LIVE: H-IIA GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) Feb 27, 2014 (1837UTC)

[catdlr]

NASA | GPM Enters Thermal Vacuum Chamber

Scheduled for launch in February 2014
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1181.msg837844#msg837844

Published on Dec 10, 2012

On Tuesday Nov. 13, 2012, the GPM core observatory was moved
from the clean room to the thermal vacuum chamber. The spacecraft, wrapped in protective blankets, made the short trip by crane across the testing facility where it was then lowered into the 40-foot (12 meter) diameter test chamber.

[youtube]xHCMcB5ii3g[/youtube]

[Fuji]

GPM Anime Challenge   
http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/anime
Anime is a Japanese style of animation popular around the world. Anime characters have filled television shows and comics, and inspired costumes and educational activities. The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) and our partners at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are holding a design challenge for people around the world to develop an Anime character for GPM.

http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/anime-japanese (Japanese URL)

[Galactic Penguin SST]

From Twitter:

TRMM & GPM Missions ‏@NASA_Rain
#GPM is currently on track to launch on February 14th 2014

[catdlr]

NASA | Our Wet Wide World

Published on Apr 12, 2013
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite mission to provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch a "Core" satellite carrying advanced instruments that will set a new standard for precipitation measurements from space. The data they provide will be used to unify precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

The GPM mission will help advance our understanding of Earth's water and energy cycles, improve the forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend current capabilities of using satellite precipitation information to directly benefit society.

[Fuji]

GPM Spreads Its Wings in Solar Array Deployment Test
http://www.nasa.gov/content/gpm-spreads-its-wings-in-solar-array-deployment-test/index.html#.UdIJDNhgoQA

NASA successfully completed two pre-vibration solar array deployment tests of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite on June 6 and June 15, 2013.

[Fuji]

Winners of the GPM Anime Challenge
http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/anime-winners

Grand Prize Winners

[blister]

The rader press opening is here.
Detected by NVS.
http://i.nicovideo.jp/watch/1330112255

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY M13-146

Media Invited to Final Prelaunch Exhibition of New Weather Satellite

News and social media members have an opportunity to get an up-close look at NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory satellite Tuesday, Oct. 8, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in its final public appearance.

Reporters will meet at Goddard's Visitor Center at 10 a.m. EDT, where they can speak with scientists and view a new short film from Science on a Sphere called Water Falls. After the film, they will tour the clean room and speak with engineers who built the satellite.

GPM, scheduled for shipment to its launch site at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan after this event, is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours.

Reporters also will have the opportunity to speak with scientists at Goddard's 15-screen hyperwall to discuss the applications of GPM data, including how rainfall data fit into climate models and contribute to understanding the bigger Earth system. All speakers will be available for interviews.

GPM is the first of four NASA missions launching in 2014 to observe Earth. It will provide unprecedented 3-D views of hurricanes, snowstorms, even light rain, and its data will contribute to the monitoring and forecasting of weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes. In addition, its long-term record of rainfall data will aid scientists in their studies of climate change.

To attend, foreign journalists must register by contacting Ellen Gray at 301-286-1950 or [email protected] by Wednesday, Sept. 25. Journalists who are U.S. citizens should register by Friday, Oct. 4.

NASA also is inviting 30 social media users to apply for credentials to attend the media day. Registration for U.S. citizens active on social media begins Wednesday, Sept. 11 and closes Monday, Sept. 30. Accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To apply, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/17Qosbd

For more information about the GPM mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

[Fuji]

DPR Special Movie (Animation)

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY M13-165

Media Invited to View New Earth Science Satellite before Shipment to Japan

Media have the opportunity Friday, Nov. 15, to get a closer look at NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite before it is shipped to Japan for launch in early 2014.

Media will meet at the Visitors Center at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., at 9:30 a.m. EST, where they will be briefed on the mission and speak with mission scientists. This will be followed by a tour of the spacecraft clean room and opportunities to interview the engineers who built the satellite.

Reporters also will have time to speak with scientists at Goddard's 15-screen Hyperwall about the applications of GPM data, including how rainfall data fit into climate models and contribute to understanding of the entire Earth system. All speakers will be available for interviews.

GPM, scheduled for shipment to the Tanegashima Space Center in November, is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours, as well as unprecedented 3-D views of hurricanes and snowstorms. GPM data will contribute to the monitoring and forecasting of weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes.

To attend, media must register by contacting Ellen Gray at 301-286-1950 or [email protected] no later than Nov. 7. Social media registration is closed.

For more information about the GPM mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

[Fuji]

Nov. 24th, GPM arrived kitakyushu airport in Japan.
Next shipping to the Tanegashima by ship.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Nov. 24th, GPM arrived kitakyushu airport in Japan.
Next shipping to the Tanegashima by ship.

I wonder why they flew to Kitakyushu and not Kagoshima? (no immigration officers stationed there?)

[Fuji]

I wonder why they flew to Kitakyushu and not Kagoshima? (no immigration officers stationed there?)

I feel the same thing.


JAXA HP news and more photos here.
http://www.satnavi.jaxa.jp/gpmdpr_special/column/2013/post1125.html

The core observatory for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission arrived at Kitakyushu Airport in Japan from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the U.S.A. about 12:28 p.m. on Nov. 24 (Sun.) The GPM core observatory was jointly developed by JAXA and NASA. After arrival at the airport, the satellite was then transported to the Tanegashima Space Center by cargo ship for launch by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle. Its arrival here was originally scheduled for the 22nd, but it was delayed for two days due to bad weather in Alaska, where the cargo plane stopped for refueling.

