Relativity mission achieves two major milestones

spaceflightnow.com ^ | 8 Mar 02 | NASA-MSFC

[RightWhale]

Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Relativity mission achieves two major milestones

Relativity mission achieves two major milestones NASA-MSFC NEWS RELEASE Posted: March 6, 2002 The NASA Gravity Probe B (GP-B) Relativity Mission has successfully mated its science payload to its spacecraft and after successful systems testing, the GP-B space vehicle was shipped to Sunnyvale, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2002, to prepare for upcoming rigorous environmental tests. The Gravity Probe B spacecraft on a modal stand in preparation for environmental testing. Photo: Lockheed Martin "These milestones are a huge accomplishment for this dedicated team," said Gravity Probe B program manager Rex Geveden, of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The Gravity Probe B team is working hard to complete preparation and testing of one of the most unique experiments ever attempted in the history of science." Gravity Probe B, led by principal investigator Francis Everitt and program manager Sasha Buchman of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., has been pushing the limits on many different technological fronts, including gyroscope technology, materials science, metrology, astrometry, and cryogenics. Scheduled for launch in late 2002 and using highly advanced technology, GP-B is expected to be the most precise test to-date of two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Using its space-bound gyroscopes in a drag-free polar orbit, GP-B will measure how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and, more profoundly, how the Earth's rotation drags space-time around with it. These effects have far-reaching implications for the nature of matter and the structure of the Universe and are considered among the most profound enigmas of physics. The mission's science instrument and its components were developed, designed, built and integrated in Stanford University's Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory. The payload is made up of the science instrument inside a probe integrated into one of the largest flight dewars (thermally insulated containers) ever constructed. The dewar provides the extremely low temperature environment needed for proper operation of the experiment while in Earth orbit. The team has spent the last eight months in payload testing, successfully verifying all subsystems and the integrated payload at Stanford University before transporting and then mating the payload to the Lockheed Martin spacecraft at the corporation's nearby facility in Palo Alto. Systems testing was conducted there to begin preparations for the series of acoustic and thermal-vacuum tests in Sunnyvale that will qualify the GP-B space vehicle for its upcoming launch. Development of the Gravity Probe B mission is the responsibility of Stanford University, with major sub-contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation. GP-B is managed for NASA by the Marshall Space Flight Center.				Astronaut patch The official mission patch for shuttle Columbia's June flight that will feature the first Israeli astronaut is available from the Astronomy Now Store. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Mission Report In 1970 some considered Apollo 13 a catastrophic failure but it has since been recognized as one of NASA's truly great moments, when the spirit of daring and ingenuity came to life at Mission Control to successfully bring the astronauts home. Apollo 13 - The NASA Mission Reports presents rare official documentation of the voyage. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Soviet Space For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Crew exchange Relive the historic first changing of the guard aboard the International Space Station in this 59-minute VHS video cassette from Spaceflight Now. Available from the Astronomy Now Store in NTSC format (North America and Japan) and PAL (UK, most of Europe, Australia and other countries). Hubble calendar The Hubble Space Telescope 2002 calendar, featuring stunning images of planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies captured by the orbiting observatory, is available now from the Astronomy Now Store: U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE The web's best space video service! Get additional video, audio, image and virtual reality content for a low-cost monthly or annual subscription fee. Subscriptions start at $5/£3.50. Click here to see what's currently available. SUBSCRIBE (U.S. Dollars) SUBSCRIBE (U.K. Pounds) Missions to Mars The triumphs and tribulations of the American Mars program are gathered together in one place -- Mars: The NASA Mission Reports. Press kits and reports from every Mars mission are collected together for the first time. Includes CD-ROM. U.S. STORE U.K. & WORLDWIDE STORE
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[RightWhale]

Pure science. Nothing to do with OBL [remember him?] or Global Warming or ANWR or Daschle's latest outrageous statement. Just an attempt to measure how earth drags the continuum around with it like Michelson's interferometer experiment.

But the avant garde like to mis-apply the latest theories from science to sociology and psychology so as to attract women at parties. Watch closely, this could be the end of Einstein's relativity, and all the social and political evolutes such as moral relativity as exemplified by Clintons in the White House.

[RightWhale]

Hmm. Seem to have lost the images in a relative subspace discontinuity. This satellite is impressively large considering it is just another physics experiment.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Despite taking both undergraduate and graduate level courses on relativity and reading any number of books for the air-chair physicist, it was an American Spectator article, Rethinking Relativity, by Tom Bethell, where I first stumbled on the concept of the Earth as the generator of the medium...

[RightWhale]

I must treat everything van Flandern says with a double dose of salt. He might be right about some things, but he is plain outrageous about other things. Especially his instantaneous gravity. It's not necessary and doesn't matter one way or the other.

[Stultis]

But the avant garde like to mis-apply the latest theories from science to sociology and psychology so as to attract women at parties.

Like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park. I was really pulling for the T. Rex to chomp that insufferable boor.

[RightWhale]

Here's what they are doing:

Perhaps this experiment will finally provide the resolution to resolve the issue.

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Eotvos

"In classical mechanics, interpreted in terms of fields, the potential of gravitation appears as a scalar field. ... the following program appears natural therefore: the total physical field consists of scalar field (gravitation) and a vector field (electromagnetic field)." (7)

2) "The simplest thing was... to retain the Laplacian scalar potential of gravity, and to complete the equation of Poisson in an obvious way by a term, differentiated with respect to time in such a way that the special theory of relativity was satisfied." (4)

Einstein was unable to successfully pursue this idea as the theory needed to combine two things: i) "From general considerations of special relativity theory it was clear that the inert mass of a physical system increases with the total energy ..."(7)

ii) "From very accurate experiments (especially from the torsion balance experiments of Eotvos) it was empirically known that the gravitational mass of a body is exactly equal to its inert mass.

It followed from (i) and (ii) that the weight of a system depends in a precisely known manner on its total energy."

Einstein could find no way to incorporate such an effect in the manner described above and thus "abandoned as inadequate the attempt to treat the problem of gravitation in the manner outlined above..."

[Stultis]

Tom Bethell

Keeping conservatives in the junk science game. (He does write better than the eco-wackos.)

[lafroste]

I wonder if NASA would consider making the raw data available for independent analysis. While I don't have a clue about the specific experimental model (because I have not studied exactly what they are up to), it would seem that they should have no objections to sharing that data and allowing its analysis by unaffiliated scientists.

[RightWhale]

That is an excellent point. You know the images from Hubble are the property of the scientist who runs the experiment and are not general public info. Same with Odyssey, the new Mars orbiter. These are NASA, supposedly public programs. They like to keep the data proprietary at least until their paper is written.

[blam]

Well over my head bump. (Interesting though)

[RightWhale]

Interesting-looking gadget, isn't it?

[blam]

"Interesting-looking gadget, isn't it?"

That it is. I used to work in Sunnyvale and went to Moffett Field in '71 or '72 to one of the first presentations given explaining Black Holes.

[blam]

Bump for the evening crew.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 03/08/2002. Thanks RightWhale, wherever you are.

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[LibWhacker]

wherever you are

Hope he's doing okay. I was very sorry to see him go.