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GPM's Last Stop Before Orbit

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Art Azarbarzin, NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission project manager, and Mashahiro Kojima, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's GPM/DPR project manager, reflect on the long journey the GPM Core Observatory spacecraft has taken to reach its last stop before orbit, the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, from where the mission's Core Observatory is scheduled to launch on the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST).

GPM Confirmed for Launch

The GPM Core Observatory has received a green light for launch! On the morning of Feb. 26 (Japan time) at Tanegashima Space Center, chief officers from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA reviewed the readiness of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory for launch on an H-IIA rocket on Feb. 28 (Japan time). All launch vehicle and launch facility actions relevant to the GPM launch were reported complete. The review panel gave the approval to proceed with launch. The GPM launch site at Tanegashima Space Center Image Credit

GPM Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center

GPM Launch Site at Tanegashima Space Center
Image Caption
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.
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