[russianhalo117]

Nov. 24th, GPM arrived kitakyushu airport in Japan.
Next shipping to the Tanegashima by ship.

I wonder why they flew to Kitakyushu and not Kagoshima? (no immigration officers stationed there?)

It might come down to if both can support C-5M Super Galaxy Aircraft.

[jacqmans]

RELEASE 13-346

NASA Delivers Precipitation Satellite to Japan for 2014 Launch


A U.S. Air Force C-5 transport aircraft carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory landed at Kitakyushu Airport in Japan at approximately 10:30 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 23. (Credit: JAXA)

An international satellite that will set a new standard for global precipitation measurements from space has completed a 7,300-mile journey from the United States to Japan, where it now will undergo launch preparations.

A U.S. Air Force C-5 transport aircraft carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory landed at Kitakyushu Airport, about 600 miles southwest of Tokyo, at approximately 10:30 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 23.

The spacecraft, the size of a small private jet, is the largest satellite ever built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. It left Goddard inside a large shipping container Nov. 19 and began its journey across the Pacific Ocean Nov. 21 from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, with a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

From Kitakyushu Airport, the spacecraft was loaded onto a barge heading to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA's) Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan, where it will be prepared for launch in early 2014 on an H-IIA rocket.

"We have been building GPM hardware at Goddard for over four years," said Art Azarbarzin, GPM project manager, who traveled with the spacecraft on its flight to Japan. "We are excited now to get the spacecraft to Tanegashima and looking forward to the launch."

The satellite is designed to pool together precipitation measurements taken by a constellation of orbiting U.S. and international partner satellites, resulting in a single and comprehensive dataset of global precipitation every three hours.

The satellite will measure rain and snow using two science instruments: the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR). The GMI captures precipitation intensities and horizontal patterns, while the DPR provides insights into the three-dimensional structure of rain, snow and other precipitation particles. Together, these two instruments provide a database of measurements against which other partner satellites' microwave observations can be meaningfully compared and combined to make a global precipitation dataset.

The GPM mission is a partnership led by NASA and JAXA. Goddard built and assembled the satellite. JAXA provided the DPR instrument and launch services. The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., built the GMI under contract to Goddard.

The GPM constellation is a network of satellites from multiple U.S. and international space agencies, including NASA, JAXA, the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Japan; the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France; the Indian Space Research Organisation; and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

For more information about the GPM mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

[Fuji]

GPM arrived at Tanegashima Space Center  (JAXA's photo report in Japanese. 4 photos here.)
http://www.satnavi.jaxa.jp/gpmdpr_special/column/2013/post1128.html


GPM's Road to Tanegashima Space Center (NASA's photo report. 7 photos here.)
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/gpms-road-to-tanegashima-space-center/#.Upb1ICfkGM8

Recent improvements to the Kitakyushu airport in Japan facilitated the transportation of the GPM satellite. A freshly paved concrete staging area supported a massive crane as it lifted the satellite into the cargo hold of an ocean barge.

[Fuji]

GPM’s Clean Room Mechanics
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2013/12/05/gpms-clean-room-mechanics/

[Fuji]

GPM Status Report - Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/gpm-status-report-thursday-dec-5-2013/#.UqaZGCfkGM8

This month, the number of NASA personnel at the Japanese launch site will increase from the normal staff of 50 to approximately 80-90 in order to allow 24/7 operations during Comprehensive Performance Test (CPT). This activity involves engineers making final preparations to the satellite and verifying that all the elements of the observatory are ready to support mission objectives.

Formal CPT activity is scheduled to begin on next Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 and all scheduled work should be completed in plenty of time for the NASA group to return home for Christmas.

[Fuji]

Status Update, Dec. 12: GPM Begins Final Comprehensive Performance Test
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/status-update-dec-12-gpm-begins-final-comprehensive-performance-test/#.Uqo-SSfkGM8

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory began its final Comprehensive Performance Test at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Dec. 9, 2013. The test will run 24/7 over the next few weeks as every system and subsystem is turned on and run through its tasks.

This is the first time all the Core Observatory systems have been powered on since its shipment to Japan. The results of the tests will be compared to pre-shipment performance test results to ensure than no problems have arisen due to transit, and that the spacecraft is prepared for on-orbit operations.

GPM's Core Observatory has more than 30 systems and subsystems that are being tested. Almost all the systems have fully redundant electronics in case of a failure on-orbit, so each test has to be run more than once. The engineering team for each system monitors the progress around the clock in the control room outside the clean room at Tanegashima Space Center.

[DavidH]

Status Update, Dec. 12: GPM Begins Final Comprehensive Performance Test
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/status-update-dec-12-gpm-begins-final-comprehensive-performance-test/#.Uqo-SSfkGM8

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory began its final Comprehensive Performance Test at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Dec. 9, 2013. The test will run 24/7 over the next few weeks as every system and subsystem is turned on and run through its tasks.

This is the first time all the Core Observatory systems have been powered on since its shipment to Japan. The results of the tests will be compared to pre-shipment performance test results to ensure than no problems have arisen due to transit, and that the spacecraft is prepared for on-orbit operations.

GPM's Core Observatory has more than 30 systems and subsystems that are being tested. Almost all the systems have fully redundant electronics in case of a failure on-orbit, so each test has to be run more than once. The engineering team for each system monitors the progress around the clock in the control room outside the clean room at Tanegashima Space Center.

CPT is about half-way to completion. Targeting Monday.