The Government Resource for Algorithm Verification, Independent Testing, and Evaluation (GRAVITE) provides the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office (IPO) with a technical infrastructure for the conduct of the IPO NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Program, and a mechanism for providing support to the NASA and NPOESS prime contractor efforts as determined appropriate by IPO management. The GRAVITE consists physically of a remote computing center at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, a web and file server system, known as CasaNOSA, a user work area in IPO office space on the 14th floor of the Centre Building in Silver Spring, Maryland, and several remote computers at analysis and sensor vendor facilities around the country. Computers at the various GRAVITE facilities communicate via secure connections to the Internet, and in some high bandwidth scenarios, dedicated point-to-point communication links.

The GRAVITE hosts software applications and databases intended to disseminate relevant technical information to the broader NPP Cal/Val community, and optimize the IPO's analysis resources. Specifically, the GRAVITE consists of a technical library of all NPP and related documentation, an indexed archive of all pre-launch test data from the NPP instruments and spacecraft, and a revision controlled repository of data processing and analysis software. Additionally, GRAVITE will provide resources for the storage and distribution of NPP mission and correlative data amongst the IPO Cal/Val team, and a central data processing and reduction capability to augment the capability of individual investigators. With a target mission readiness date of October 2009, detail planning is currently underway in coordination with the IPO NPP Cal/Val team and their subject matter experts.