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Author Topic:   NASA and JAXA's GPM Core Observatory satellite
Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-27-2014 04:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
NASA release
NASA, JAXA Prepare Rain and Snow Satellite for Launch

The world enters a new era of global weather observing and climate science in February with the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a new international science satellite built by NASA.

GPM, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is scheduled to launch Feb. 27 at 1:37 p.m. EST (1837 GMT) from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.

The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.

"The water-cycle, so familiar to all school-age young scientists, is one of the most interesting, dynamic, and important elements in our studies of the Earth's weather and climate," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "GPM will provide scientists and forecasters critical information to help us understand and cope with future extreme weather events and fresh water resources."

The GPM Core Observatory will fly 253 miles (407 kilometers) above Earth in an orbit inclined 65-degrees to the equator. This orbit allows the Core Observatory to observe precipitation from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle at different times of day so it is able to observe changing storm and weather systems that behave differently during day and night. Normal operations will begin about 60 days after launch. Data will be downlinked through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center's Precipitation Processing Center in Greenbelt, Md., where it will be processed and distributed over the Internet.

GPM's Core Observatory carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall: the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), designed by JAXA and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan, and built by NEC Toshiba Space Systems Ltd., Tokyo; and the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), provided by NASA and built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Together, these two instruments will collect improved observations that will allow scientists to better "see" inside clouds. In particular, they both provide new capabilities for observing smaller particles of rain, ice and snow.

"Knowledge of how water moves around the Earth system through precipitation is vital for monitoring freshwater resources," said Gail Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at Goddard. "The data from the GPM mission provides unprecedented measurements of global precipitation. The GPM Core Observatory will observe detailed characteristics of rain and snow systems that are also extremely important for improving weather and climate forecasts."

The DPR precipitation radar adds a new frequency with which to observe precipitation, allowing it to capture ice and light rain. It will return three-dimensional profiles and intensities of liquid and solid precipitation that will reveal the internal structure of storms within and below clouds.

The GMI is a microwave radiometer designed to sense the total precipitation within all cloud layers. In addition to collecting data on heavy to moderate rain, four new channels will be sensitive to light rain and snowfall, two types of precipitation that are especially prevalent in mountain regions and the higher latitudes over North America, Europe and Asia.

Together, DPR and GMI will provide observations on the size, intensity and distribution of raindrops and snowflakes. Scientists will be able to use this data to look at how precipitation behaves and influences weather and climate patterns. These patterns affect the distribution of fresh water around the world, impacting supplies for drinking water and agriculture.


Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The GPM Core Observatory, built by Goddard, will launch on an H-IIA rocket provided by JAXA. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is managing the launch.

See here for discussion of the NASA's and JAXA's GPM Core Observatory.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-27-2014 01:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
NASA release
NASA and JAXA Launch New Satellite to Measure Global Rain and Snow

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, an Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), thundered into space at 1:37 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:37 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28) from Japan.

The four-ton spacecraft launched aboard a Japanese H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. The GPM spacecraft separated from the rocket 16 minutes after launch, at an altitude of 247 miles (398 kilometers). The solar arrays deployed 10 minutes after spacecraft separation, to power the spacecraft.

"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. "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 GPM Core Observatory will take a major step in improving upon the capabilities of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), a joint NASA-JAXA mission launched in 1997 and still in operation. While TRMM measured precipitation in the tropics, the GPM Core Observatory expands the coverage area from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle. GPM will also be able to detect light rain and snowfall, a major source of available fresh water in some regions.

To better understand Earth's weather and climate cycles, the GPM Core Observatory will collect information that unifies and improves data from an international constellation of existing and future satellites by mapping global precipitation every three hours.

"It is incredibly exciting to see this spacecraft launch," said GPM Project Manager Art Azarbarzin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is the moment that the GPM Team has been working toward 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."

The GPM Core Observatory was assembled at Goddard and is the largest spacecraft ever built at the center. It carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall. The GPM Microwave Imager, provided by NASA, will estimate precipitation intensities from heavy to light rain, and snowfall by carefully measuring the minute amounts of energy naturally emitted by precipitation. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Tokyo, will use emitted radar pulses to make detailed measurements of three-dimensional rainfall structure and intensity, allowing scientists to improve estimates of how much water the precipitation holds. Mission operations and data processing will be managed from Goddard.


Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

"We still have a lot to learn about how rain and snow systems behave in the bigger Earth system," said GPM Project Scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson of Goddard. "With the advanced instruments on the GPM Core Observatory, we will have for the first time frequent unified global observations of all types of precipitation, everything from the rain in your backyard to storms forming over the oceans to the falling snow contributing to water resources."

"We have spent more than a decade developing DPR using Japanese technology, the first radar of its kind in space," said Masahiro Kojima, JAXA GPM/DPR project manager. "I expect GPM to produce important new results for our society by improving weather forecasts and prediction of extreme events such as typhoons and flooding."

The GPM Core Observatory is the first of NASA's five Earth science missions launching this year. With a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns, NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space. NASA also develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

See here for discussion of the NASA's and JAXA's GPM Core Observatory.

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