Launch Date Set for Global Precipitation Sat

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NASA and JAXA Announce Launch Date for Global Precipitation Satellite

Environmental research and weather forecasting are about to get a significant technology boost as NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) prepare to launch a new satellite in February.

NASA and JAXA selected 1:07 p.m. to 3:07 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28) as the launch date and launch window for a Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center.

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GPM: Engineering Next Generation Observations of Rain and Snow

For the past three years, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory has gone from components and assembly drawings to a fully functioning satellite at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The satellite has now arrived in Japan, where it will lift off in early 2014.

The journey to the launch pad has been a long and painstaking process. It began with the most basic assembly of the satellite's frame and electrical system, continued through the integration of its two science instruments, and has now culminated in the completion of a dizzying array of environmental tests to check and recheck that GPM Core Observatory will survive its new home in orbit.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Source: NASA Goddard - Multimedia

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GPM Core Observatory Launch Animation

This animation depicts the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The launch is currently scheduled for Feb. 27, 2014.

GPM is an international satellite mission that will provide advanced observations of rain and snowfall worldwide, several times a day to enhance our understanding of the water and energy cycles that drive Earth's climate. The data provided by the Core Observatory will be used to calibrate precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

For more information please visit http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia