[cogitator]

And of course... it will probably prove that Einstein was right all along!

While I'm definitely an advocate of science and a robust space program, somebody should've pulled the plug on GP-B a couple of years ago.

[scooter2]

There is no gravity. The Earth sucks!

[GOP_1900AD]

NASA should cancel this, there are allegations of ChiCOM spying. Much of the work on the gyroscope was done in a lab at Stanford U. The security controls were poor - PRC Citizens on student visas did much of the work - there was never any real background checks; for all we know, as with past cases of spying by "students," they might have been PLA officers.

[Lokibob]

Isn't this the experiment that fell off the work bench a couple of years ago?

[Old Professer]

I fell off a 40 foot ladder once; luckily, I was only on the third step.

[jnarcus]

Part of the difficulty in doing research, particularly in pure physics, is that you cannot force quantum leaps in understanding or technology...I won't argue whether this bit of science should have been cancelled because there are pros and cons...I would only point out that THEORIES aren't science until tested in repeatable fashion. I would rather they took the time to rewire this bit of esoterica than let it launch and fail...Cheap and dirty, as recent Mars missions have proven, is a true waste of money

[RightWingAtheist]

How much of the budget overruns are actually due to the construction and execution of the space probe, and not due to financial and bureaucratic mismanagement?

Further understanding of gravity-be it through the Gravity Probe or the LIGO projects-is crucial if we are to properly understand the relationships between the fundamental forces, and there is still much we have to learn.

[RightWingAtheist]

Your expert opinion is needed :-)

[MyOptic]

I worked as a consultant for the company that was awarded the contract for working on the zerodur glass block that made up the housing for the gyros. They brought us in to try and teach machinists optical fabrication. The tolerances needed for this thing were unbelievable, extremely tough even for a master optician. They manufactured 3 housing blocks, one of them was destroyed during the rough machining process, and an optician trainee who was attempting to polish one of the precision lands with a weighted polishing lap by hand fractured the second. They trusted the same company with the second block to complete the polishing process. They had limited experience with any sort of optical fabrication, and the specs they were looking for were way, way beyond the capabilities of this shop. I felt really bad for the guy, who was absolutely sick with himself after the accident, and perturbed with Stanford University with giving the polishing operation to this shop with very little expertise in optical fabrication. This block had a million plus in material and man hours prior to the polishing operation, wiped out with one bad stroke.

[sonofatpatcher2]

Maybe they could bury it in the Big Dig ditch in Boston..

along with all the other Kennedys and DemocRtas!

[Moonman62]

Well, it was finally launched two days ago. These types of experiments have to be done. If it comes up with a negative result, it will be well worth it. If positive, at least we'll know.

I guess we're lucky NASA didn't turn this into a multi-billion dollar manned mission.