Gravity Probe B went up at 9:57 AM today

In summary: GPB experimentIn summary, a friend of mine who attended the launch at Vandenburg described the pre-launch briefings and talks as being a big part of the experience. Due to weather conditions, the launch was delayed until the next day, causing some invited guests to miss it. Security restrictions limited viewing of the launch to a point 7 miles away from the pad. The launch took place at 9:57 AM, and there were reports of fog earlier in the morning but it had cleared by then. The satellite is expected to take 16 months for the entire mission, but it is possible that preliminary results could be available within a couple of months. The satellite is designed to spin 5,000 to 10,000
  • #1
marcus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
24,775
792
A friend of mine was at Vandenburg for the launch. I just spoke with her by phone and she gave me a guest's-eye view of the proceedings.
She says the briefings and talks earlier were a big part of it.
Almost more than watching the actual launch.

It was too windy in the high atmosphere for the scheduled Monday lift-off, so they delayed it till today. A lot of those invited had to leave Monday, so they missed it.

For security or some other reason, you couldn't watch any closer than 7 miles. They were bussed to an observation point 7 miles from the pad.
My friend says it went up at 9:57 in the morning----I don't know what the official news release says.

Earlier there had been a lot of fog, especially over the ocean. But by 9 AM it had cleared where they were and they had blue sky overhead. What was her visual impression of the first stage as she watched it ascend? "Extremely bright". Also that it left a smoke trail.
 
Last edited:
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #3
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/april21/gpbshort-421.html

this came out today in the Stanford house organ "Stanford Report"
nice pictures---like of a niobium-coated quartz ball
clear easytoread story

a picture of the big dewar flask that holds
645 gallons of superfluid helium

the balls apparently are supposed to spin 5,000 to 10,000 rpm

the satellite is supposed to lock onto some star in Pegasus
to maintain fixed direction (to have something to compare the gyro axes to)

Leonard Schiff proposed it in 1959, how time flies
 
  • #4
I seem to remember the mission will take 16 months.
But from what I gather, there's no reason why they can`t be taking readings from the giroscopes every few weeks. Preliminary results might be with us within a couple of months... as far as I gather. True?
 
  • #5
Meemoe, why don't you be our expert on this experiment (unless Phobos, Integral, Enigma et al already have all the details ready)

for experimental tests of GR it doesn't get more authoritative than
Clifford Wills, and here is a technical article on GPB by Wills

http://arxiv.org/gr-qc/0212069 [Broken]

you are invited to report whatever you can find out from this
or other sources about GPB!

meemoe_uk said:
I seem to remember the mission will take 16 months.
But from what I gather, there's no reason why they can`t be taking readings from the giroscopes every few weeks. Preliminary results might be with us within a couple of months... as far as I gather. True?

I don't know when (or even whether) preliminary results might be made available. Does anyone know anything relevant to meemoe's question?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #6
I think it neat how spherical those quartz orbs measure! I would not be surprised if they exhibit previously unknown propreties of spacetime.
 
  • #7
Meemoe and expert should not be used in the same sentence without a negator! But I read up on abit more on GPB and it won`t be ready for another 38 to 58 days.
 
  • #8
meemoe_uk said:
Meemoe and expert should not be used in the same sentence without a negator! But I read up on abit more on GPB and it won`t be ready for another 38 to 58 days.

already you are telling me news
please say if your source is online
and give me the link so I can read up a bit more myself

it is very helpful to have a local expert, that is a person
who keeps more alert and finds more information about
something he is interested in, but I will think of another
name for the job (head look-out? the guy in the crows nest?
night watchman?)

what do you mean by "ready"
I really don't know a lot of details about this
although idea is exciting
 
  • #9
MARCUS
you can subscribe to a weekly news update here
http://einstein.stanford.edu/

also on this page, full information of mission
click on.
GP-B Launch Companion in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
here you will find a table that gives a time line
for all tasks to be completed befor science can
begin
 
Last edited:
  • #10
thanks for the suggestion
more links anybody?

this is dated today 26 April

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/26apr_gpbtech.htm?list1111259 [Broken]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/lrr-2003-2/index.html [Broken]
an exhaustive look at GWs
 
Last edited by a moderator:

1. What is Gravity Probe B?

Gravity Probe B (GP-B) is a satellite-based physics experiment designed to study Einstein's theory of general relativity.

2. When did Gravity Probe B launch?

GP-B was launched on April 20, 2004 at 9:57 AM from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

3. What is the purpose of the Gravity Probe B mission?

The main goal of the GP-B mission is to test two key predictions of general relativity: the geodetic effect and the frame-dragging effect.

4. How does Gravity Probe B work?

GP-B uses four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure tiny changes in the orientation of its spin axis in space, caused by the effects of general relativity.

5. What are the potential impacts of the Gravity Probe B mission?

The results from GP-B could improve our understanding of gravity and space-time, as well as have practical applications in areas such as satellite navigation and space missions.

Similar threads

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
16
Views
5K
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
40
Views
9K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • General Discussion
8
Replies
264
Views
56K
  • Sci-Fi Writing and World Building
Replies
23
Views
8K
Replies
13
Views
2K
Replies
12
Views
2K
Replies
52
Views
6K
Back
Top