testing

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

GPM Begins Final Comprehensive Performance Test

The mechanical team has only a few inches of clearance between the L-frame and the satellite. Image Credit: NASA / Michael Starobin 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

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
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...
Daniel Alvarado Is GPM's Traveling Companion to Japan
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...