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Launch Preparations Proceed After Second Go/No Decision

The launch of the GPM Core Observatory is proceeding toward launch at Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. Final checks have been made for the operational conditions of the H-IIA launch vehicle, satellites, launch facilities, tracking and control systems, and weather conditions. The process of loading propellant, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, into the rocket has begun. Terminal countdown operations also begun. Access to the launch pad is now restricted within a radius of 400 meters.

Waiting for Launch

Submitted by JacobAdmin on Wed, 02/26/2014
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The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory is poised for launch from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center, scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST).

GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

GPM Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center

GPM Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center
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GPM Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center

Launch pad 1 is seen at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014 in Tanegashima, Japan. A Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is planned for launch from pad 1 on Feb. 28, 2014. Once launched, the GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Pyrotechnics and Fueling for HII-A Rocket

On Tuesday, Feb. 25 (Japan time) at the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, pyrotechnics were connected on the H-IIA launch vehicle that will carry the NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory into space. In addition, the attitude control system that will control the second stage of the launch vehicle was fueled. Live launch coverage from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., begins on NASA Television at 12noon EST on Thursday, Feb. 27. Watch online at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Checks Performed on HII-A Rocket Electrical and Propulsion Systems

The NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is on schedule to liftoff from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan during a launch window that opens in just over 52 hours (Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1:07 p.m. EST). Launch services provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) performed checks on the propulsion and electrical systems on the H-IIA rocket that will carry the GPM Core Observatory into space.

Entrance Sign to JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center

Entrance Sign to JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center
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Entrance Sign to JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center

The entrance sign to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) is seen a week ahead of the planned launch of an H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, Tanegashima Island, Japan. The NASA-JAXA GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours.

Sunset at Tanegashima Island

Sunset at Tanegashima Island
Image Caption
Sunset at Tanegashima Island

The sun sets just outside the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) a week ahead of the planned launch of an H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, Tanegashima Island, Japan. The NASA-JAXA GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours. 

Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center

Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center
Image Caption
Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center

The launch pads at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center are seen a week ahead of the planned launch of an H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, Tanegashima Island, Japan. The NASA-JAXA GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours. 

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
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