NASA and JAXA launch new satellite
to measure global rain and snow
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA
and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA),
thundered into space Feb. 27 from Japan.
The four-ton spacecraft launched aboard a Japanese HIIA 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).
Photos: NASA/Bill Ingalls