FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The countdown was on.
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One. GPM!” yelled Simpson Elementary School third-graders as they watched the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory launch through a live stream from NASA’s IV&V facility in Fairmont on Thursday.
The Harrison County third-graders were invited to NASA’s IV&V facility to watch as the GPM was launched aboard a Japanese H-IIA, No. 23 two-stage rocket from Tanegashima Island, Japan. Before the launch took place, the students participated in several hands-on activities to learn more about the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field…