HGAS

The GPS system has been switched on. This tells the satellite the time and its location with respect to the Earth's surface. The team is readying the spacecraft to use its High Gain Antenna for high data-rate communication through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

The GPM Core Observatory continues power positive, stable on the sun line and communicating with the GPM Mission Operations Center at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The spacecraft magnetic torquer bar polarity was adjusted to eliminate rotational momentum gain. Star trackers were turned on and the High Gain Antenna was successfully deployed. Within the next day or two, the spacecraft controllers at NASA Goddard will begin to use the antenna to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System for commands from the ground, data and health and safety information

The High Gain Antenna System onboard the GPM Core Observatory was successfully deployed and functionally tested after being integrated onto the spacecraft late last year. The HGAS is responsible for relaying data collected by the satellite’s instruments to Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRS) satellites. Data is sent back to Goddard Space Flight Center via a NASA wide-area network. The GPM High Gain Antenna System (HGAS) in integration and testing at Goddard Space Flight Center.

The High Gain Antenna System (HGAS) onboard the GPM Core Observatory finished acoustics and post-environmental deployment testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The HGAS will then undergo Thermal Vacuum testing before it is completed and delivered in mid-September. The below video shows a test of the High Gain Antenna System as it will deploy once in orbit aboard the GPM Core Observatory. Learn more about the HGAS and the GPM Core Observatory