1
00:00:00,010 --> 00:00:04,050
Three trucks, one plane, one boat,

2
00:00:04,070 --> 00:00:08,100
two countries, one mission.

3
00:00:08,120 --> 00:00:12,110


4
00:00:12,130 --> 00:00:16,160


5
00:00:16,180 --> 00:00:20,210
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory racked up

6
00:00:20,230 --> 00:00:24,250
7300 flight miles before it even left the planet.

7
00:00:24,270 --> 00:00:28,290
The Core Observatory in its shipping container took off for Japan on an Air Force

8
00:00:28,310 --> 00:00:32,310
Super Galaxy C-5 cargo plane on November 21,

9
00:00:32,330 --> 00:00:36,320
2013. A two-hour refueling stopover in Anchorage,

10
00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:40,350
Alaska, turned into two days when a snowstorm swept in.

11
00:00:40,370 --> 00:00:44,400
But sunny skies greeted the GPM Core Observatory

12
00:00:44,420 --> 00:00:48,460
when it landed at Kitakyushu Airport, Japan, on November 24th.

13
00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,500
Moving the 57,000 pound combined

14
00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,540
weight of the shipping container and the satellite took all hands on deck

15
00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,580
from plane to truck to barge.

16
00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,600


17
00:01:04,620 --> 00:01:08,620
Rough seas kept the boat at anchor

18
00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,640
for 24 hours in Saiki before it hit the open water.

19
00:01:12,660 --> 00:01:16,710
Arrival by sea is the only way to get heavy space equipment to Tanegashima Island.

20
00:01:16,730 --> 00:01:20,770
The tiny island has narrow, windy

21
00:01:20,790 --> 00:01:24,790
roads, so it wasn't until midnight when the streets were empty that the Core Observatory

22
00:01:24,810 --> 00:01:28,840
traveled the last nine miles to space center.

23
00:01:28,860 --> 00:01:32,880


24
00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:36,920
Next, the GPM team unpacked the spacecraft in JAXA's

25
00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:40,960
Satellite Preparation Building for post-travel inspections and a

26
00:01:40,980 --> 00:01:44,980
Comprehensive Performance Test. These two tasks ensured that

27
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,990
the Core Observatory was ready for launch. After a long,

28
00:01:49,010 --> 00:01:53,050
slow and careful journey to Tanegashima, GPM arrived safely

29
00:01:53,070 --> 00:01:57,110
and began its countdown to launch.

30
00:01:57,130 --> 00:02:01,160
[rain falling]

31
00:02:01,180 --> 00:02:05,200


32
00:02:05,220 --> 00:02:09,220


33
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:10,944