SESDA Communications Staff Support Successful GPM Launch
March 6, 2014
On Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1:37pm EST the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory successfully launched into orbit from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. GPM is a joint NASA/JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) mission to provide next-generation global observations of rain and snowfall using a constellation of satellites united by the GPM Core Observatory. The data collected by GPM will extend upon the successes of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (launched in 1997) and will be used to monitor Earth’s water cycle and freshwater resources, improve weather and climate models, and study natural hazards like floods, landslides, and droughts. The GPM Core is the largest satellite assembled and tested at GSFC to date; the mission operations and data processing will be managed there as well.
SESDA staff provided critical support to the promotion and coverage of the GPM launch, with media relations support on-site in Japan and at GSFC. Their contributions include development and management of the official GPM website (http://gpm.nasa.gov), social media outlets (http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Rain; http://www.facebook.com/NASA.Rain), launch day parties, K-12 educational events, co-hosting NASA TV coverage, and a “GPM: Road to Launch” blog (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/category/gpm-road-to-launch/).
