NASA Global Precipitation Measurement satellite readying for early 2014 launch

NASA Dual-Frequency Dual-Polarized Doppler Radar operating during snowfall (Credit: NASA)

The U.S. Air Force has delivered the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory to Japan’s Kitakyushu Airport, according to a release from NASA. The satellite will measure global rain and snow and will launch in early 2014.

The GPM comes with microwave and dual-frequency precipitation radar. Microwave imaging captures precipitation intensities and horizontal patterns, while dual-frequency radar can dissect the three-dimensional structure of precipitation.

The GPM Core Observatory is designed to bring together measurements from many orbiting satellites owned by the United States and other nations. It will combine them to make a single dataset of global precipitation every three hours.

Image: NASA Dual-Frequency Dual-Polarized Doppler Radar operating during a May 2 snowfall in Central Iowa as part of the Global Precipitation Measurement’s ground mission (Credit: NASA)