GPM Core Observatory Entering Thermal Vacuum Chamber

Engineers guiding the GPM Core Observatory into the TVAC chamber. The air inside the chamber will be pumped out when testing begins to simulate the vacuum of space, and the temperatures will be lowered to -10 degrees C (14˚F) and raised to above 40 degrees C (104˚F) to simulate the range of temperatures the spacecraft will encounter as it orbits Earth. Testing will continue into early January, 2013.