US-Japan Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
6/25/97
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Headline: US-Japan Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: 6/25/97
Copyright 1997: Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON, June 25 (AFP) - A US-Japan space mission to put a
tropical rainfall measuring satellite in orbit will launch November
1, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said
Wednesday.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission will make it possible to
study tropical and subtropical rainfall, which comprise more than
two-thirds of global rainfall, helping scientists to understand and
predict global climate change, NASA said in a statement.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) built the
H-II rocket that will carry the satellite into space after its 5:40
a.m. (1940 GMT) launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center.
NASDA will also provide the satellite's precipitation radar.
"We are very happy to provide the Precipitation Radar for TRMM
and lauch this first space mission to measure a driving force of the
global atmosphere, tropical rainfall," said Dr. Kazuyoshi Yoshimura,
excutive director of NASDA in Tokyo.
"This is a good opportunity to expand the cooperation between
the U.S. and Japan, and we expect further cooperation in various
fields," such as "Earth observation satellites, Earth science and
global change research" said the scientist.
From its low-altitude orbit of 217 miles (350 kilometers), the
satellite will observe distribution and variability of tropical rain
and lightning as well as the balance of solar radiation absorbed and
reflected by Earth's atmosphere.