Ellen Gray

NASA Hosts Prelaunch Media Events for GPM
NASA will hold a series of media events Monday, Jan. 27, in advance of the February launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory from Japan. The events will be held at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. GPM is an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that will provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide. GPM data also will contribute to climate research and the forecasting of extreme weather events such as floods and hurricanes. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled to lift...

GPM Core Observatory Completes Comprehensive Performance Testing

The GPM spacecraft oriented for inspections after its arrival in the clean room at Tanegashima Space Center. Image Credit: NASA / Michael Starobin On Dec. 15, the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory team completed the post-shipment Comprehensive Performance Test with no significant problems. The testing took seven days to run through each of the spacecraft's systems and subsystems to ensure that the satellite is ready for space. The testing took place at GPM's launch site at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, and was the first time all systems had been turned on since GPM's
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Arthur Hou, the project scientist for the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement mission, died at home Nov. 20 from pancreatic cancer, which he had battled for more than a year. Dr. Arthur Hou, the project scientist for the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission, died Nov. 20, 2013. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center “Arthur was an exemplary project scientist who kept the GPM flame alive during the various challenges as the project was being formulated and developed,” said Nick White, director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard...

GPM Undergoes Post-Shipment Inspections

Following arrival in a cleanroom at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core observatory was attached to a custom-designed satellite mount which allowed the NASA team on-site to perform preliminary inspections and evaluations of the spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/Michael Starobin Following the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory’s arrival at the Tangashema Space Center in Japan, efforts by the NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency team will now focus on final checkouts and preparation for launch in early 2014. After the

GPM Arrives at Tanegashima Space Center

Following arrival at Japan’s Kitakyushu Airport at 10:30 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 23, the GPM Core Observatory spacecraft in its shipping container was off-loaded from the C-5 aircraft and moved to a barge to be transported to Tanegashima Island. GPM's shipping container is unloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-5 cargo plane that carried it to Japan. Image Credit: NASA The barge departed Kitakyushu around 6:30 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 24, but a third of the way to the island, an unplanned stop had to be made at a port called Saiki to protect the ship from weather and rough seas. The barge arrived at
GPM: The Road to Launch
The GPM Core Observatory has left NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and embarked upon its long journey to Japan where it will launch in early 2014. Science writer Ellen Gray and producer Michael Starobin are travelling along with the spacecraft and documenting its trip with photos, videos, and blog posts. Keep checking this page to stay updated on GPM's journey to launch. " GPM in Japan, the Road to Launch " Blog Posts GPM Doing Well, Time to Color in the Eyes - March 2nd, 2014 Safe Journey, GPM! - February 27th, 2014 Clear Skies for GPM's Launch - February 26th, 2014 Blessings for a Safe and...
NASA's GPM Satellite Begins Journey
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...
GPM Delivered to Japan for 2014 Launch
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. A U.S. Air Force C-5 transport aircraft carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory landed at Kitakyushu Airport in Japan at...
Document Description

This 17 page flyer provides an overview of the GPM Mission. It describes the technologies used to measure precipitation and the missions scientific goals and societal applications.

Excerpt:

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On a Wednesday afternoon in June, a severe storm outbreak spawned huge thunderstorms across Iowa and western Illinois. NASA's Polarimetric precipitation radar was in place to scan the storms as they swept through the region. "It's unbelievable out here," Walt Petersen of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia wrote in an email dispatch from Traer, Iowa. There, two NASA radars were stationed as part of the Iowa Flood Studies field campaign, which Petersen led, for the Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission. Caption: A cluster of rain gauges and soil moisture sensors deployed in...