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

During the past weekend tropical cyclone ALESSIA weakened to a tropical low as it moved from the Timor Sea over Northern Australia. The warm waters of the Gulf Of Capentaria have helped revive ALESSIA to tropical storm intensity today. The image on the right shows TRMM satellite data collected on November 27, 2013 at 0225 UTC. A 3-D perspective view (from the west) shows the tropical cyclone's vertical structure based on radar reflectivity data collected by TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. Thunderstorm towers are shown reaching heights above 16km (~9.92 miles) in a feeder band east

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