Stockton, CA (PRWEB) March 06, 2014
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory successfully launched on February 27, 2014 at 1:37 p.m. (EST) from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The GPM, built by Goddard, was launched on an H-IIA rocket provided by JAXA. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. managed the launch. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries team finished installing the GPM mission’s Core Observatory into the fairing on February 13th. The fairing containing the GPM was then moved to the vehicle assembly building on February 18th and lifted to the top of the Japan's primary large-scale launch vehicle, the H-IIA rocket, to complete the assembly.
The GPM Core Observatory will orbit 253 miles (407 kilometers) above Earth in an orbit inclined 65-degrees to the equator. The current schedule has the main reflector deployment occurring on March 1st and the spin up and a complete checkup of the GMI and the spacecraft will take place on March 4th. The precipitation observation and data will be gathered approximately 60 days after launch. This 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.
Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation (AASC) is a full service provider of complex composite and metal bonded structures and assemblies for both military and commercial applications. Based in Stockton, California, AASC is classified as a small business with approximately 350 employees. AASC designs and fabricates critical, lightweight, high-performance, engineered structural assemblies for the aerospace industry. The company is ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100 Rev C certified, and has been in business since 1956. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.aascworld.com.