NASA Research Center - PARI, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute - Pisgah Forest, North Carolina

PARI is located at the site of the former Rosman Satellite Tracking Station, which was established by NASA in 1962. The site was part of the worldwide Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network and an integral communications link for the manned space programs Project Gemini and Project Apollo. The facility was transferred to the National Security Agency (NSA) in 1981 and, as the Rosman Research Station, was used as a signals intelligence gathering facility. The site was closed by the NSA in 1995 and turned over to the United States Forest Service.[1]

After several years of inactivity, the government proposed to dismantle the facility. Recognizing the utility of the site, a small group of interested scientists and businessmen formed a not-for-profit foundation, which acquired the site in January 1999. Capital investment continues, allowing updates of the equipment for astronomical observation purposes. The observatory maintains a staff of professional astronomers, engineers, and other scientists.

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) (pronounced perry) is a non-profit astronomical observatory located in the Pisgah National Forest near Balsam Grove, North Carolina. PARI operates multiple radio telescopes and optical telescopes for research and teaching purposes. The observatory is affiliated with the University of North Carolina system through the Pisgah Astronomical Research and Science Educational Center (PARSEC).