Mechanical Team Inspecting GPM
Image Caption
The mechanical team has only a few inches of clearance between the L-frame and the satellite.
Flight Project
GPM Flight Project content
GPM Loaded onto Barge
Image Caption
A freshly paved concrete staging area supported a massive crane as it lifted the satellite into the cargo hold of an ocean barge.
Unloading GPM's Shipping Container
Image Caption
GPM's shipping container is unloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-5 cargo plane that carried it to Japan.
Barge Carrying GPM Core to Tanegashima
Image Caption
The barge carrying the GPM spacecraft arrives at Shimama Port on Tanegashima Island on Nov. 26 just before sunset. The satellite will be offloaded and transported by truck to the Space Center for processing there.
GPM Transport Team in Kitakyushu, Japan
Image Caption
The NASA GPM transport team in Kitakyushu, Japan, Nov 24
"To: Japan, Love: GSFC"
Image Caption
Notes written on the side of GPM's shipping container.
C5 Aircraft in Alaska for Refueling
Image Caption
GPM's C-5 transport aircraft on the ground at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska.
GPM's Roller Bed Truck Loaded on the Plane
Image Caption
The roller bed truck loaded on the plane. Secured on top are the FlipRight (yellow) for manipulating the spacecraft once it’s in the cleanroom in Japan and the I-beam sling (white) that facilitates the heavy lifting of the container.
Loading GPM into the C5 Aircraft
Image Caption
Halfway through the loading process at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the C-5 looks like it swallows the GPM shipping container.
GPM Prepares to Ship
Image Caption
Members of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., make final preparations to the satellite in a clean room -
- shortly before GPM was placed in a transportation container for its 7,300-mile trip to the launch site at Tanegashima Space Center, Japan.