14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are proud to announce the successful launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory. The advanced satellite will help climate scientists and meteorologists keep accurate track of Earth's rain and snowfall.
The GPM was launched into space at 1:37 pm EST on February 27 (3:37 am JST February 28), aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-II delivery system, the same rocket used for launching the HTV unmanned resupply cargo capsules towards the International Space Station.
Takeoff occurred from Launch Pad 1 at the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island, Japan. The spacecraft separated from its delivery system around 16 minutes after launch, while the two were flying around 398 kilometers (247 miles) above the surface of the Earth.
The four-ton spacecraft unfurled its large solar arrays around 10 minutes later, as it was entering its geocentric low-Earth orbit. The vehicle was manufactured by the Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA, Ball Aerospace, JAXA, NEC Toshiba, and the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT).
As its name implies, the GPM Core Observatory will be the center of a new system of capabilities related to the 2D and 3D mapping of Earth's precipitation patterns, with additional data being provided by other environmental and Earth-observing constellations out there.
In effect, GPM will basically bridge the capabilities of multiple satellites, allowing them to work together in creating comprehensive weather maps of our planet. “With this launch, we have taken another giant leap in providing the world with an unprecedented picture of our planet's rain and snow,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden yesterday.
“GPM will help us better understand our ever-changing climate, improve forecasts of extreme weather events like floods, and assist decision makers around the world to better manage water resources,” the top NASA official added.
The Project Manager for GPM at GSFC, Art Azarbarzin, commented that the launch was an incredible moment for the joint international team, which has been working on this project since 2006.
“The GPM Core Observatory is the product of a dedicated team at Goddard, JAXA and others worldwide. Soon, as GPM begins to collect precipitation observations, we'll see these instruments at work providing real-time information for the scientists about the intensification of storms, rainfall in remote areas and so much more,” he added.
Except GPM, NASA has a total of five other Earth-observing satellite launches scheduled for this year. Unlike previous generations of spacecraft, the new models will be able to work together more efficiently than ever, providing integrated datasets for weather analysis and prediction.