NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is opening its Visitor Center to the public for a family-friendly activity-filled Global Precipitation Measurement launch party from noon to 3 p.m. EST Feb. 27, 2014. We will watch a live NASA Television broadcast of the launch of the GPM Core Observatory from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. We will have expert presentations and family-friendly, hands-on demonstrations. The launch of the GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for no earlier than 1:07 p.m. EST. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and...

Watch the GPM L-30 Press Briefing on Youtube: Part 1: GPM Mission Briefing Part 2: GPM Science Briefing The world enters a new era of global weather observing and climate science in February with the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a new international science satellite built by NASA. GPM, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is scheduled to launch Feb. 27 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global...

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...

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...

Photo of Daniel Alvarado Name: Daniel E. Alvarado Varela Title: Mechanical Engineer Formal Job Classification: Aerospace Engineer Organization: Code 543, Mechanical Engineering Branch, Engineering Directorate Mechanical engineer Daniel Alvarado’s newest travel companion will be the 7,000-pound GPM satellite, which he will escort from Maryland to Tanegashima, Japan. What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission? Although officially I am an aerospace engineer, my education is in mechanical engineering. I work on the Global...

By Ellen Gray, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Original www.nasa.gov Feature (published 4/12/13) This video, "Our Wet Wide World", provides an overview of the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission and its goals. Video Credit: Ryan Fitzgibbons As anyone who has ever been caught in a sudden and unexpected downpour knows, gaps still exist in our knowledge about the behavior and movement of precipitation, clouds and storms. An upcoming satellite mission from NASA and the Japanese Space Agency aims to fill in those gaps both in coverage and in scientists' understanding of precipitation. The...