West Virginia were brought back to life at the hands of Senator Robert C. Byrd, a native with enough initiative and enough pull with congress to make things happen. The scientific discoveries made at Green Bank, from observations at the galaxy’s center to detecting molecular lines, have brought the state world-wide notice and given this West Virginian institution a reputation for scientific advancement.

The sources for this post come from the Projects Series of Senator Byrd’s Congressional Collection.

Comments are closed.
    Welcome to the Byrd Center Blog! We share content here including research from our archival collections, articles from our director, and information on upcoming events. 

    Categories

    All
    Director's Posts
    Intern Blogs
    Posts From The Archives

    Archives

    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    December 2011

    RSS Feed

Picture
213 North King Street
PO Box 5000
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
(304) 876 - 5702

Our Mission:

The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
© 2021 Robert C. Byrd Center for
​Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Statement on Systemic Racism
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
  • Education
    • People Powered 2023 Program
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Falkner CAO Papers
    • Blog
    • Digital Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
  • Events
    • Summer Fundraiser 2023
    • Voices of the Community series
    • Forum on Pollution
    • Formidable - author event
    • Voices of the Community
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
    • Annual Report
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition