International Affairs
Space Foundation Congratulates JAXA and NASA on Successful GPM Launch
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The Space Foundation congratulates Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA on the successful launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Earth observation mission from pad 1 at the Tanegashima Space Center, Thursday, Feb. 27 (U.S. time), Tanegashima, Japan.
Launched upon a Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the NASA- JAXA Global GPM Core Observatory, GPM, will help advance our understanding of Earth’s water and energy cycles, improve the forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend current capabilities of using satellite precipitation information to directly benefit society.
“The Space Foundation shares a close relationship with both JAXA and NASA, and supports international collaboration in space,” said Space Foundation Vice President – Education and Discovery Iain Probert. “And the role of Space Foundation Corporate Member Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is an important one — its Global Precipitation Measurement-Microwave Imager (GMI) is an integral part of GPM, and will play an essential role in the Earth’s weather and environmental forecasting.”
The Space Foundation offered free admission to its Discovery Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, during the launch so that school children and the public could watch a live feed of the launch. The viewing also included a free showing of the short NASA film Water Falls. This 9-minute film, created by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) specifically for Science On a Sphere®, is centered around the GPM mission.
The Space Foundation is presenting GPM-related hands-on education lessons for school groups visiting the Discovery Center, and also remotely through Google Hangouts.
Pictured: More than 80 people attended a free showing at Space Foundation Discovery Center of the live feed of the GPM mission launch on Feb. 27.
This article is part of Space Watch: March 2014 (Volume: 13, Issue: 3).